It was held from 16 to 30 September 2000 in the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Darling Harbour.

In the Preliminary round (first stage), the twelve participants were divided into two pools of six teams.

The Final round was played in a single elimination format, with placement matches determining the top eight positions.

[2] Twelve qualified nations were drawn into two groups, each consisting of six teams.

After a robin-round, the four highest-placed teams in each group advanced to a knock-out round to decide the medals.