The 2026 New Zealand U18 Women's Beach Volleyball California Campaign was created with one clear purpose: to provide our young athletes with meaningful international competition and development opportunities.

The team will travel from 26 June to 12 July 2026, representing New Zealand across a series of high level training and competition opportunities in Southern California.

This campaign will see three teams representing New Zealand

Christchurch: Zara McDonnell and Eliza McDonnell

Nelson: Sadie Harwood and Lucia Wood

Auckland: Natalie Campbell and Nadia Letica

Two of these pairs were selected for the 2026 international programme but were unfortunately unable to attend the U18 Asian Championships in Uzbekistan due to geopolitical instability and regional security concerns affecting the area at the time. The third pair is from the previous cycle and, with no international qualification event or overseas competition available to them, were also provided with this opportunity to continue their international development.

Our campaign theme is "Be Bold." It reflects the mindset we want our athletes to embrace every day: stepping outside their comfort zones, backing themselves under pressure, taking opportunities when they arise, and learning through every experience.

California was chosen deliberately. It is one of the homes of beach volleyball and one of the strongest development environments in the world. Our athletes have been preparing throughout the New Zealand winter in their home regions before travelling to California to compete against strong Australian and American opposition in an environment renowned for producing world class beach volleyball athletes.

The competition schedule includes the Spiker Club Tournaments at Huntington Beach, featuring both a traditional pairs event and an exciting 3x3 format. The 3x3 competition will be a completely new experience for our athletes and is structured similarly to the collegiate system, providing another valuable learning opportunity and exposing them to a different style of play and team dynamics.

The campaign's final and pinnacle event is the BVCA National Championships at Hermosa Beach, one of the premier junior beach volleyball events in the United States. The tournament attracts many of the country's top young athletes and provides significant exposure to college coaches and recruiters, giving our athletes the opportunity to compete at a high level while experiencing an elite pathway environment.

This campaign has only been possible because of the incredible relationships and collaboration across the beach volleyball community. Through partnerships and support from Australia's Clovers Beach Volleyball Club and California's Spiker Beach Volleyball Club, an ambitious international programme was able to come together within a very short timeframe.

Behind the scenes, the commitment from the athletes has been exceptional. Although spread across Christchurch, Nelson, and Auckland, each pair is putting in the work every day through technical training, strength and conditioning programmes, and weekly challenges designed to build accountability, connection, and healthy competition across the group. The athletes are embracing the campaign long before they step on a plane.

Head Coach Liz Hanna believes some of the greatest growth happens when athletes step into unfamiliar environments, embrace new challenges, and are supported to learn from every experience. She says this campaign was designed to provide opportunities for athletes to learn, compete, build confidence and resilience, and return home as more capable, independent, and resilient young women who are not afraid to tackle challenges head on.

Alongside supporting athlete development, Hanna is also continuing her own coaching journey through High Performance Sport New Zealand. The campaign provides an invaluable opportunity to learn from world class environments and build international coaching relationships that will benefit future athletes and programmes.

Ultimately, this campaign is about more than results. It is about creating opportunities where they might otherwise have been lost, embracing challenges with confidence, and encouraging our athletes to be courageous enough to take risks, keep learning, and above all else, Be Bold.

Article added: Friday 12 June 2026