1956 FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship

1956 FIVB Women's World Championship Championnat du monde féminin France 1956 women World France 1956 WCH.png Official poster France Paris 30 August – 12 September 17 3 1 URS 1955 2 ROU 1952 POL 1928 TCH 1952 1960 The 1956 FIVB Women's World Championship was the second edition of the tournament, contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of the fr Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. It was held from 30 August to 12 September 1956 in France, with all matches played at three venues in Paris.http://www.fivb.org/EN/Volleyball/Competitions/WorldChampionships/2014/Women/pastresults.asp?year=1956 WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 1956 FIVB 16 October 2017 A record seventeen teams took part — more than double the eight that had contested the inaugural edition in 1952 — twelve of them appearing at a Women's World Championship for the first time. The women's tournament was staged concurrently with the men's World Championship in the same city, making Paris the centre of world volleyball for a fortnight. The Soviet Union successfully defended the title they had won on home soil four years earlier, going through the tournament undefeated to claim their second world crown. The championship was effectively settled on 6 September at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin, where the Soviets recovered from two sets down to defeat Romania 3–2 in the decisive match of the final round. Romania, for whom it was the only defeat of the tournament, took the silver medal, while Poland finished third ahead of Czechoslovakia. The Paris championship was the first edition held outside the Soviet Union and the first to feature teams from beyond Europe on any significant scale, with entries from Asia and the Americas; the FIVB later described it as "the first truly globe-spanning World Championship".http://www.fivb.org/thegame/chronologicalhighlights.htm Chronological Highlights FIVB 16 October 2017 Staged at a time when volleyball had yet to appear at the Olympic Games, the size and success of the 1956 tournament formed part of the sport's case for Olympic inclusion, which was approved by the International Olympic Committee the following year for the 1964 Tokyo Games. Background The FIVB had been founded in Paris in 1947, and the first Women's World Championship was organised five years later, in August 1952 in Moscow. Eight teams — seven from Europe and India — contested that inaugural event in a single round-robin, and the host Soviet Union won all seven of its matches to take the title ahead of Poland. For the second edition the tournament returned to the federation's birthplace. Paris organised the women's championship alongside the third men's World Championship, in which 24 men's teams from four continents competed and which was won by Czechoslovakia. The women's field grew from eight to seventeen teams: alongside the established Eastern European powers — the Soviet Union, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia — and hosts France, the entry list included China, North Korea and Israel from Asia, Brazil and the United States from the Americas, and, reflecting the political reality of the divided continent, separate teams from East and West