Points For Dummies
Updated: May 10, 2023
Points, Points, Points
I never thought I would have to read up on this many rule changes. Just when I finally understand everything… something changes. I will do my best to understand it and explain it to you! Here we go!
FIVB - (*International tournaments are the only events that count toward our Olympic qualification process*)
FIVB is the main focus for us. Our ultimate goal is the Olympics and we have to prioritize that! For everyone that is sad about us missing AVP events… we are too! Trust us, a 3-hour flight is preferred to the 12-hour flights! The FIVB entry points are made up of the top 3 of your last 4 competitions internationally. The Olympic Qualification points began in January 2023 and ends in June 2024. Within that 18 months, the top 12 results will be counted towards qualification, doesn’t matter the order, think of it as filling slots of events. It's mandatory to compete in at least 12, after you fill those 12 slots only your lowest scores will be replaced by higher finishes!
In order to qualify for World Championships (October 2023), you must be in the top 250 in the world and top 4 in the US from February, 21 2023-August 21, 2023 in ranking points (top 6 points overall, again, think 6 slots to fill with as many points in 6 events in the time period). Similar to the Olympic qualification process, you can have more than 6 events and only the lowest result will keep getting replaced. There are only 48 slots open to the entire world of beach volleyball for the World Championships and each country is only allowed 4 teams at most, unless you are hosting the event (Mexico), you are allowed to have 6 teams per gender if they qualify.
Why are world championships important? They offer the most points for a tournament due to the crazy high competition! Winning World Championships awards you 1,600 points as a team, the highest number of points you can receive in an Elite 16 tournament is 1,200 points. Every point matters! Oh, I forgot your country also gets an auto bid to the Olympics if you win World Championships! In a nutshell, it is a very important event and everyone would like to go and do well!
AVP (domestic tournaments don’t count for seeding of FIVB tournaments; however, the FIVB tournaments are factored into the AVP seeding due to the heavy number of teams playing internationally during this Olympic Qualification year)
AVP has made a slight change. As you can imagine, it is challenging to appropriately distribute points based on international and domestic events, and then add in the fact that both of those tours have 3 different levels of competition… it’s tough! The AVP ranking is your top 4 finishes in the eligible window. The window is the 6 most recent Gold and Pro series offered! Also, the window is the same for everyone regardless of which tournaments teams play in or not. The current eligible window is: September 4th-present.
More explanation/details below
There are 3 different point systems in which we are ranked. Trust us, we don’t like it either. It’s a lot to track and understand, but we must live with it.
1. FIVB points
2. AVP points
3. USAV points
FIVB: https://fivb.12ndr.at/
AVP: https://www.volleyamerica.com/VA-Beach-Volleyball-Player-Rankings.aspx
USAV: https://usav.seedingpal.com/rankings
FIVB Points:
Important for world ranking
Entrance into international tournaments
Taken into consideration for your AVP ranking (*new this year*)
Point system that is used for Olympic Qualification
USA beach volleyball national team seeding
AVP Points:
Used for the AVP only
Very important this year as there are no more qualifiers the day before, for the GOLD series and PRO series – the top 10 teams are automatically in the main draw
The other teams will come from AVP Next Events and other tournaments in which the winners will receive a bid into the Main Draw
The only tournament in which there will still be a qualifier held at the sight the day before is the Manhattan Beach Open in California.
USA Points:
Based on your AVP finishes
This is critical for Norceca events
Norceca events are also international events – there are different levels with this
Disclaimer: The points are NOT cumulative.
The FIVB and the AVP have different regulations listed below.
FIVB
Adds up the best 3-point finishes of your last 4 international tournaments.
AVP
Top 4 finishes in the eligible window. The window is the 6 most recent Gold and Pro series offered and is the same for everyone regardless of which tournaments you play in.
Includes AVP & FIVB finishes
Does not include Tour finishes or AVP Next finishes if it hurts you
Tournament levels from greatest to least number of points available:
International
Elite 16, Challenger, Future, NORCECA
AVP Levels
Gold Series, Pro Series, Tour Series, AVP Next, AVP America
Personal Example:
International: 2,760 points
Our last 4 tournaments
1. Uberlandia - Elite 16 - 1st Place - 1200 points (counted in points)
2. Tepic - Elite 16 - 9th Place - 600 points
3. La Paz - Challenge - 1st Place - 800 points (counted in points)
4. Doha - Elite 16 - 5th Place - 760 points (counted in points)
AVP: 9,088 points
Last tournaments in the window
Uberlandia Elite 16 - 1st place - 2,572 points (counted in points)
New Orleans Pro Series - 3rd place - 1,990 points (counted in points)
Tepic Elite 16 - 9th place - 1,891 points
La Paz Challenge – 1st place – 2,205 points (counted in points)
Doha Elite 16 – 5th place – 1,891 points
Torquay Elite 16 – 4th place – 1,990 points
Cape Town Elite 16 -5th place – 1,891 points
Paris Elite 16 – 5th place – 1,891 points
Chicago Gold Series - 1st Place - 2,321 points (counted in points)
Internationally:
Internationally, when the entry list for the tournament comes out each player on the team is listed along with their individual points, combined entry points, and combined technical points. Entry are your points when the entry list comes out 28 days before. Technical points are how many points you have now – used for seeding. However, you can’t move in or out of the main draw or the qualifier.
Example: Even if we would have won 2,000 points in Australia – we would have still be in the qualifier for Brazil.
When do the lists come out?
28 days before the start of the qualifier tournament the entry list comes out in the form of an email.
At this point the entry points are set and that determines who is in the main draw, qualifier, and reserve list. There are lots of teams that sign up for everything and then drop if they decide they do not want to play.
You are allowed to drop from the tournament 21 days before the tournament start without a fine.
However, if there is a medical concern, you can drop less than 21 days before with a medical note & travel plans
There are 3 FIVB tournament levels
Future
Automatically into the Main Draw- 12 teams
Qualifier- 16 teams (4 teams advance from qualifier)
Point possibilities – 0-400 (as a team)
~Everything is on your own to pay for~
2. Challenger
Automatically into the Main Draw- 15 teams (One Wild Card Slot is alotted to the host country. If none is given, the next highest ranked team will be automatically into the Main Draw)
Qualifier- 32 teams (8 teams advance from qualifier)
Point Range- 140-800 (as a team)
~Main draw teams are given a hotel room & guaranteed money~
3. Elite 16
Automatically into the Main Draw- 11 teams (One Wild Card Slot is alotted to the host country. If none is given, the next highest ranked team will be automatically into the Main Draw)
Qualifier- 16 teams (4 teams advance from qualifier)
Point Range- 320-1200 (as a team)
~Main draw teams are given a hotel & guaranteed money~
International Deadlines
There is a time frame in which you must sign up for the international tournament through the USA volleyball website. This is something that we are constantly checking as different tournaments pop up, the dates change or the locations are announced in a vague manner. For example: at the end of the year there are two tournaments with the location of… wait for it
Asia.
Good luck planning that one! 😁
If you have any additional questions, please shoot us a message via our Contact Us page.
By: Taryn Kloth
