After a weekend of the best volleyballers in Australia showcasing their talents at Red Energy Arena, the next generation of superstars will grab the spotlight.
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The Australian Youth Volleyball Championships will be hosted in Bendigo for the second year running, and local boy Benjamin Lim will have the eyes of the Bendigo volleyball community firmly placed on him.
After ten weeks of training in Melbourne every Sunday, Lim was selected for the Victoria under-17s side.
"It's always an honour to represent my state, and at times, I do need to remind myself of it because I've been doing it since 2021, but it's really special to me," Lim said.
The 16-year-old was a member of Victoria's unsuccessful under-16s campaign in 2022 but is confident of bettering his state's performance this week after making the leap to the under-17s division.
"Last year didn't go as planned, and in hindsight, there were a couple of decisions we made as a team that were wrong," Lim said.
"Nonetheless, it was still a great experience having five days of watching good volleyball, and I'm looking forward to doing it again.
"We've got a stronger team this year, and the aim is definitely to go for the gold medal.
"We've got different coaches and a few new players this time round, which has enabled the team chemistry to improve significantly."
Lim's talents were honed at the Bendigo Academy of Sport, and his competitive volleyball has been played in the State League with the Phantoms.
It has been a big year for the middle blocker, who was invited to train at an Australian under-16s camp on the Gold Coast.
"It was good to meet the other players, who all have incredible skill," Lim said.
"It was nice to see where I'm at compared to the best in the country."
The AYVC continues a massive fortnight of volleyball in Bendigo, with the Scape Australian Volleyball Super Series finals being held over the weekend.
The National Club Championships and an Australian Youth Development Camp will follow the AYVC.
Lim is proud to see the sport he loves doing so well in his hometown.
"Volleyball has grown significantly in the past few years," he said.
"Back in 2019, they struggled to keep divisions open because of a shortage in teams, but now it's overflowing, and we're having to turn people away."
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