Click here to enter into the stadium

The players:24 teams of two players, with two teams allowed per country except for the host nation Australia.

The game: Unlike indoor volleyball, points are scored only when the serving teams wins a rally. All non medal marks (including quarterfinals and semifinals) are played to one set only, and the sets are played to 15 points with a margin two points and a ceiling of 17 points- a team can win 16-16 for example.

Medal matches are played to the best of three sets, with the sets played to 12 points.

The Countries:

(Men) Australia, Brazil, Switzerland, Argentina, Canada, USA, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Austria, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Sweden and Mexico.

(Women) Australia, Brazil, USA, Japan, Germany, Italy Netherlands, China, Czech Republic, France, Greece, Cuba, Bulgaria and Mexico.

How the teams are drawn: A total of 48 teams (24 per gender) will be competing for the men's and women's Gold Medals. The women open the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games with 12 elimination matches September 16. The men will play their 12 elimination matches September 17. The medal rounds will be September 25 for the women and September 26 for the men.

To qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, a team had to post a minimum of eight FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour finishes between January 1, 1999 through August 15, 2000. The most teams a nation could qualify for Sydney is two per gender, except host Australia that can be represented by three teams in each competition.