2016-06-24 15:27:00 CET
French and German hopes go up in smoke in Stavanger
We might be in the middle of Majors mania with the Poreč Major and Gstaad Major taking over the headlines but before a ball is served and spiked, there’s Continental Cup action this week.
Yes, the road to Rio might have ended for some teams after our smart Major Hamburg, but the romance of the Continental Cup gives our beach volleyball stars another opportunity to book their flights to Brazil.
Five of the six continental federations play their Continental Cup ties this week and each winning nation will put forward a team for the Olympics.
The African CAVB are all done and dusted – that was taken care of back in April and teams from Tunisia (men) and Egypt (women) celebrated victory which ensures those countries will be represented in Rio.
Of course we’ve told you before that Olympic qualification is far from a piece of cake so. If, however, you’ve read our easy guide you’ll also know that the second and third-placed nations still have one more bite of the Olympic beach volleyball cherry when they enter the Continental Cup in Sochi which takes place between 6th and 10th July in Sochi.
That means men’s teams from Morocco and Angola and women’s teams from Rwanda and Nigeria head to Russia – and they will be joined by all of the second and third placed nations of the five continental federations.
In Europe the CEV competition is taking place in Stavanger, and the women’s competition is hotting up despite some wet and windy conditions in Norway with Holland’s women the first team through to the grand finale.
The big news, however, is that there have been two huge upsets in the men’s competition. Germany’s Kay Matysik and Jonathan Erdmann of Germany, who were denied by countrymen Lars Flüggen and Markus Böckermann at the smart Major Hamburg, were beaten by Mykola Babich and Iaroslav Gordieiev of Ukraine.
Hopes were also high of French duo Youssef Krou and Edouard Rowlandson – but they were dumped out by Russia’s Dmitry Barsouk and Nikita Liamin. That’s the cut-throat nature of the Continental Cup. And just like that your ticket to Rio has been torn to shreds and you’ve got to wait another four years…
Elsewhere around the world, the AVC section – for nations in Asia and Australasia/Oceania – kicks off today (Friday) in Cairns, Australia.
The South American – CSV – tournament will take place at various locations through the continent, while the NORCECA federation – which handles volleyball in North and Central America, are holding their tournament in Acapulco, Mexico.
There’ll be plenty more twists and turns around the globe as the competition reaches its exciting climax over the weekend, so keep your eyes peeled on our website and social media channels for all the latest news.