Montevideo, Uruguay, March 9, 2012 – The CSV Women’s Beach Volleyball Continental Cup enters its crucial third phase this weekend when Uruguay hosts Venezuela in a playoff for the right to play Argentina in the competition final with the winner booking a place at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

After a year of action, which saw Brazil*, Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela top the CSV Continental Cup zonal standings, the tournament now enters the business end.

The loser of the final, which is due to take place in Argentina from June 2 to 3, will still have a chance to qualify for the London Olympics, as they will advance to the FIVB World Cup Olympic Qualification Tournament in Italy, which will be held from June. 

Starting on Saturday, Uruguay’s Arenas del Plata Stadium in Montevideo’s Pocitos Resort will host two matches between the two countries before two more on Sunday.

The Uruguay lineup includes Lucia Guigou-Fabiana Gomez (URU1) and Karina Cardozo-Eugenia Nieto (URU2) Karelys Mosquera-Frankelina Rodriguez (VEN1) and Orquidea Vera-Norisbeth Agudo (VEN2) will represent Venezuela.

For Uruguay it will be a great opportunity to consolidate the growing popularity of beach volleyball in the country, where the fans train almost as hard as the players. The fans will gather as “Tribuna Más Grande del Mundo” (the Biggest Tribune in the World) on Facebook and the page already boasts over 1,500 members. The idea is to be highly organized when cheering on the players. There’s also a Uruguayan blog for the Olympic Games. Plans are also in place to bring in buses so that people from all over the country can visit Montevideo for what is being billed as a major sporting event.

Match Schedule:
URU2 Karina Cardozo-Eugenia Nieto v VEN1 Karelys Mosquera-Frankelina Rodriguez
URU1 Lucia Guigou-Fabiana Gomez v VEN2 Orquidea Vera-Norisbeth Agudo
URU2 Karina Cardozo-Eugenia Nieto v VEN2 Orquidea Vera-Norisbeth Agudo
URU1 Lucia Guigou-Fabiana Gomez v VEN1 Karelys Mosquera-Frankelina Rodriguez

* Brazil is not participating in the third phase of the CSV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup due to its current status in the World Ranking