Germany. The Soviet squad arrived as clear favourites. It was captained by Aleksandra Chudina, one of the outstanding all-round athletes of her era: a three-time Olympic medallist in athletics at the 1952 Summer Olympics (silver in the long jump and javelin throw, bronze in the high jump) and a former world record holder in the high jump, she was regarded as perhaps the best volleyball player in the Soviet team.https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/77179 Aleksandra Chudina Olympedia 2 August 2026 The side was coached by Alexey Yakushev. Teams Seventeen national teams entered the tournament. Twelve of them were making their Women's World Championship debuts; the only nations with previous experience of the event were Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, hosts France and the reigning champions, the Soviet Union. 20em AUT (debut) BEL (debut) BRA 1889 (debut) BUL 1948 CHN (debut) TCH (debut) GDR 1949 (debut) FRA (host) ISR (debut) LUX (debut) NED (debut) PRK (debut) POL 1928 ROU 1952 URS 1955 (reigning champion) USA 1912 (debut) FRG (debut) Squads Source:http://www.todor66.com/volleyball/World/Women_1956.html Women Volleyball II World Championship 1956 Paris todor66.com 16 October 2017 April 2026 Venues All matches were played in Paris at three indoor arenas. The largest was the Palais des Sports (capacity 4,600), while the showpiece matches of the final round — including the championship-deciding meeting between the Soviet Union and Romania — were staged at the 4,016-seat Stade Pierre de Coubertin. The smallest of the three grounds was the Salle Japy (capacity 1,500). France none 200 48.841389 2.253056 bottom Paris Paris Stade Pierre de Coubertin Salle Japy Palais des Sports Capacity: 4,016 Capacity: 1,500 Capacity: 4,600 250px 226px 226px Format The tournament was played in two different stages (first and final rounds). In the First round, the 17 participants were divided in five groups (two groups of four teams and three groups of three teams). A single round-robin format was played within each group to determine the teams group position, all teams progressed to the next round. In the Final round, two groups were created (1st-10th and 11th-17th), teams were allocated to a group according to their First round group position (best two teams of each group going to 1st-10th and the remaining teams to 11th-17th). A single round-robin format was played within each group with matches already played between teams in the First round also counted in this round. Under this format every team in the top group played nine matches in eleven days, and eighty matches were contested across the tournament as a whole. Pools composition Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D Pool E ISR AUT BEL BUL 1946 BRA 1889 LUX CHN TCH GDR 1949 PRK URS 1955 POL 1928 NED FRA ROU 1952 USA 1912 FRG Results First round The first round produced few surprises. In Pool A the Soviet Union won all three of its matches in straight sets, conceding just 25 points in total, with the United States — also unbeaten against the group's weaker sides — taking second place. Pool B provided the most competitive match of the opening stage, Poland beating China 3–1 after the first two sets were shared; both teams advanced. Czechoslovakia and the Netherlands came through Pool C