NaBUru38

The Olympics volleyball tournament qualifying format was changed for the worst for 2024. The continental guarantee is based on world rankings, not continental qualifiers.

Hi folks! I have written quite a lot here complaining about bad qualifying systems for the Olympics and World Cups in different team sports. I wanted to make a centralized thread to discuss it. Of course, each team sport has its particularities. Rugby union matches require 5 days of rest, whereas a full 16-team rugby sevens tournament can be played in two days. Some sports have more worldwide parity (like football) while others have strongholds (like handball). And of course some tournaments have more teams than others. The first problem is using world rankings, which prevent upsets. For example, Brazil and Argentina are at the top of nearly every team sport in South America. When rankings are used, no team has a serious chance of qualifying instead of those two. On the contrary, continental tournaments should be mandatory. The worst offender is volleyball, whose Olympic tournaments will have 5 teams directly from the world rankings. A related second problem is using world qualifiers to award most if not all spots. This causes some problems: drawing can help some teams and punish others despite seeding, and some continents may get squeezed out. I'm fine with using world competitions (be it previous World Cups or Olympics, world qualifiers or world repechages) to set a few teams, but not most of them. For example, the Olympics field hockey and women's basketball feature no continental qualifiers at all. The gold standard is football, which features very few repechage spots. Another excellent example is rugby sevens. The 2024 Olympic men's basketball qualifying is complex and could be improved in many ways, but is not strictly bad.

The FIVB announced to expand both World Championships to 32 teams. https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1129267/fivb-expands-volleyball-world-champs

The FIVB qualifying systems are simply awful.

Déborah Rodríguez won Uruguay's seventh gold medal at the 800 m run with 2'08.14. The men's handball team was bronze, their best result since 2006 (though Brazil did not enter). The women's team was 5th. In total, Uruguay got a total 40 medals, the fourth best results in 12 editions. https://www.futbol.com.uy/Deportes/Juegos-Odesur-Las-medallas-los-logros-y-lo-conseguido-por-Uruguay-en-la-cita-Asuncion-uc835426 https://www.futbol.com.uy/Deportes/Uruguay-cosecho-40-medallas-en-los-Juegos-Odesur--como-quedo-en-el-medallero--uc835432

Déborah Rodríguez won Uruguay's seventh gold medal at the 800 m run with 2'08.14. The men's handball team was bronze, their best result since 2006 (though Brazil did not enter). The women's team was 5th. In total, Uruguay got a total 40 medals, the fourth best results in 12 editions. https://www.futbol.com.uy/Deportes/Juegos-Odesur-Las-medallas-los-logros-y-lo-conseguido-por-Uruguay-en-la-cita-Asuncion-uc835426 https://www.futbol.com.uy/Deportes/Uruguay-cosecho-40-medallas-en-los-Juegos-Odesur--como-quedo-en-el-medallero--uc835432

This weekend: NHRA: Dallas Desert racing: California 300 Rally raid: Africa Eco Race MotoGP: Philip Island British Superbikes: Brands Hatch World Enduro Championship: Zschopau American Flat Track: Volusia Red Bull Straight Rhythm: Huntington Beach

This weekend: Nascar Cup & Xfinity: Las Vegas European Le Mans Series: Algarve British GT, GB3 & GB4: Donington Park French GT4 & F4: Paul Ricard GT Open, TCR Europe, Euroformula Open & Formula Regional European: Barcelona Supercar Challenge: Spa-Francorchamps Super Taikyu: Okayama Turismo Nacional: Trelew Top Race: Resistencia Sportscar Vintage Racing Association: Utah Historic Sportscar Racing: Fall Historics at Road Atlanta Velocity International: Laguna Seca World of Outlaws Sprints: I-80 & Lakeside USAC Silver Crown: Springfield ARCA/CRA Super Series: Winchester 400 Formula D: Irwindale NHRA: Dallas Desert racing: California 300 Rally raid: Africa Eco Race

I would also make as many mixed team events as possible. So first of all I would add more mixed team relays. Tennis, badminton and ping pong would be played with a Sudirman Cup-style format, with a singles tournament and a doubles tournament. Team sports would be played on four quarters (two for each sex), or a best of seven sets (with the last set switching teams every 2 minutes).

The Summer Olympics are too large. I would split them into Outdoor (truly summer) and Indoor (autumn?), held in different countries. Outdoor Olympics: athletics, triathlon, road cycling, mountain biking, BMX, open waters swimming, kayaking, rowing, sailing, football, rugby, tennis, golf, field lacrosse, field hockey, beach volley, beach soccer, equestrian, archery, surfing, water skiing, wakeboarding, skateboarding, climbing. Indoor Olympics: indoor athletics, track cycling, gymnastics, pool swimming, diving, futsal, basketball, indoor volleyball, indoor hockey, indoor lacrosse, indoor tennis, ping pong, squash, weightlifting, boxing, karate, judo, taekwondo, ju-jitsu, fencing, wrestling, billiards, bowling.

Two weeks left

In other news, the South American games medallists will earn money: $UY 60,000 (US$ 1,500) for a gold, $UY 20,000 for a silver, and $UY 12,000 for a bronze. Teams will share twice the money (so $UY 13,000 each for the 8+1 rowing gold team). The current 33 medals are worth $UY 1.3 million (US$ 32,000).

