Australian beach volleyballers took an important step towards this year’s Olympic competition, successfully qualifying for the Asian Continental Cup.

Led by long-standing Olympians Natalie Cook, Tamsin Hinchley, Louise Bawden and Josh Slack, the four Australian pairs competing at the Oceania zone qualifying tournament in Mount Mauganui all secured their spots in the Olympic qualifier.

The top three teams in each gender at the zone finals earn the right to compete at the continental championship later this year where the men’s and women’s winner secures a guaranteed spot in the London 2012 Olympic tournament.

Three-time Olympic Slack, his partner Chris McHugh as well as the other men’s pair of Sam Boehm and Isaac Kapa did enough to overcome hosts New Zealand and book their spot.

Earlier, the leading Australian women’s pair of Louis Bawden and Becchara Palmer as well as Cook and Hinchley, were too strong for Vanuatu, winning 3-1 to advance to the next round of Olympic qualification.

Bawden and Palmer are inside the top 16 pairings on the Olympic rankings and may well qualify for the Games before the Continental Cup but four-time Olympian Cook and Hinchley look like they will need to win the Asian tournament to book their spot.