Three teenagers from the Tauranga Judo Club are heading to a three-day national camp in Nelson this weekend.
The talented trio includes 16-year-old Josh Preston, 13-year-old Kenta Beech and 15-year-old Nicole Williams.
Tauranga Judo Club president Blair Winders said the camp was part of the High Performance Commission National Squad development programme and forms part of the selection process for representing New Zealand.
''It's quite important and an achievement even to be selected for this camp. We are trying to get our best possible players out on to the world scene.''
Winders said judo was a great form of self-defence.