Qualifying spots for Rio 2016 put the onus on Asian teams
Asia has one guaranteed spot for the Games with HK needing to remain continental champions to get there
Asia is guaranteed at least one spot at the 2016 Olympics in both men's and women's rugby sevens, but regional qualification details are lacking - and that may make all the difference for Hong Kong's Olympic dreams.
Countries would have three qualification chances to make it to the 2016 Games in Rio de Janiero, said Mark Egan, head of competitions and performance at the International Rugby Board.
The four top-ranked teams after the HSBC Sevens World Series in May 2015 will qualify directly as one of the 12 teams heading to the Games. Next, there will be the top teams in each of the six IRB regions. Finally, a repechage will be held for top regional teams that missed out as they battle for the final spots - one if host Brazil automatically qualifies, or two if they don't.
While the IRB hopes the hosts will be included, they will wait to see if the Brazilians can meet certain performance criteria by 2015.
It will be a similar system for the women's game, though there could potentially be more teams directly qualifying from the series than in the regions, according to Egan. "After the World Cup in June we'll have a better picture of the competitiveness of the women's game vis a vis each of the regions."
The IRB is confident its process will see the "universality of the sport represented" at the Games, while making sure the best teams take to the pitch in Rio.