Is there ever a dull moment in the world of beach volleyball? There certainly wasn’t this week. In case you weren’t keeping up, here’s a recap:

1. Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat qualified for the Olympics.

The USA’s No. 2 women’s beach volleyball team mathematically clinched a spot in the Rio beach volleyball field when fellow Americans Emily Day and Jen Kessy failed to advance out of pool play at the Hamburg Major, the final event in the Olympic Qualification Period. Rio will be the first Olympics for both Fendrick and Sweat, who lost in the first round of elimination play in Hamburg to take a 17th.

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2. Puerto Rico announced the creation of a national beach volleyball circuit.

Seven events will take place in July 2017 at the Central American Stadium on Boqueron Beach, offering open and junior divisions.

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3. Mexican duo Juan Virgen and Lombardo Ontiveros earned their Rio berth.

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With defeats of Alvaro Filho and Vitor Felipe of Brazil and Martins Plavins and Haralds Regza of Austria in the elimination rounds of the Hamburg Major, Virgen and Ontiveros climbed into the top 15 of the FIVB Provisional Olympic Rankings. “I am so thankful right now,” Ontiveros said. “Despite the stress of the last month, it has been a wonderful experience to finally reach the ultimate goal in playing in the Olympics for Mexico.”

4. The FIVB announced a new five-star ranking system for its beach volleyball events.

Starting with the 2017 season, FIVB beach volleyball tournaments will receive a star rating between one and five to indicate the strength of competition, with five being the highest level. This structure will replace the “Grand Slam,” “Major” and “Open” distinctions currently used on the tour.

5. Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena won the FIVB Hamburg Major. 

After knocking off world No. 1 team Alison Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt of Brazil in the semifinals and then toppling Robert Meeuwsen and Alex Brouwer of the Netherlands in the gold-medal match, Dalhausser said, “Today we played the best we have played as a team.” The victory helped elevate the top U.S. men’s duo to No 3 in the provisional Olympic rankings.

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