AFTER BEIJING, LIFESTYLE STILL A BEACH FOR BARNETT AND BABY

March 11: Beijing Olympian Tamsin Barnett will make a comeback to centre court at this weekend's 2010 Lifestyle Asset Australian Beach Volleyball Championships in Brisbane - just six months after giving birth to baby son Arley.

Barnett finished fifth with four-time Olympian and Sydney golden girl Natalie Cook in Beijing in 2008 before having a year off to become a mum.

The Melbourne-based beach volleyballer will make her comeback to the elite level, not with Cook, but with Australia's current number one ranked player in Manly's Alice Rohkamper.

"But she is only on loan to Alice," quipped Cook who will return to the beach herself later in the year when her and Barnett re-unite their partnership for a shot at London 2012.

Rohkamper has had a series of partners throughout the 2009-10 Australian tour but with injury to brilliant teen star Taliqua Clancy and regular partner Heike Jensen, Barnett became an obvious partner.

"It was always my plan to come back and I'm feeling great and managing to cope with Arley and the opportunity to play with Alice is very exciting," said Barnett.

"Even though we have never played a tournament together we have training together at the AIS and I'm sure it won't take us long to get into the swing of things."

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While 21-year-old AIS-based Rohkamper has her sights set on her first Olympics in London in 2012, Barnett already has two Olympics under her belt.

She began her Olympic career with the Indoor team in Sydney in 2000 before switching to the beach program in 2004, winning the 2006 and 2007 Australian Beach Championships with Cook.

The pair went on to finish fifth at the 2008 Beijing Olympics before Barnett had 12 months away from the sport.

The championships will also feature Sydney 2000 Olympic indoor star Louise Bawden, who will team up with fellow AIS emerging star Becharra Palmer, while the men's draw will feature triple Olympian Josh Slack and his new partner, fellow Queenslander, rising star Isaac Kapa.

Slack too has revealed his plans for a fourth Olympic campaign and has returned to the AIS base in Adelaide, saying he was inspired by Beaconsfield mine disaster survivor Todd Russell.

The partnership of Slack and Isaac will have their work cut out against fellow AIS pairing of Chris McHugh and Sam Boehm, who have won three of the five finals on this season's National tour.

The Championships get underway at Brisbane's Sandstorm Beach Club (QSAC) with the Pro-Am today followed by the three-day Championship proper, starting Friday and culminating in Sunday's finals.

The Championships program is:

Dates:                   March 11 - 14
Location:             Sandstorm Beach Club, Nathan, QLD (just outside Brisbane)

Thursday, March 11- Pro-Am (2pm): Featuring Olympians Natalie Cook, Kerri Pottharst, Tamsin Barnett; Gold Coast Titans Matt Rogers and Nathan Friend; ALF's Richard Champion and rugby's poet laureate Rupert McCall.

• Friday, March 12 - 8am Early rounds of National Championships (32 team draw per gender).
• Saturday, March 13 - 8am Rounds continue:  Players' Party in the evening
• Sunday, March14 - 8am Finals (depending on the draw, semi-finals on Sunday too).
  

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