Vanuatu women’s beach volleyball team is hoping a 10-day high-performance camp in Australia will help them win a continental tournament in China and secure them direct qualification to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The Vanuatu pair of Sherysyn Toko and Majabelle Lawac are set to compete at the 2026 AVC BV Continental Championships in Shangluo city this week.
The tournament features a strong field of 13 women’s teams from Asia and Oceania, including Australia and New Zealand. The winners of both the men’s and women’s competitions will each earn a place for the LA Olympics Games.
Vanuatu, which is the only Pacific Island nation to have qualified for the event, has been drawn in Pool D, alongside New Zealand, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan. They will kick-off their campaign on Wednesday night against Thailand.
Vanuatu’s women have been historically among Oceania’s strongest beach volleyball nations and have previously come close to Olympic qualification through regional events.
“The Continental championships in Shangluo are serving as a stepping stone on the Olympic qualification pathway for teams from across Asia and Oceania,” Vanuatu Volleyball said in a statement.
It said Team Vanuatu duo have continued to develop their partnership on the court under the guidance of national coach Miller Pata.
“The camp provided the athletes with targeted skills work, opposed game play against elite local competition, and detailed video analysis, all aimed squarely at the 2026 Asian BV Championships in China and the pathway toward LA 2028 qualification.”
The players also had the benefit of receiving additional expert guidance while in Sydney from Olympian Julien Prosser.
“This camp is not just about our girls getting stronger for Asia, it is about me taking these systems, these drills, this whole way of preparing a team, and building them into what we do every day back home,” Miller said.
“When we go to China, we want to take a simple, clear game plan and the belief that we belong on that sand with the top teams in the region.”
The AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Championships in Shangluo will be held from 2 to 5 September.
