Press release

London, Great Britain, August 8, 2011 - Former world champions Jennifer Kessy and April Ross of USA have drawn Canadian pair Kacie MacTavish and Julie Rodrigue, Mari-Liis Graumann and Anu Ennok of Estonia and Josephine Nammanda and Alice Gitta Okecho from Uganda in their pool after the drawing of lots of the Visa FIVB Beach Volleyball International, the test event for the London 2012 Olympics, was held on Monday at the inspirational Horse Guards Parade.

The third seeds are the biggest names on the court having won the 2009 World Championships, but were knocked out in the quarterfinals of held in June’s FIVB Swatch Beach Volleyball World Championships Rome 2011 powered by smart. They will now be out to lay down a marker 12 months from the start of London 2012.

Visa FIVB Beach Volleyball International
London, Great Britain | August 9-14
Olympic Test Event: Women

Second seeds Chen Xue and Xi Zhang also know what it takes to finish on the podium at a major championships. The Chinese pair took bronze at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and finished third at the 2011 World Championships. They meet Vanauatu's Miller Elwin and Linline Matauatu, Greece's Christina Roubanis and Joanna Papageorgiou and Netherlands duo Jolien Sinnema and Margo Wiltens.

Home favourites Shauna Mullin and Zara Dampney face a tough test to live up to their status as the number one seeds and must see off China's Fan Wang and Yuanyuan Ma, Yarleen Santiago and Dariam Acevedo of Puerto Rico and the Australian pair Taliqua Clancy and Eliza Hynes to reach the knockout stages unbeaten.

Vivian Danielle da Conceicao and Taiana Lima are seeded fourth and will be Brazil's main hope of finishing with the gold medal. They have been grouped with Denise Johns and Lucy Boulton of Great Britain, Canada's Jamie Lyn Broder and Ashley Voth and the United States' Tealle Hunkus and Heather Lowe.

Also in the draw is four-time Olympian Natalie Cook, one half of the Australian pair that won gold at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. She teams up with Tamsin Hinchely and the pair are seeded seventh. 

The Visa FIVB Beach Volleyball International features a total of 24 teams and to simulate the 2012 Olympic Games in 12 months time, the FIVB Technical Ranking was used to define the 16 highest ranked teams. The team with the lowest technical ranking points from each continent were determined as Continental Cup winners while the next two lowest teams on the FIVB Technical Ranking were determined as World Cup Olympic Qualification winners.

The host country was seeded first in accordance with FIVB regulations which state that the best host country team is seeded 1 if they feature in the top six (from participating teams) on the FIVB Technical Ranking.

Visa FIVB Beach Volleyball International starts on Tuesday at 10:00 (local time) with 12 matches per day on centre court with the pool play action continuing until Thursday before the Round of 16 on Friday before the quarterfinals on Saturday and semifinals and finals on Sunday.