without dropping a set against Belgium and each other until their own meeting, which the Czechoslovaks won 3–0, while in Pool D Bulgaria topped the group ahead of East Germany and hosts France were consigned to the placement round. In Pool E, Romania defeated first North Korea and had earlier beaten Brazil, who recovered from an opening 3–1 defeat by the Koreans to claim third place in the group. Pool A main Volleyball Q points 2 1 complete URS URS 1955 USA USA 1912 ISR ISR LUX LUX 3 0 9 0 135 25 2 1 6 3 107 54 1 2 3 6 56 108 0 3 0 9 24 135 #ccffcc Final places A A #dfefff 11th–17th places Q11 Q11 30 Aug URS 1955 3–0 LUX 15–1 15–2 15–1 45–4 30 Aug USA 1912 3–0 ISR 15–1 15–4 15–2 45–7 31 Aug ISR 3–0 LUX 15–7 15–5 15–6 45–18 31 Aug URS 1955 3–0 USA 1912 15–7 15–4 15–6 45–17 1 Sep URS 1955 3–0 ISR 15–2 15–2 15–0 45–4 1 Sep USA 1912 3–0 LUX 15–0 15–1 15–1 45–2 Pool B main Volleyball Q points 2 1 complete POL POL 1928 CHN CHN AUT AUT FRG FRG 3 0 9 1 151 53 2 1 7 3 133 72 1 2 3 6 59 107 0 3 0 9 24 135 #ccffcc Final places A A #dfefff 11th–17th places Q11 Q11 30 Aug POL 1928 3–0 FRG 15–0 15–0 15–1 45–1 30 Aug CHN 3–0 AUT 15–1 15–2 15–2 45–5 31 Aug AUT 3–0 FRG 15–10 15–7 15–0 45–17 31 Aug POL 1928 3–1 CHN 17–15 14–16 15–6 15–6 61–43 1 Sep CHN 3–0 FRG 15–1 15–3 15–2 45–6 1 Sep POL 1928 3–0 AUT 15–5 15–3 15–1 45–9 Pool C main Volleyball Q points 2 1 complete TCH TCH NED NED BEL BEL 2 0 6 0 90 13 1 1 3 3 52 67 0 2 0 6 28 90 #ccffcc Final places A A #dfefff 11th–17th places Q11 30 Aug TCH 3–0 BEL 15–1 15–1 15–4 45–6 31 Aug NED 3–0 BEL 15–10 15–7 15–5 45–22 1 Sep TCH 3–0 NED 15–3 15–4 15–0 45–7 Pool D main Volleyball Q points 2 1 complete BUL BUL 1946 GDR GDR 1949 FRA FRA 2 0 6 1 104 59 1 1 3 3 66 81 0 2 1 6 74 104 #ccffcc Final places A A #dfefff 11th–17th places Q11 30 Aug GDR 1949 3–0 FRA 15–13 15–11 15–12 45–36 31 Aug BUL 1946 3–1 FRA 15–3 15–8 14–16 15–11 59–38 1 Sep BUL 1946 3–0 GDR 1949 15–7 15–7 15–7 45–21 Pool E main Volleyball Q points 2 1 complete ROU ROU 1952 PRK PRK BRA BRA 1889 2 0 6 0 92 54 1 1 3 4 88 78 0 2 1 6 55 103 #ccffcc Final places A A #dfefff 11th–17th places Q11 30 Aug PRK 3–1 BRA 1889 15–6 11–15 15–3 15–9 56–33 31 Aug ROU 1952 3–0 BRA 1889 17–15 15–4 15–3 47–22 1 Sep ROU 1952 3–0 PRK 15–11 15–11 15–10 45–32 Final round The results and the points of the matches between the same teams that were already played during the first round are taken into account for the final round. In the group for the 11th–17th places, Brazil — beaten twice in the first round — found their level and won all six of their placement matches, dropping only a single set, to the hosts, en route to eleventh place. France won their other five matches to finish twelfth, Belgium took thirteenth place and Luxembourg ended the tournament winless in seventeenth. The ten-team group for the final places quickly developed into a contest between the Soviet Union and Romania. The decisive encounter came on 6 September: Romania took the first two sets 15–12 and 15–11 and stood one set from a victory that would have put them in control of the title race, but the defending champions responded by taking the next three sets 15–6, 15–12 and 15–8 to complete a 3–2 comeback. It proved to be the only defeat Romania suffered in Paris; they recovered to win five-set matches against Bulgaria, Poland and