First chance qualification for LA 2028 for Australian Beach Volleyballers at Asian Championships
Australia’s beach volleyballers will have their first chance to earn quota spots for the LA 2028 Olympic Games, with four teams selected to represent the green and gold at the 2026 AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Championships in Shangluo, China.
The Asian Championships will be the first opportunity for beach volleyballers to qualify quotas for the LA Games, with a new qualification system introduced for this Olympic cycle which sees the first spots offered at Continental Championships.
One quota place per gender will be allocated to the team that wins gold at the Continental Championships, with the remaining quota spots to be earnt at the 2027 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships (1 per gender), Olympic Rankings (14 per gender) and the Olympic Qualifier Series (3 per gender).
Olympians Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher, as well as Thomas Hodges and Taliqua Clancy are among the four teams of athletes that have been selected.
Volleyball Australia National Performance Director Craig Marshall said: “This tournament marks the first opportunity for our athletes to earn quota positions on the road to LA 2028, and we’re pleased to be able to select four teams to represent Australia.
“These teams understand exactly what is at stake in China, and I know they will be approaching the event with one objective in mind – qualification for LA 2028.
“We’ve been building towards moments like this – getting our best teams into quota-earning contention now is central to how we’re shaping as a competitive, sustainable beach volleyball program on the way to LA 2028, Brisbane 2032 and beyond,” he said.
Shangluo, China will host the AVC Beach Volleyball Continental Championships from 2-6 September 2026.
It’s the same beach where Olympians Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher won gold at the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge event in July.
“It’s always a huge honour to represent Australia. We’ve had a lot of opportunities to wear the green and gold together now, but it never really loses its significance,” Carracher said.
“With an Olympic quota spot on the line, Asian Champs is another hugely important event for us and we’re really proud to be selected again, and to get the chance to compete for Australia,” he said.
When reflecting on the gold medal performance at the Challenge in Shangluo a few weeks ago, Nicolaidis said they will take some confidence from the result, but nothing compares to the ‘pressure cooker’ environment of an Asian Championships.
“Whilst winning gold in Shangluo was an incredible moment, we don’t want to take any false confidence from it. It was a great opportunity to get some extra experience in the same environment and courts we will be playing on in September, but we are working hard to arrive there better than we were a few weeks ago,” Nicolaidis said.
“We experienced a similar event in 2024 and it’s a pressure cooker. Every team can win on their day which makes every match just as important,” he said.
Volleyball Australia would like to acknowledge the ongoing support of the Australian Institute of Sport, along with Queensland Academy of Sport (women’s National Training Centre) and South Australian Institute of Sport (men’s National Training Centre) for our National Beach Volleyball Program.
All four teams will be in Brisbane next week for a pre-departure camp before travelling to China. They will be significantly supported by performance staff for both the camp and the Asian Championships.
Volleyball Australia also acknowledges the support of the FIVB Empowerment program, which contributed to staff resourcing and helped strengthen delivery across the tournament campaign.
Volleyball Australia would like to congratulate the following athletes on their selection:
Taliqua Clancy (QLD) and Stefie Fejes (NSW)
Jasmine Fleming (QLD) and Lizzie Alchin (WA)
Mark Nicolaidis (QLD) and Izac Carracher (NSW)
Thomas Hodges (VIC) and Ben Hood (QLD)
