London Latest - Torch Relay; Goalball Schedule; Volleyball Qualification

Torch Relay Update

The Olympic Torch Relay covers 138 miles Monday, paying visits to landmarks such as Balmoral Castle, the royal family's Scottish residence.

The flame arrived on the Isle of Lewis late Sunday after covering nearly 30 miles around the Atlantic archipelagos of the ¬Shetland Isles and the Orkneys by air, land and sea.

When the Flame travelled to the Orkneys over the weekend, it reached the most northerly point of the U.K. – around 630 miles away from the Olympic Stadium in London where it will arrive on July 27.

The Flame will finish its journey at Castlegate Square in Aberdeen this evening, where there will be the customary lighting of the cauldron in front of a local audience with entertainment.

Goalball Schedule

LOCOG has revealed the schedule for the goalball competition at the London 2012 Paralympics.

Great Britain’s men will open the tournament Aug. 30 against Beijing 2008 silver medalists Lithuania.

Great Britain’s women will also play that Thursday against China before going on to play Denmark a few days later.

The men’s and women’s competition features 12 and 10 teams, respectively, with matches taking place daily up until the gold medal matches Sept. 7. One significant group match will be USA’s women against Canada on Sept. 4.

Competition will take place at the Copper Box on the Olympic Park. LOCOG were also keen to stress that tickets are still available, costing just $24 with an Olympic Park Day Pass also included ($8 for young people and seniors).

"Goalball has the potential to truly capture the public’s imagination this summer," LOCOG’s Director of Sport Debbie Jevans said in a statement.

"Though not many people in the UK will be familiar with Goalball, the Copper Box is the perfect venue in which to showcase this highly competitive and fast-paced sport, and landmarks such as the competition schedule announcement only help build excitement."

Men’s Olympic Volleyball Teams Confirmed

After the qualification process for men’s volleyball ended June 10, the last four teams to head to London were announced Monday.

Serbia, Australia, Bulgaria and Germany will join Great Britain, Russia, Poland, Brazil, Tunisia, USA, Italy and Argentina to compete in the Games.

This will mark Australia’s third time, Germany’s fourth time, and Bulgaria’s seventh time qualifying for the men’s Olympic tournament.

Rogge on Team Belgium

Jacques Rogge has a modest target for his home country Belgium's Olympic performance.

"Two to four medals would be nice," he was quoted by Katholieke Universiteit Leuven as saying during his speech at the school where he received an honorary degree on June 1.

"There probably won't be much more than that, and this has to do with many factors: the fitness of the Belgian youth is not as it should be, our complex system of sports federations makes for more workload and we spend less money on sports than our neighbors."

Reported in London by Christian Radnedge

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