The FIVB released a provisional schedule of 23 beach volleyball events for 2017 on Tuesday, October 25. Here are six significant things we noticed after perusing the list.

1. Events will now be categorized with a five-star rating system.

Previously, FIVB beach volleyball events were categorized as "Grand Slams," "Opens," and "Majors," and fans and followers of the sports were understandably confused as to what the exact differences were. The new five-star system ranks the highest-profile events of the season (what were previously the Grand Slams, Majors, and World Championship events) as five- or four-star events, while the "Opens" and other developmental events are ranked with one, two, or three stars.

2. The season kicks off in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Fort Lauderdale, the host of the 2015 World Tour Finals, will be the first stop on the 2017 FIVB beach volleyball tour. The five-star event will take place February 7-12 and is the only event in the United States to be confirmed.

3. The World Series of Beach Volleyball, aka the Long Beach Grand Slam, is unconfirmed.

Speaking of confirmed versus unconfirmed events, The World Series of Beach Volleyball, which has been hosted in Long Beach, California, since 2013, is listed under the "Events to be confirmed" header in the FIVB press release. Another five-star event in Rome, Italy, July 7-11, is also as yet unconfirmed.

4. The Swatch Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals will be played earlier in the year than it has been previously.

The FIVB has not yet announced a location for the Swatch Beach Volleyball World Tour Finals, but we do know the dates of the event: August 22-27. This is significantly earlier than the season-ending event has been played the past two years (Sept. 29-Oct. 4, 2015 and Sept. 14-18, 2016).

5. A total of 18 countries will host FIVB events in 2017.

The 18 countries hosting FIVB beach volleyball tournaments in 2017 includes Malaysia, which will be hosting an FIVB beach event for the first time ever (a one-star tournament April 15-16). Iran, despite receiving a significant amount of heat over its refusal to allow female fans to watch male volleyball players compete, will host the Kish Island event for the second consecutive year. China will host the largest number of events, with stop in Xiamen, Fuzhou, and Nanjing.

6. A finalized schedule will be available after the FIVB World Tour Council meets in late November.

The FIVB plans to have a finalized calendar ready for release following the meeting of the FIVB World Tour Council in Lausanne, Switzerland, on November 30, 2016.

>> Click here to see the provisional 2017 FIVB Beach Volleyball Calendar.

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