With a clear pathway now established from grassroots to high performance, athletes and coaches believe New Zealand’s breakthrough on the global stage is only just beginning
New Zealand beach volleyball is stronger than ever. With the support of FIVB Volleyball Empowerment, the national programme now has full-time coaching, improved training and more opportunities to compete at the highest level – with the ultimate goal of winning medals. As the team prepares for the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships, athletes and coaches believe this progress is only the start of something bigger.
New Zealand’s beach volleyball teams have proudly represented the country on the international stage for years, but sustained progress was challenging before the introduction of FIVB Empowerment support.
“Most of our teams were playing in an FIVB Beach Volleyball 1-star or 2-star competition,” said Volleyball New Zealand Performance Manager Colleen Campbell. “There may have been one or two teams doing good things, but once they stopped, there was nothing else happening.”
One of the key areas for growth was establishing consistent coaching. With a long-term plan now in place, athletes have greater opportunities to develop at a higher level. Travel costs have always been a factor for New Zealand athletes, many of whom balance full-time jobs with their sporting careers, but increased support is helping them to compete overseas more frequently.
New Zealand take top podium at the Asian Senior Women’s Beach Volleyball Championship.
That reality began to shift when New Zealand was included in the FIVB Volleyball Empowerment programme. The country received its first allocation of funding in 2018, and by 2023 and 2024, FIVB had provided a total of CHF 144,000 to support 12-month coaching projects. This was part of a larger CHF 429,000 investment in the programme over the years.
Campbell sees this support as a turning point for New Zealand beach volleyball.
“The support of a full-time coach has enabled New Zealand to build a beach volleyball programme that has a longer-term view and for future athletes to see a pathway,” she said.
Leading that effort is Jason Lochhead, who has guided the national programme since 2021, making an immediate and profound impact.
“The consistency of the players in pressure situations has improved,” Lochhead said. “The ability to execute game plans and adjust mid-game has taken a huge step forward.”
The programme has also introduced advanced video analysis and replay technology, allowing players to review matches and training sessions in real time. “Being able to re-watch in the middle of training helps with faster growth,” Lochhead added. Increased international competition has also been a turning point. “Over the last three years, we have played more matches than in the previous ten years,” he said.
This exposure has given athletes the chance to test themselves against stronger opponents and build confidence on the world stage. The past two years have marked a breakthrough for New Zealand beach volleyball, with both men’s and women’s teams making history on the international stage.
In 2023, Shaunna Polley & Alice Zeimann won the country’s first-ever Beach Pro Tour Futures gold medal at Mt Maunganui, a milestone victory that highlighted their rising status. That same year, New Zealand also secured bronze at the Commonwealth Youth Games and won gold at the AVC Continental Cup – Oceania Zone.
Polley & Zeimann continued their winning ways in 2024, successfully defending their Beach Pro Tour Futures title at Mt Maunganui, coming back from a set down to win the final.
“The FIVB empowerment support has been a game-changer for beach volleyball in New Zealand. With access to a full-time coach in Jason Lochhead, more resources, and more international opportunities, this has helped raise the level of play across the country. We are now seeing more athletes stay in the sport longer and compete at higher levels, which has not only helped to inspire the younger generations but is also helping us to be more competitive with the top teams in the world,” Polley said.
New Zealand’s men’s teams also achieved unprecedented success. They claimed silver medals in multiple Beach Pro Tour Futures events, including stops in Wenzhou Cangnan, Qidong, and Geelong in 2023. Their crowning moment came at the AVC Continental Cup – Oceania Zone, where they clinched gold, reinforcing their growing reputation in the region.
The men’s team also achieved unprecedented success. In 2024, Thomas Reid and John McManaway won gold at the Pirae Tahiti Futures event, defeating Japan’s Takumi Takahashi and Jumpei Ikeda in the final. Meanwhile, Ben O’Dea and Brad Fuller competed in the Asian Volleyball Confederation Continental Cup, pushing for a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
The men’s programme’s latest achievement came at the Futures event at Mount Maunganui, where fourth-seeded Fuller & O’Dea earned their first Beach Pro Tour gold medal as a duo, completing a perfect run without dropping a set, highlighted by their impressive 2-0 (21-19, 23-21) victory over top-seeded compatriots Thomas Hartles & John McManaway in an all-New Zealand final.
Hosting international events has been instrumental in strengthening the national programme. New Zealand has hosted Beach Pro Tour Futures events at Mt Maunganui Beach in 2023 and 2024, providing homegrown players with valuable experience against world-class opponents while raising the sport’s profile across the country. The momentum continued into 2025, with New Zealand hosting the opening event of the Beach Pro Tour season.
As New Zealand’s presence on the Beach Pro Tour continues to grow, the team’s attention is firmly on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships. Securing qualification is the first hurdle, and coach Lochhead is leaving nothing to chance.
“First, we have to qualify, so we’ve broken this year into two parts,” he explained. “We don’t yet know the exact results we need to qualify, but most likely, it will be a combination of the Asian Tour and FIVB events. Those are the events we are targeting, trying to leave no stone unturned.”
If qualification is secured, preparation for the World Championships will be just as meticulous. “It’s a massive opportunity for us, so we need to ensure we have a strong lead-in,” Lochhead said.
Brad Fuller and Alani Nicklin at the Beach Pro Tour Challenge Nuvali in 2023.
Medals and international tournaments are only part of the impact FIVB support has had on New Zealand beach volleyball. The programme has also created a clear pathway for future generations, strengthening the sport at all levels.
“Our interprovincial and New Zealand Secondary School beach competitions have seen regular increases in participation numbers. During the 2024/25 summer, 11 of 15 associations provided a beach volleyball programme for grassroots,” Campbell said.
With a solid development structure now in place, young athletes can progress from junior programmes into high performance. “The NZA beach programme that has been established enables players to see a pathway from age-group programmes into pre-high performance, showing the opportunity of where they can go within the New Zealand environment if they wish to pursue it,” Lochhead explained.
Team NZL at the 2022 Commonwealth Games: Shaunna Polley, Sam O’Dea, Brad Fuller, Alice Zeimann.
New Zealand’s high-performance programme will continue receiving support from High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ), which has committed financial backing through to 2028. The programme will receive an additional NZ$50,000 annually for the next four years, easing financial pressure on elite athletes.
With momentum building, New Zealand is focused on long-term progress.
“If we qualify, our main goal is to finish 17th,” Lochhead said. “This will be an important and valuable learning experience as we build into a stronger position for 2027, where we will be aiming for a top 10 finish.”
The long-term vision remains clear.
“Winning a medal in the Olympic or World Championships,” Lochhead said.
What once seemed like a distant dream is now within reach.
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