KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand men's volleyball team head to the Commonwealth Championship in Kolkata, India, this month under a new coach.
With volleyball vying for inclusion in the Commonwealth Games in India in 2010, the Commonwealth Championships have been initiated by the Volleyball Federation of India as a test run for the Games.
The New Zealanders travel to India for the tournament from July 27-August 4 under new coach Tony Natapu.
"The majority of this team is based in Christchurch. We have been training as regularly as we can to prepare for India," Natapu said.
"Being a purely amateur team the best players are not always available due to work or financial commitments so the opportunity to include younger players to gain valuable experience against teams like Australia and Canada that have fulltime programmes is good for our development. We are excited about the quality of the opposition in India."
Canada, Australia, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and India are among the nations playing in India.
New Zealand: Matt Wenn, Ben Glue, Andrew Elliott, John Gibbs, Mark Norton, John Gabites, Jared Gillison, Sam Ryburn (all Canterbury), Brad Takai (North Harbour), Tame Malcolm (Bay of Plenty), Hollice Palelei (Manukau-Auckland), Charlie Stewart (Otago).
- NZPA
