Applications now open to join Volleyball England's Talent Zones 

The Zones are designed to give promising junior athletes earlier access to national-level training and development, with fewer geographic and financial barriers. 

They are a new entry point onto the Volleyball England Talent Pathway, acting as a stepping stone between club, school and regional programmes and national level.  

 
Volleyball England's four Talent Zones 

• North (Cumbria, Lancashire, Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, County Durham, Yorkshires)  

• Central (Leicestershire, Rutland, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, West Midlands)  

• London and East (Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Greater London, Kent, Surrey, East Sussex, and West Sussex)  

• South and South-West (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Bristol, Hampshire, Berkshire, and Isle of Wight). 

These locations serve a guide rather than fixed borders. Athletes can apply to the zone that makes the most sense to them. However, once an athlete has joined a zone, they will remain with it from then on.  

After the launch camp, each zone will select 40 athletes to join the pathway for four additional camps between November and April within their zone. 

These camps will be one-day camps, consisting of four hours coaching, S&C support and off-court education sessions. 

The cost of joining will be finalised ahead of the Launch Camps. 

 
How can I apply?  

All athletes born in 2012 or 2013 are eligible for Volleyball England’s Talent Zones.  

Please note, for athletes to be selected into the England U18 squads, they must hold a valid UK passport to be eligible for participation in international competitions.  

The launch camp for the North and Central Zones will be on 10th October 2026 at Loughborough University. 

The launch camp for the London and East and South and South-West Zones, meanwhile, will be on 11th October 2026 at Sevenoaks School.  

The cost of this camp is £50 per person, which includes two on-court coaching sessions, physical testing, an off-court education session, a t-shirt and an opportunity to meet Alex Porter (Indoor Performance Director) and all zone staff.