The qualification systems for volleyball and beach volleyball at the 2008
Beijing Olympic Games have been confirmed by the International Olympic
Committee.
For Volleyball, the qualification period will start with the FIVB World Cup,
which will be held in Japan in November 2007, whereas the qualification period
for Beach Volleyball will run from Jan 1, 2007.
For volleyball, there are a total of 12 team vacancies for each gender. China
is directly granted one vacancy for each gender as host nation.
The first three vacancies available through qualification will be filled by
the top three teams in each gender at the 2007 World Cup, which will take place
from Nov. 2 2007 until Nov. 16 2007 (women) and Nov. 18, 2007 to Dec. 2 2007
(men). A further five vacancies will be filled by the winners of Continental
Championships organized by each of the five FIVB Confederations over the period
from Dec. 1 2007 to Jan 15 2008.
A minimum of four participating teams is required for such Continental
Championships. The remaining three vacancies for each gender will be decided by
World Olympic Qualification tournaments (1 for women and 3 for men).
These World Olympic Qualification tournaments, to be held before June 8,
2007, will also be used to fill any remaining continental vacancies in the event
that one or more continents do not hold Continental Qualification tournaments.
For beach volleyball, the qualification period runs from Jan 1 2007 to July
20, 2008 with 24 team vacancies available for each gender. By July 21, 2008, the
FIVB will establish an Olympic Ranking based on the best eight performances of
teams in recognized Olympic Qualification tournaments (SWATCH FIVB World Tour
events, SWATCH FIVB World Championships, FIVB recognized Continental
Championship Finals).
Whilst China will automatically qualify as host nation, the top 23 teams from
each gender will qualify for Beijing 2008, subject to a maximum of two teams per
country. In order to respect the universality principle of the Olympic Games, if
a continent does not have any teams qualified after the above procedure is
applied, the 23rd place will be occupied by the highest-ranked eligible team
from the continent in question.
Commenting on the IOC confirmation of the Olympic qualification systems, FIVB
President Rubén Acosta said “For 40 years volleyball has been one of the most
popular and successful of sports on the Olympic program, and over the last ten
years beach volleyball has also been one of the most popular sports at the
Olympic Games. To achieve this, organizing committees and the IOC have always
developed good working relationships with the FIVB, and vice versa.
"IOC Members also appreciate that the FIVB organizes professional volleyball
and beach volleyball in such a way as to guarantee that the very best players
play at the Olympic Games. This brings vast benefits to the IOC and enables the
FIVB to showcase the very best of the two sports which it governs."
The FIVB is the world governing body for volleyball and beach volleyball with
218 affiliated national federations and 35 million registered
players.
