Following publication of the final Olympic ranking by the FIVB, we now know which 16 countries per gender will have one last opportunity to fulfil their Olympic dream by contesting the upcoming CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup Final! The last and all-important stage of the competition will run from June 23 to 26 in The Hague (Netherlands), with the eventual winners securing one quota place for their NF/NOC to compete at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
As per the relevant regulations, countries that have already qualified two teams for Tokyo 2020 according to the latest Olympic ranking will not compete in The Hague – as they have taken the maximum number of available spots per NOC to compete at the Olympics. This rule applies to Italy and Poland in the men’s competition, as well as to Germany and Switzerland in the women’s event.
Their respective spots are re-allocated as per the competition parameters to countries not qualified from the previously contested Phase 2 tournaments. Therefore, Estonia and Serbia replace Italy and Poland in the men’s CEV Continental Cup Final, with Cyprus and Estonia taking the spots left vacant by Switzerland and Germany in the women’s competition.
The teams will find out what the next step of their #RoadToTokyo journey looks like following the Drawing of Lots, which is due to take place this coming Wednesday, June 16, in The Hague at 16:30 CEST. Live streaming of the event will be available on the CEV’s official YouTube channel and Facebook page.
The Hague will be hosting the third edition of the CEV Continental Cup Final – following on the event held back in 2016 in Stavanger (Norway). Four years earlier, Moscow (Russia) and Alanya (Turkey) hosted the women’s and men’s finals, respectively.
The Netherlands will be trying to exploit the home-court advantage to repeat their success from 2016 when their women’s team won the Continental Cup – and Sophie van Gestel/Jantine van der Vlist eventually booked a trip to Rio de Janeiro. Back then, Austria won the men’s event, with Alexander Huber/Robin Seidl eventually flying to Copacabana, where they finished the Beach Volleyball competition in joint ninth place.
For further information, visit the official event website https://beachroadtotokyo.cev.eu/en/.
