CAZOVA prepares for Beach Volleyball Olympic qualifier

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, December 14, 2010 - History will be made as Trinidad and Tobago prepares to host the Caribbean Zonal Phase of the NORCECA qualifier for the London 2012 Olympic Games beach volleyball event.

The games kick off from December 17-19 at Saith Park Beach Volleyball facilities in Chaguanas and will see sixteen teams of each gender from 8 countries in the Caribbean Zone –Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Curacao, Jamaica, Suriname, US Virgin Islands and hosts Trinidad and Tobago. Each country will have two male and two female teams representing at the tournament. The tournament will also have a new game format using a best-of-five system with seeding from the NORCECA ranking.

This zonal phase is part of The Continental Beach Volleyball Cup, the new qualification system for the London 2012 Olympic Games which began in October 2010. This new system is based on National Federations (country versus country) rather than individual two-man and two-woman teams.

Four teams from this zonal phase of the tournament; the winners and best three runners up will qualify for the Final Phase on June 18-24, 2012. Thereafter, the winner will qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. The second and third placed sides will qualify for the FIVB World Beach Volleyball Cup, earning another chance to secure a place at the Olympics.