Czechoslovakia on three consecutive days (8–10 September) and closed the tournament with an 8–1 record and the silver medal, their best result at a World Championship. The bronze medal was decided by fine margins. Poland and Czechoslovakia both finished with records of six wins and three defeats, and Poland's 3–2 victory in their head-to-head meeting on 3 September — a match in which the two sides scored exactly 63 points each, Poland prevailing 16–14 in the fifth set — proved decisive. Bulgaria took fifth place, ahead of debutants China in sixth and North Korea in seventh; China were the only side besides Romania to beat the United States in five sets, and the sixth-place finish began a long association between the Chinese team and the heights of the world game. East Germany placed eighth, the United States ninth and the Netherlands, winless in nine final-round matches, tenth. The Soviet Union completed their programme on 12 September with a 3–0 win over Czechoslovakia to seal a perfect record of nine victories in the final round; only Romania and Poland (in a 3–1 defeat on 11 September) managed to take a set from the champions all tournament. 11th–17th places main Volleyball Q points 2 1 complete 11 BRA BRA 1889 FRA FRA BEL BEL ISR ISR AUT AUT FRG FRG LUX LUX 6 0 18 1 286 100 5 1 16 3 275 129 4 2 12 7 233 206 3 3 10 10 215 216 2 4 7 12 183 227 1 5 3 16 132 274 0 6 1 18 108 280 2 Sep BEL 3–1 ISR 15–9 17–15 5–15 15–11 52–50 2 Sep FRA 3–0 LUX 15–1 15–0 15–1 45–2 2 Sep BRA 1889 3–0 FRG 15–1 15–0 15–4 45–5 3 Sep FRA 3–0 AUT 15–6 15–6 15–4 45–16 3 Sep BEL 3–0 FRG 15–10 15–2 15–8 45–20 3 Sep BRA 1889 3–0 LUX 15–1 15–1 15–0 45–2 5 Sep ISR 3–0 FRG 15–11 15–7 15–3 45–21 5 Sep BEL 3–0 LUX 15–0 15–8 15–5 45–13 5 Sep BRA 1889 3–0 AUT 15–0 15–6 15–3 45–9 6 Sep BEL 3–0 AUT 15–6 15–13 16–14 46–33 6 Sep BRA 1889 3–1 FRA 15–13 17–15 14–16 15–6 61–50 8 Sep FRA 3–0 BEL 15–7 15–8 15–6 45–21 8 Sep FRG 3–1 LUX 15–5 15–13 7–15 18–16 55–49 8 Sep ISR 3–1 AUT 5–15 15–3 15–8 15–9 50–35 9 Sep FRA 3–0 ISR 15–2 15–11 15–2 45–15 9 Sep BRA 1889 3–0 BEL 15–5 15–10 15–9 45–24 10 Sep AUT 3–0 LUX 15–3 15–9 15–12 45–24 10 Sep BRA 1889 3–0 ISR 15–5 15–3 15–2 45–10 10 Sep FRA 3–0 FRG 15–4 15–5 15–5 45–14 Final places main Volleyball Q points 2 1 complete URS URS 1955 ROU ROU 1952 POL POL 1928 TCH TCH BUL BUL 1946 CHN CHN PRK PRK GDR GDR 1949 USA USA 1912 NED NED 9 0 27 2 439 218 8 1 26 11 510 382 6 3 22 13 461 386 6 3 22 10 423 285 5 4 18 14 390 359 3 6 14 21 366 446 3 6 10 23 368 434 3 6 13 21 337 451 2 7 11 23 329 448 0 9 3 27 222 436 2 Sep USA 1912 3–0 NED 15–3 15–6 15–9 45–18 2 Sep TCH 3–1 BUL 1946 15–3 7–15 15–12 15–12 52–42 2 Sep GDR 1949 3–1 POL 1928 15–12 15–12 13–15 16–14 59–53 2 Sep URS 1955 3–0 CHN 15–8 15–0 15–9 45–17 3 Sep POL 1928 3–2 TCH 10–15 15–6 15–13 7–15 16–14 63–63 3 Sep ROU 1952 3–0 GDR 1949 15–6 16–14 15–7 46–27 3 Sep PRK 3–1 NED 15–5 15–12 9–15 15–8 54–40 3 Sep BUL 1946 3–1 CHN 8–15 15–5 15–5 15–12 53–37 5 Sep URS 1955 3–0 PRK 15–6 15–6 17–15 47–27 5 Sep BUL 1946 3–1 USA 1912 15–3 15–17 15–5 15–5 60–30 5 Sep TCH 3–0 GDR 1949 15–5 15–7 15–5 45–17 5 Sep ROU 1952 3–0 NED 15–6 15–10 15–5 45–21 6 Sep POL 1928 3–0 USA 1912 15–4 15–10 15–6 45–20 6 Sep GDR 1949 3–1 NED 15–9 15–9 10–15 15–6 55–39 6 Sep URS 1955 3–2 ROU 1952 12–15 11–15 15–6 15–12 15–8 68–56 6 Sep BUL 1946 3–0 PRK 15–9 15–13 15–9 