19/07/2012 23:00
London Beach Volleyball Pools drawn in Klagenfurt
2012 Olympic Games
Klagenfurt, Austria, July 19, 2012. For 24 men and women Beach Volleyball teams the road to the London 2012 Olympic Games got considerably closer Thursday with the drawing of lots to determine the six pool play groups held at the 2012 FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH World Tour A1Grand Slam presented by ERGO in Klagenfurt, Austria.
The tandems were split equally into six pools, playing each team in their group, with the top two advancing to the single-elimination knockout phase along with the two best third-placed teams. The remaining four third-placed teams will then compete in playoff matches to determine which pairs will fill the final two places in the first round.
With the pool designations determined, the actual day-by-day match schedule for pool play will be released by the FIVB and LOCOG by Monday. The FIVB and LOCOG are looking to maximize the television exposure taking into consideration the interests of the TV rights holders worldwide for the participating countries and determine the competition schedule accordingly.
Sixteen teams have qualified for the Games through the Olympic Ranking, with five more joining as winners of the AVC, CAVB, CEV, CSV and NORCECA Continental Cup Finals and two from the World Cup Olympic Qualification Tournament. Great Britain has also been granted a berth as hosts.
With many of the 2012 Olympic duos in both genders on hand for the festivities that were held in the spacious VIP building at the Klagenfurt stadium center court, among the dignitaries participating in the drawing that was televised live throughout Austria and streamed worldwide on the FIVB website, was Portugal’s Vicente Araujo, FIVB Executive Vice-President.
“It is a privilege for the FIVB to be able to have this prestigious Olympic drawing here in Klagenfurt, Austria, one of the most popular events on the FIVB SWATCH World Tour for the past 16 years” he said. In this Olympic cycle we have implemented a new formula with teams qualifying from the Olympic ranking, the Continental Cup and the World Cup process and we have teams from all five continents and 142 nations were actively involved in the process. We anticipate another incredible Olympic competition in Beach Volleyball, one that reflects even more the growing strength of our sport in the world arena”.
One of the other principal speakers was Bobby Clarke, the LOCOG Volleyball Manager. Clarke said: “It’s great to have this special Olympic drawing in Klagenfurt which has such a rich history on the world tour. In London, we have the hottest ticket in the Olympic Games and the most iconic venue of all in Horse Guards Parade. When you mention the venue, people automatically start talking about Beach Volleyball. We are looking forward to hosting these amazing athletes for this ultimate international competition”.
Great Britain is seeded no.6 in the Olympic Ranking with the rest of the teams seeded based on the Olympic ranking, Beach Volleyball Continental Cup Final results and the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Cup Olympic Qualification results.
The no.1–no.6 seeding positions were fixed taking into consideration the host country team’s seeding (no.6) and the Olympic ranking. The remaining teams were seeded following the serpentine path through five draws, according to the FIVB regulations.
The sold-out Beach Volleyball competition at the 2012 London Olympic Games will be held July 28-August 9 in a purpose-built 15,000-seat stadium on the grounds of the iconic Horse Guards Parade in central London.
Click here for detailed results of the DOL
|