The rally point system was firstly tested in Pordenone, at Cornacchia World Cup 1999
Looking on the La Gazzetta dello Sport archives, we found this article. After a first nice joy in reading on one of the most important newspapers in Italy that “that tournament made famous Leggeri and many other Italian National team players”, we looked further on another small but big detail. La Gazzetta indeed in 1999 wrote: “The 17th Cornacchia International tournament […] will test from the 3rd to the 5th of April in Pordenone, the new rally point system”.
Sure enough, looking at the FIVB Tokyo 1998 deliberation, the Rally Point System, so the rule that brought the old “win the ball to score” on retirement, has been officially included on the rule of the game only on season 1999/2000. As stated on the same deliberation, the first official international competitions with the new rule, has been played from May 1999, while the Pordenone tournament has taken place on April.
Cornacchia, the first International tournament in history to play with the new system
To suggest this change at the Cornacchia World Cup managers, has been Mario Barbiero, to get ready for the new season point system. Coach Barbiero in the following years, has been coach in Pordenone of the Under 19 Italian National Team, speaking on live television about the tournament saying also that the Cornacchia: “Gets bigger and better every year”.
In conclusion, we can say that we have been the first International tournament in history to play with the Rally Point System, that changed volleyball forever making it one of the most spectacular sport in the world.
Cornacchia’s tournament is always ready for new challenges, to modernise, to test, so to know that we have been pioneer of such a revolutionary change, is something that make us really proud.
