School holidays are always something to look forward to.
But for two Otago Girls' High School pupils, July will be extra special.
Maddy Campbell (16) and Taylor Thorne (15) have been named in the New Zealand under-17 volleyball team and will represent their country at the United States high performance championships in Florida.
It is a 10-day volleyball trip but there is room in the schedule for a side trip to Disney World.
"It is going to be a great experience,'' Maddy said.
"It [Disney World] is on the schedule before we play,'' the year 12 pupil added.
Maddy has been playing volleyball about four years. She plays for her school and the Scorpion club and earned selection through a solid performance during the trials which followed the secondary school nationals in April.
Initially, there were about 100 hopefuls. They were whittled down to 28 and then just 12 were named to go to Florida.
Taylor is the only other girl from Otago to make the team. She is in year 11 and has been playing for four years as well.
Both girls received the good news via email. They will be playing in front of scouts, so it is a wonderful opportunity. The only downside is that the trip will cost $5000 each.
But then, if they impress one of those scouts and get offered a scholarship, the trip will have paid for itself.
"I'd loved to try for a scholarship to go to the States and play volleyball and carry on playing for New Zealand,'' Maddy said.
Both girls have had a taste of representative volleyball. Maddy was part of the New Zealand under-17 team which beat its Australian counterpart last year, and Taylor was in the South Island development team and has worked her way up to the national side.