45–31 6 Sep TCH 3–0 CHN 15–0 15–2 15–4 45–6 8 Sep POL 1928 3–1 PRK 14–16 15–8 15–10 15–4 59–38 8 Sep URS 1955 3–0 NED 15–2 15–4 15–3 45–9 8 Sep TCH 3–0 USA 1912 15–5 15–10 15–3 45–18 8 Sep ROU 1952 3–2 BUL 1946 10–15 13–15 15–9 15–9 15–8 68–56 8 Sep CHN 3–2 GDR 1949 15–1 4–15 14–16 15–9 15–10 63–51 9 Sep TCH 3–0 PRK 15–3 15–13 15–5 45–21 9 Sep URS 1955 3–0 GDR 1949 15–1 15–3 15–1 45–5 9 Sep USA 1912 3–2 CHN 10–15 10–15 15–12 15–8 15–9 65–59 9 Sep BUL 1946 3–0 NED 15–11 15–7 15–12 45–30 9 Sep ROU 1952 3–2 POL 1928 15–11 12–15 15–4 13–15 16–14 71–59 10 Sep ROU 1952 3–2 TCH 10–15 11–15 15–6 15–8 15–13 66–57 10 Sep CHN 3–0 PRK 16–14 15–10 15–12 46–36 10 Sep URS 1955 3–0 BUL 1946 15–13 15–7 15–10 45–30 10 Sep GDR 1949 3–1 USA 1912 15–13 16–14 7–15 15–10 53–52 10 Sep POL 1928 3–0 NED 15–9 15–3 15–12 45–24 11 Sep PRK 3–2 USA 1912 15–13 15–3 7–15 14–16 15–11 66–58 11 Sep ROU 1952 3–1 CHN 15–8 15–8 11–15 15–7 56–38 11 Sep URS 1955 3–1 POL 1928 15–4 9–15 15–6 15–6 54–31 12 Sep POL 1928 3–0 BUL 1946 15–3 15–9 15–2 45–14 12 Sep ROU 1952 3–1 USA 1912 12–15 15–2 15–4 15–3 57–24 12 Sep PRK 3–2 GDR 1949 15–5 5–15 13–15 15–8 15–6 63–49 12 Sep CHN 3–1 NED 15–3 15–11 12–15 15–5 57–34 12 Sep URS 1955 3–0 TCH 15–13 15–8 15–5 45–26 Final standing Rank Team URS 1955 ROU 1952 POL 1928 4 TCH 5 BUL 1946 6 CHN 7 PRK 8 GDR 1949 9 USA 1912 10 NED 11 BRA 1889 12 FRA 13 BEL 14 ISR 15 AUT 16 FRG 17 LUX vbw 1956 Women's World champions URS 2nd 1955 Team roster Lidia Boldireva, Ludmila Buldakova, Aleksandra Tschudina, Skaidra Galachova, Kira Gorbachova, Sofia Gorbunova, Lidia Ivanetskaya, Militia Kononova, Lidia Kalenjik, Ludmila Metscheryakova, Antonina Moiseyeva, Lidia Strelnikova, Valentina Varkevitsch Head coach Alexey Yakushev Aftermath The Soviet Union retained the title at the next championship in Brazil in 1960, completing a hat-trick of world crowns before their run of dominance was ended by the rise of Japan, champions in 1962. Captain Aleksandra Chudina was part of all three Soviet title-winning teams (1952, 1956 and 1960), making her one of the most decorated players of the era in addition to her achievements in track and field athletics. The Paris tournament also proved significant off the court. With 17 women's teams and 24 men's teams drawn from four continents, the 1956 championships demonstrated the sport's international breadth shortly after the FIVB's first decade, and the following year — to the day, almost, of the anniversary of the tournament — the IOC voted at its session in Sofia to add volleyball to the Olympic programme for Tokyo 1964. Several of the debutant nations of 1956 went on to shape the future of the women's game: China, sixth in Paris, would win back-to-back world titles in 1982 and 1986, while Brazil, eleventh on their first appearance, later became perennial contenders for the title. References External links FIVB Results Results – todor66 ResultsOctober 2009 WebCiteBOT Federation Internationale de Volleyball Fivb Women's World Championship Fivb Women's World Championship 1956 1956 Fivb Women's Volleyball World Championship Fivb Women's World Championship 1956 Fivb World Championship 1956 Fivb Women's Volleyball World Championship Fivb Women's Volleyball World Championship Fivb Women's Volleyball World Championship Fivb Women's Volleyball World Championship 1956