Top: Prince Albert and Dr. Rubén Acosta at 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Bottom: Prince Albert at exhibition match in Athens

Lausanne, Switzerland, November 30, 2004 The FIVB is honoured to announce that SAS Prince Albert of Monaco has accepted to become Honorary President of World Beach Volleyball.

A five-time Olympian and active sportsman, Prince Albert is a well-known supporter of Beach Volleyball: he played in an exhibition match at the Athens Olympics as well as being a regular visitor to the tournament and presenting the medals for the Women's final. He also attended the Swatch-FIVB Grand Slam event in Marseille in July and is considering hosting a World Tour event in Monaco.

Prince Albert has also been Vice-Chairman of the IOC Athletes Commission since 1989 and has participated in many important IOC Commissions since his election in 1985.

Commenting on the new appointment, FIVB President Dr Ruben Acosta said: "At its meeting in Lausanne today the FIVB World Beach Volleyball Council unanimously elected Prince Albert to be the sport's Honorary President. The FIVB is honoured that the Prince has accepted this invitation. His support for Beach Volleyball and his extensive experience of Olympic sport will be invaluable as we aim to capitalise on the outstanding success of Beach Volleyball at this year's Athens Olympic Games."

"It is with great pleasure that I accept this invitation," said Prince Albert. "Beach Volleyball is the fastest-growing Olympic summer sport, and I will give what support and strategic help that I can to help Dr Acosta and the FIVB to direct and manage the growth of the sport.

"I am pleased that players, promoters, officials and national federations are all represented in the World Beach Volleyball Council: they can all play an important role in the development of this exciting sport. The blend of entertainment and athleticism of the highest order clearly has the potential to appeal to players and supporters in countries throughout the world, not just as an elite spectator sport but also as a participation sport," he added.

The FIVB is one of the few major international sport federations to have organised its sports worldwide - both indoor and Beach Volleyball - in such a way that Olympic qualification is secured through its top international competitions such as the Volleyball World Cups, the Beach Volleyball World Championships and Swatch-FIVB World Tours, all of which offer significant prize money, as well as the Volleyball Olympic qualification tournaments.

"In our professional sport we are proud that the Olympic Gold, Silver and Bronze medals are the ultimate prize for our top players," Dr Acosta added.

SAS Prince Albert is Hereditary Prince of Monaco. He participated in bobsleigh at the Olympic Winter Games of Calgary (1988), Albertville (1992), Lillehammer (1994), Nagano (1998) and Salt Lake City (2002).

As well as Beach Volleyball and bobsleigh, the sports practiced by Prince Albert include: athletics, rowing, football, judo, swimming, tennis, riding, skiing, squash, golf, windsurfing fencing, shooting and fencing, for the modern pentathlon.