LAUSANNE, Switzerland, April 5, 2002 - The FIVB Board of Administration, meeting at the Federation's headquarters in Switzerland on Friday, has approved the introduction of a new volleyball discipline with the provisional name of Challenge Volleyball. The new game, which is already extremely successful in Brazil, imposes a height restriction on players, thus opening the way for a vast majority of the world's population to enjoy competition. Challenge Volleyball is for men under 1.85m and women under 1.75m. "According to demographic studies, some 97 percent of men and 95 percent of women in the world's population are under these height limits," commented Dr. Anne Peytavin, President of the FIVB Medical Commission. "This means volleyball in it's present form is only catering for a small section of the population," she added. Presently only extremely tall players are successful at the top end of competition. "This competition has been very successful in Brazil and it is attracting a lot of interest," said FIVB Board Member, Mr. Ary Graca Filho of Brazil. Executive Vice-President Mrs. Rebecca Howard of the U.S.A. proposed that the new discipline be called "Challenge Volleyball", which the Board provisionally approved. FIVB President Dr. Ruben Acosta supported the suggestion, saying: "I recommend that the National Federations use this new category as a promotional tool." The Board of Administration discussed the matter on the final day of their three-day meeting. End