Road to Rio starts on the sand

The first of New Zealand’s High Performance Beach Volleyball athletes left New Zealand on Friday  to begin their international campaign on the Asian Tour.
Brendon Heath (34), originally from Nelson and Sam O’Dea (22) from Mt Maunganui leave this country as New Zealand Tour champions after their domination of events over the New Zealand summer.
The number one NZ Men’s Team will be competing in the Thailand National Beach Volleyball Championships in Kalasin from the 1st to the 5th April with the objective of continuing their successful partnership on international soil.
The number two men’s team of Jason Lochhead (29) and Ben O’Dea (20) from Mt Maunganui, and the reigning women’s national champions Julia Tilley (23) and Shaunna Polley (19) of the Waikato will join O’Dea and Heath on the 6th April to compete in further events in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
With 5 Asian Tour wins, 1 World Tour bronze medal and a top 5 Asian Tour placing between them, this New Zealand team has the potential to dominate the ranks and is looking to start the road to Rio Olympic qualification with the points gained from this Asian Tour.
For more information please contact Alison Storey – High Performance Beach manager
Alison@beachvolleyball.co.nz