AVC
Attention will then turn to Fuzhou, China for the AVC finals from June 20 to 24 with China, Chinese Taipei, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Australia, Indonesia, India, Japan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Thailand and Vanuatu all vying for a ticket to London in the women’s event while Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Iran, Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka will compete in the men’s tournament. Underdogs in the women’s tournament Vanuatu have discussed at length their Olympic desire, so will be keen to underline their intent. But a huge challenge waits, with a number of fellow FIVB SWATCH World Tour duos also eager to claim top spot.

NORCECA
The NORCECA contest will begin just a day later, running from June 21 to 23 in Mexico for both men and women. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Cuba, Canada and Puerto Rico will join the hosts in the women’s tournament in what is expected to be a thrilling battle. Meanwhile Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Canada, Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico compete on the men’s side.

CEV
Finally, Moscow, Russia will welcome tandems from Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and the home country for the CEV women’s finals from June 22 to 24. The men’s final will be held at the same time with Turkey welcoming Latvia, Austria, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Poland.

FIVB World Cup Olympic Qualification tournament
The winners of the Continental Cup finals earn a place at the London 2012 Olympic Games. However, all is not lost for those finishing second and third as they move on to the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Cup Olympic Qualification tournament, set to take place from June 27 to July 1. The champions and vice-champions from this competition will claim the final berths to the Games, completing the line-up.

Qualified Olympic countries (as of 04/06/12) from Continental Cup

World Cup Olympic Qualification participating countries (as of 04/06/12)

FIVB World Cup Olympic Qualification tournament
The remaining two spots in London will be filled for men and women through the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Cup Olympic Qualification tournament, with the second and third-placed countries from the five Continental Cup finals competing. This will be held in Tortoli, Italy from June 27 to July 1.

Olympic Rankings
The 16 countries to qualify for the Olympic Games via the Olympic rankings are becoming more defined. With the Rome Grand Slam (June 12-17) the last event offering qualification points, the race for Olympic qualification is going down to the wire. For the latest provisional Olympic rankings click here: Women Men

New Olympic Selection Criteria
Only 59 days remain until the beach volleyball competition begins at the iconic Horse Guards Parade in the heart of central London, with action scheduled to take place from July 28 through August 9. With the sport set for its fifth Olympic outing, the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB), the international governing body for both beach volleyball and volleyball, is using a new qualification method for this year’s Olympic Games.

Countries rather than individuals qualify for the Olympics. The 16 highest ranked NOCs/NFs (with a maximum of two teams per NOC/NF) in the Olympic ranking as of June 18, 2012 will qualify for the Olympic Games. The Olympic ranking takes into account the best 12 results on the FIVB SWATCH World Tour from January 1, 2011 to June 17, 2012, the FIVB SWATCH World Championships and the AVC and Europe Continental Finals.

The final determination of teams that will represent each country will be confirmed by the National Olympic Committee and national federation of each qualifying country and announced by July 9. The drawing of lots for pool assignments at the Olympic Games will take place on July 19 during the A1 Grand Slam in Klagenfurt, Austria.

With a quota once again of two teams maximum per gender, per country completing the 24-team fields for each gender, the FIVB announced two years ago that just 16 spots will be filled through the Olympic rankings compared to 24 in the past. These will be based on standings for the 12 best results for each team on the FIVB SWATCH World Tour from the beginning of 2011 through to the conclusion of the Rome Grand Slam on June 17, the FIVB SWATCH World Championships and the AVC and Europe Continental Finals. An additional spot has been given to Great Britain as the host country, while the remaining seven spots will be determined differently than in the past four Olympic Games with the introduction of the FIVB Continental Cup.

FIVB SWATCH World Tour
The 2012 FIVB SWATCH World Tour continues next week with the Moscow Grand Slam from June 6-12 and then the Rome Grand Slam from June 12-17, which concludes the Olympic qualification process. Three Grand Slams in Gstaad, Berlin and Klagenfurt will precede the Olympic Games before the Stare Jablonki Grand Slam, the venue for the 2013 World Championships, and Aland, Agadir and Bang Saen Opens conclude the season.