Field takes shape to Youth Olympic Games

LAUSANNE, Switzerland, April 14, 2013 – As the clock ticks down until beach volleyball makes its debut at the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, teams around the world have been booking their place at the Games as qualification tournaments reach their conclusions. 

The final NORCECA qualification tournament took place in Puerto Rico over the weekend and two more pairs per gender have now booked their places at Nanjing 2014.

In the boy’s competition Puerto Rican duo Sergio Figueroa and Daniel Rivera and USA’s Louis Richards and Torey DeFalco secured the final two spots for the North and Central American and Caribbean federation.

Lina Bernier and Valeria Cajigas gave the hosts something to cheer when they and Canadian identical twins Megan and Nicole McNamara qualified for the girls’ competition. 

The AVC Asian Confederation also hosted their qualification tournament with six teams per gender ensuring they would be in the plane to China. 

There was victory for two Indonesian teams at the tournament in Thailand; Nanda Ragillia and Maria Dwiningtyas started the ball rolling in the girls’ final before Mohhamad Ashfiya and Licaro Rendy Ferdinan claimed gold in the boys’ competition.

To be eligible for the Youth Olympic Games, athletes must be born between January 1, 1996 and December 31, 1999. 

Nanjing 2014 is the second edition of the Summer Games and will be held from August 16 to 28, 2014 in Nanjing, China. The programme will feature 28 sports, including beach volleyball for the first time. Volleyball was present in Singapore in 2010, when Cuba won the boys’ volleyball gold medal over Argentina, while Belgium defeated the United States to clinch the gold medal in the girls’ competition.

CEV

After the 2013 Zonal Phase a total of 21 National Federations have qualified for the final qualifying tournament with six places per gender up for grabs. 

The CEV Youth Continental Cup Final will take place in coastal resort of Antalya in Turkey from May 15-17. 

In the main draw there will be 18 teams per gender and they will begin with six pools of four teams before advancing to a single elimination phase from which the winners will emerge. 

CSV

Brazil’s boys and girls currently lead South American qualifying following two tournaments, sitting top of the qualifying pools with 400 points apiece. 

There are four more tournaments to come before qualifying is completed; in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Vargas, Venezuela, Peru and Buenos Aires. 

At the end of the four tournaments, the top-six teams qualify for the Youth Olympic Games.

AVC

The Asian confederation wrapped up their qualification process at a tournament at Khanom Beach, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand from April 4-6.

The tournament began with a round-robin pool phase followed by a single elimination format from which the top six national federations per gender will qualify. 

Boys and girls teams representing Kazakhstan, Thailand and Indonesia all qualified, while boys’ teams from Iran, Sri Lanka and New Zealand and girls’ teams from Vietnam, Australia and Chinese Taipei also made it to Nanjing 2014.

CAVB

The African Qualification Tournament is currently running in Ghana, It concludes on April 14 to bring the curtain down on five days of competition. It will take place in conjunction with the first CAVB Continental Referee Delegate Course which took place on April 8 and 9. 

Hosts Ghana have been joined in the tournament by Egypt, Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Namibia, Mauritius, Nigeria, Niger, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

NORCECA

The tournament in Carolina, Puerto Rico was the final NORCECA qualifying tournament and means that the qualifiers break down as follows.

In the girls’ competition teams have qualified from Canada, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago and the United States, while in the boys’ there will be teams from Canada, Guatemala, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St Vincent and the USA.