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2016-06-02 11:42:00 CET

Olympic beach volleyball qualification for Dummies

Your all-you-need-to-know guide to beach volleyball Olympic qualification

Brazilian pair Alison/Bruno Schmidt have guaranteed their place at the Olympics courtesy of their World Championship win in the Netherlands last year. Photo credit: Samo Vidic.Brazilian pair Alison/Bruno Schmidt have guaranteed their place at the Olympics courtesy of their World Championship win in the Netherlands last year. Photo credit: Samo Vidic.

Very, very soon the world will be talking about the Olympic Games in Rio – and beach volleyball is sure to play a very, very important part of what promises to be another exciting summer.

What’s more we are playing our own glorious role, too. Not only is next week’s smart Hamburg Major the last tournament where Olympic ranking points are up for grabs, but Gstaad Major in July will also host the draw for the Games.

However, have you wondered how our beach volleyball stars actually qualify for the Olympics? Well wonder no more because we have the answers for you.

So behold our Olympic beach volleyball qualification for Dummies® guide:

How many teams will compete at the Olympics? An easy one to start with: 48 in total, 24 men’s teams and 24 women’s teams.

Who qualifies and how? The question on the lips of every beach volleyball aficionado! We’ll guide you through this step-by-step.

Thank you. So Brazil must be assured of a place, right? Absolutely, as hosts Brazil are assured of two places (one men’s team, one women’s team). That leaves 46 spots up for grabs.

And how are those places decided? Here’s where it gets a little bit more complicated. Firstly, the top 15 highest men’s and 15 highest women’s teams in the Olympic Rankings as of 13 June will earn a place in Rio. These teams’ points are based on their performances at the World Championships, on the FIVB World Tour and Continental Tour Finals. Teams, however, must have participated in a minimum of 12 tournaments from 1 January 2015.

How many teams can nations send to the Olympics? In the interest and the spirit of the competition, countries can only send a maximum of two teams per gender to Rio. This is what’s known as the country quota.

So, if the top three nations in the women’s ranking are all Brazilian for example, the third-ranked Brazilian team won’t be competing? Yes. Exactly that. A good example of this can be found in the women’s tournament where four German teams sit in the top 15 – but only two can make it through to Rio.

How else can you qualify? By winning the World Championships. If you’ve won that you automatically get a ticket to Rio regardless of how many ranking points you’ve collected. That’s good news for Brazilians Alison/Bruno and Agatha/Barbara, who won the World Champs in Holland last year.

Brazilians Agatha/Barbara are also guaranteed a place in the Olympics after winning the World Championships. Photo credit: Joerg Mitter.Brazilians Agatha/Barbara are also guaranteed a place in the Olympics after winning the World Championships. Photo credit: Joerg Mitter.

What if you’re a team from the host country, have won the World Champs and are in the top 15? Good question! As two places in the top 15 are already automatically assured of a ticket to Rio, the teams ranked 16th and 17th placed teams are then moved up into qualification.

Okay, so what if you haven’t got enough ranking points on the Tour and haven’t won the World Champs - now what? All is not lost! Step forward the fun games of the Continental Cup!

The what now? There are five federations: AVC – Asia/Australasia, CAVB – Africa, CEV – Europe, CSV – South America and NORCECA – North and Central America/Caribbean. Each continental beach volleyball federation holds its own competition to put forward a nation for the Olympics. And if you’re one of the five continental winners your country will be represented in Brazil.

And what if you don’t win at the Continental Cup? Don’t worry, the Olympic dream still lives on!

Really?! Yep, if you finish second or third in your own federation’s tournament you’re put forward to the FIVB Continental Cup, which takes place in Sochi between 5-10 July, where the second and third placed nations play against each other for one last chance to reach Rio. Only two spaces per gender are up for grabs in this, so if you finished first or second – good news! You’re heading for the Copacabana.

And that’s it? *sigh of relief* Yes!

Well that sounds pretty straight forward. You wish. One last thing…Even if you, as a player, win in the Continental Cup(s) you are still not absolutely guaranteed a place in Rio. Should you triumph via this competition it’s up to the winning national federation to choose exactly which players go forward to represent them at the Games. So you could win the Continental Cup but still not get picked! Harsh, huh?!

You can view the provisional Olympic ranking tables on the FIVB website. Click here for the men’s table and here for the women’s.

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