Twenty-four pairs of competitors were taking part, including one from Great Britain as the host country, and a maximum of two from each other nation. Sixteen qualified through positioning in the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Rankings as of 17 June 2012, five others earned their places at the 2010–12 Continental Beach Volleyball Cup, and the final three from the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Cup Olympic Qualification tournament.[2]
By virtue of the two American pairings winning gold and silver, this marked the second time in Olympic history the top two women's teams were both from the same country, the first being Brazil back in 1996 when the event debuted.
Qualification
Means of qualification
Vacancies
Qualified
FIVB Beach Volleyball Olympic Ranking (as of 17 June 2012)
The composition of the preliminary rounds was announced confirmed on 19 July 2012 in a draw held in Klagenfurt, Austria.[3]
Teams are awarded two points for a win and one for a loss.[4] If two teams are tied at the end of pool play, the tiebreakers is their head-to-head match.[4] If three or more teams are tied, the tiebreakers are (1) points ratio between tied teams, (2) points ratio within pool, and (3) tournament seed.[4] The two best teams from each group advance to the round of 16. The two best third-placed teams also qualify. Two 'lucky loser' matches qualify two more of the third-placed teams.[5]
Of the six teams that are placed third in their pools, two directly qualify for the play-offs. From the four remaining third-placed teams, another two teams qualify for the play-offs by winning a 'lucky loser' match.
This table shows the results of the third placed teams after the pool play, and before the 'lucky loser' matches.
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