Hannah Keddell and Harriet McAdam could do with a bit of financial help to get them over the net for the Australian Youth Olympic Festival.

The occasion is the fifth Australian Youth Olympic Festival, an event that involves more than 1500 athletes from 27 countries competing in 17 different sports.
Eighteen-year-olds Harriett McAdam and Hannah Keddell are two of a team that includes Ben and Samuel O'Dea, James Thomas and Sam Wallace-Boyd.
Hannah and Harriett have been playing beach volleyball for just three years, but already they have made a considerable impression. As well as making this team to go to the AYOF, they went to the World Under 19 Beach Volleyball Championships at The Hague in August. Harriett also travelled to Australia in January 2008 to compete.
Practice is something that keeps Harriett and Hannah very busy.
'We train twice a day – one session of fitness training, which we sometimes do individually, and then a skill session together,” says Harriett.
The fact that the entire beach volleyball team comes from the Tauranga/Mount Maunganui area is no coincidence.
'We have all the facilities here,” says Hannah.
'And it's a strong sport in the Bay of Plenty.”
Harriett and Hannah would eventually like to go to the full Olympics and ultimately to join the World Tour, the professional circuit run by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball.
'But first of all we need to be able to afford to get to our competitions,” says Harriett. 'We are desperately looking for sponsors to help us with our expenses.”
Hannah says the shortage of sports funding means that the men get funding, but the women do not.
'It also means that we can't afford coaches. Those with the money can get the best coaching.”
The competition runs from January 14 until January 18 and anyone who is able to help Hannah or Harriett or any of their teammates with funding can email hannahkeddell@hotmail.com