1 September, 2026
Vanuatu Volleyball Federation’s national women’s team has spent the past fortnight on the beautiful wintery sands on Manly beach in Sydney, training ahead of this week’s AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Championships.
The benefits of this type of high-performance training support will be evident this week when the team competes in China.
The Continental championships in Shangluo (2-6 Sept), are serving as a stepping stone on the Olympic qualification pathway for teams from across Asia and Oceania.
The competition main draw kicks off on Wednesday with the women’s draw seeing 24 teams, from 14 nations, competing across 6 pools each consisting of 4 teams, with Vanuatu in POOL D joining teams from New Zealand, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan, with their first match late on Wednesday against the Thai pair.
Team Vanuatu players Sherysyn Toko and Majabelle Lawac, continue to develop their strong partnership on the court, with national coach Miller Pata at the helm. Pata took the team through its training, benefitting from some additional expert guidance while in Sydney from Olympian Julien Prosser. 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.
Having transitioned into the coaching role over the past two years, following a 17-year celebrated international beach volleyball career, Miller Pata has consistently embraced all opportunities to develop her coaching capacity, so for her the camp offered more than court time for her players. Alongside leading gym sessions and observing Prosser’s methods up close, Miller saw the training camp as yet another opportunity to gain sustainable knowledge to take back to Vanuatu.
“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.”
Prosser was also impressed and highlighted the commitment brought to the court throughout the training block.
“It is a privilege to work with Miller and the team,” Prosser said.
“Their dedication and drive are inspiring, and their continued growth and development will create further opportunities on the demanding World Tour circuit. They are clearly leading the way in the Pacific and building strongly toward qualification for LA 2028.”
The 10-day high-performance camp was supported by the Australian government (DFAT) and its PacificAus Sport program, and it should be noted that the Vanuatu women’s team is the only Pacific nation to have qualified for this AVC Continental event.
ENDS
Related content: ABC Pacific video ‘Vanuatu chasing an Olympic dream!’ https://www.facebook.com/reel/1440538537923866
