By Paul Osborne

Australia's Rugby Union has selected a squad of 22 young women in preparation for the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing next year ©Getty ImagesDecember 12 - Australia has announced a squad of 22 women in preparation for next year's Summer Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing.


The young Olympic hopefuls will attend a series of training camps in Narrabeen in an effort to make the final squad for the Games next August

Five States and Territories are represented in the squad, with nine players from Queensland, seven from New South Wales and two each from Western Australia, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

The women were selected from the 2013 National Youth Girls' Sevens Championships which culminated in the final held on day one of the Gold Coast Sevens at Skilled Park, with a few also chosen from the Qantas Women's Sevens team in previous International Rugby Board (IRB) Women's Sevens World Series tournaments.

Included in the squad is Tiana Penitani, who earlier this year became Australia's youngest-ever Rugby World Cup representative at the age of 17, when she starred at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow ©Getty ImagesIncluded in the squad is Tiana Penitani, who this year became Australia's youngest-ever Rugby World Cup representative at the age of 17, when she starred at the in Moscow ©Getty Images



The training camps form a part of Australian rugby's "Path to Gold" - a high performance programme that looks to drive rugby sevens' success in the Olympics - and will provide the young women with a great opportunity to hone their skills, giving them the best possible chance to play at Rio 2016.

The team will be reduced to a final Women's Rugby Sevens squad in early May when further preparation camps and pre-games training will continue in July and August ahead of the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games from August 16 until 28, 2014.

The players selected for the extended training squad from New South Wales include, Jasmin Allende, Brook Anderson, Salote Cavuliati, Akeisha Kelly, Raecene McGregor, Caitlin Moran, Tiana Penitani, with Mariola Belessis, Shenae Ciesiolka, Dominique Du Toit, Ema Masi, Amber Pilley, Maddy Phelps, Georgie Rackemann, Taia Stowers, Laurie Waldie the representatives from Queensland.

South Australia's Eva Karpani and Mackenzie Sadler, Western Australia's Kellie Gibson and Alison Kimberley, and the ACT's Rebeka Lally and Taylor Stanford mae up the final six membersof the squad.

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