Volleyball Australia president Craig Carracher says he expects Australia to medal at least once in the beach volleyball at this year's Rio Olympics.
Australia's biggest hope lies in the top-ranked women's team of London 2012 Olympian Louise Bawden and partner Taliqua Clancy.
The pair's current provisional Olympic ranking is sixth, meaning they are almost guaranteed the top 15 ranking required to book a Rio berth.
There are also a number of other teams hoping to get the nod via the Asian Continental qualifiers, to be played at a yet-to-be-confirmed Australian beach in June.
They include the country's second highest-ranked women's team of Nicole Laird and Mariafe Artacho del Solar, who were at Sydney's Manly Beach on Monday to launch March's inaugural Vollyfest event.
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Isaac Kapa and Chris McHugh are currently the highest-ranked men's team, but their Olympic preparations have been hampered by injuries.
"We're very hopeful," Carracher said of Australia's chances.
"We're expecting a medal in 2016, that's how confident we are.
"Our top women's team are doing incredibly well on the world tour.
"They're about to embark on that campaign.
"Our second team we are very excited about.
"They're a young, challenging team in the same way (Sydney gold medallists) Kerri Pottharst and Natalie Cook were in the year 2000."
Veteran Pottharst likes whet she has seen of the latest crop of talent, though wondered if the real pressure was still yet to hit some of the less-experienced athletes.
"I think in the next few months as they get closer to June, when they're going to actually have to be playing in Australia for that Olympic spot to qualify, that's when the stress levels and anxiety starts to come to the surface," she said.
"At that time they'll really start to feel it."
Organisers say the Manly Volleyfest will be the biggest beach volleyball event in Australia since the Sydney Olympics.
Over three weekends starting on March 18, the Sydney beach will host the Australian beach volleyball tour finals, the inaugural 4 Nations Cup and the Asian Volleyball Confederation beach volleyball championships.