More South American games: The Uruguay women's football team got the silver medal, after defeating Argentina 5-1 (!!!) and Colombia 2-0, then winning over Venezuela on penalty shootouts. Brazil didn't enter, but it's an unprecedented result anyway. The Uruguay men's football team was fourth (Brazil also didn't enter). The Uruguay women's hockey team got the bronze, after losing to Argentina 1-0 and drawing Chile 0-0 (they went to the final with a higher aggregate goals). Uruguay now has 6 gold medals (all in rowing), 13 silvers and 14 bronzes, for a total 33 medals.

The Uruguay women's football team got the silver medal, after defeating Argentina 5-1 (!!!) and Colombia 2-0, then winning over Venezuela on penalty shootouts. Brazil didn't enter, but it's an unprecedented result anyway. The Uruguay men's football team was fourth (Brazil also didn't enter). The Uruguay women's hockey team got the bronze, after losing to Argentina 1-0 and drawing Chile 0-0 (they went to the final with a higher aggregate goals). Uruguay now has 6 gold medals (all in rowing), 13 silvers and 14 bronzes, for a total 33 medals.

At the South American Games, the men's sevens team got the bronze medal. They lost to Chile in the first match, therefore they missed the gold medal match (there's no semifinals...). The women's basketball team also got the bronze medal. It should be noted that Argentina and Brazil did not enter, nevertheless it's an excellent result.

Uruguay's men's sevens team got the bronze medal. They lost to Chile in the first match, therefore they missed the gold medal match (there's no semifinals...). Uruguay's women's basketball team also got the bronze medal. It should be noted that Argentina and Brazil did not enter, nevertheless it's an excellent result.

Uruguay has claimed so far 10 medals in rowing (including 6 golds), plus 9 additional medals (no golds).

If my math is right, some of the 32 teams from the last World Cup Qualifiers will miss the Olympic Pre-Qualifiers. Poland is 13th in the World Rankings, which should help.

Qualification system: https://olympics.com/en/news/how-to-qualify-basketball-paris-2024-qualification-system France does not get a spot as hosts, unlike the men's team. United States gets a spot as the 2022 World Cup champion. The other 11 spots will be awarded through two rounds of qualifiers. The FIBA Women’s Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments ("FWOPQTs", come on!) will feature 22 teams, that's 8 from the Americas and Asia-Pacific, and 6 from Africa, selected according to the continental cups. The top 4 Americas and Asia-Pacific teams and the top 2 African teams will advance to the next round. The FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments ("FWOQTs") will feature 16 teams, that's the 10 teams from the Pre-Qualifiers and six teams from Europe (France and the top 5 from the Eurobasket). The teams will be split in four groups of four teams, where the top 3 from each group will qualify to the Olympics.

Qualification system: https://olympics.com/en/news/how-to-qualify-basketball-paris-2024-qualification-system France gets a spot as hosts, subject for confirmation (should be no big deal). The 2023 World Cup will award 7 spots: 2 from Europe and Americas, and 1 from Africa, Asia and Oceania). The remaining 4 spots will be awarded through two rounds of qualifiers. The FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments ("FOPQTs", seriously?) will feature 40 teams, that's 28 from the World Cup Qualifiers, and 12 from the World Rankings. That's 16 European teams, and 8 from Americas, Asia-Pacific and Africa. The teams will be split in 5 groups of 8 teams each, where each group winner will advance to the next round. My suspicion is that the groups will be continental. FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments ("FOQTs") will feature 24 teams, that's 16 teams from the World Cup, 5 from the Pre-Qualifiers, and one additional World Cup team from the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Africa. The teams will be split in four groups of 6 teams each, where each group winner will qualify to the Olympics.

It's much better than the FIBA Women's World Cup,. which had just 12 teams, and which played a maximum 8 matches each (38 total).

Uruguay has claimed so far 10 medals in rowing (including 6 golds), plus six additional medals.

Thread bump! Uruguay will have a delegation of 326 competitors. https://www.futbol.com.uy/Deportes/Juegos-Odesur-El-deporte-uruguayo-viajara-a-Asuncion-con-la-mayor-delegacion-historica-uc833509

In rwoing, Bruno Cetraro finished 4th at the World Championship, the country's best result ever at the event. In futsal, Peñarol qualified to the Copa Libertadores quarter-finals. They will face Barracas Central, whose former president is the current Argentine football Association President, and has a long history of suspiciously favorable referee decisions. In tennis, the Uruguay men's team lost to China 3-2 for the Davis Cup, and will play Zimbabwe for the World Group II Playoffs in March 2023. Last but not least, Uruguay will have a delegation of 326 competitors at the South American Games. https://www.futbol.com.uy/Deportes/Juegos-Odesur-El-deporte-uruguayo-viajara-a-Asuncion-con-la-mayor-delegacion-historica-uc833509

The Golden Charrúa goes to Federico Valverde (football). The Silver Charrúas go to: Hernán Umpierre & Fernando Diz (sailing) Matías Otero (rowing) Anibal Lavandeira (ultra trail) Nicole Frank (swimming) https://www.futbol.com.uy/Deportes/Federico-Valverde-fue-elegido-como-el-Charrua-de-Oro-al-mejor-deportista-2021-2022-uc832962