SAND BLASTING: Julia Tilley, formerly of Gisborne, is chasing a place at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast. Picture by Julie Fitz-Gerald
TOP New Zealand women’s beach volleyball player Julia Tilley faces the biggest year of her career as she vies for a place at the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.
“We (Tilley and a yet-to-be confirmed partner) need to be in the top four Commonwealth teams by the end of a World Tour event's (WTE) qualifying period, which starts in Victoria on March 3,” said Tilley, who, paired with Alice Bain, won the National Beach Tour and were runners-up at the New Zealand championships.
“To satisfy the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) we need to have three or more finishes of the ‘stated targets’ at World Tour events. As well as WTE, we are also competing in Asian tour events, which will earn world ranking points but arenot included in the NZOC requirements.
“By playing in the Asian tour we will get World Tour points, which will help towards our seeding when we play the World Tour events. It is also a great tour with high quality teams. Unofficially, I think we are currently the fourth best nation in the commonwealth for women.”
Australia, Canada and Vanuatu are the top three.
“England are our main competition for the fourth spot, which is why it’s important we do well in the World Tour events.”
The high cost of competingHowever, competing in WTE competitions in Australia, Malaysia, China, Korea and Austria between now and August comes at a cost.
“We need $40,000 to help achieve our goal,” said Tilley, who, partnered with Bain, became the first New Zealand women to make an Asian tour final. They narrowly lost to an experienced Australian team in the Vietnam event.
“The Aussies went on to qualify for the Rio Olympics.”
Tilley said funding and sponsorship would be huge for her and her new partner.
“It will enable us to get to all these events in the next six months. We are finishing up a sponsorship proposal this week so that we can really showcase the dream to businesses, what we can achieve together and what we can offer to a sponsor.”
She will not be relying solely on sponsorship.
“I work full-time with the Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kids TRYathlon and try to juggle that with training in order to give me some flexibility over winter to travel and train."
Commonwealth Games is achievableTilley said it would be “amazing to represent my country” at the Commonwealth Games.
“Beach volleyball is a popular sport worldwide, making it very difficult to qualify for the Olympics, however, this (Commonwealth Games) would be a great pathway and stepping stone for the sport in New Zealand . . . and it is an achievable goal. It has given me added motivation to continue to train hard and put everything on the line this year, with making the Commonwealth Games the ultimate reward.”
Tilley started playing indoor volleyball in the third form at Gisborne’s Campion College, and got into the beach variety at 16.
“We had some great coaches at Campion College who got me hooked. Their love for the game was definitely transferred on to me and has been embedded ever since."
Now 27, Tilley said she “intended on going hard until the Commonwealths and then reassessing”.
Lucky with injuries but many sacrifices“I love to play so even if it’s not at a top competitive level I think I will continue to play at least for enjoyment for definitely a few more years. The average age of top level beach volleyball players is late 20s, even early 30s, so the period where you can play at a top level is quite long. This is because of the low injury rate in the sand and how valuable experience is to your performance.
“Apart from an ankle reconstruction and a forever bung shoulder, I’ve been lucky with injuries. But I have had to make many, many, many sacrifices. I’ve missed a lot of social occasions, family gatherings, birthdays and weddings away from family and friends through travelling and competing.
“It has also cost me financially — always having to spend money on training, coaching, rehab and recovery, plus flights, travel, accommodation, visas. You definitely have to play because you love it, not for the money."