The Otago club rowers have been selected for the world junior championships in Lithuania in August.
McBride (17) stroked the women's quadruple sculls to a bronze medal in Bulgaria last year and will fill the same role again.
O'Leary (16) will be making his international debut in the men's quadruple sculls.
''It will be the the first time I've been out of New Zealand,'' he said.
''I'm over the moon. It's an awesome opportunity and I want to make the most of it.''
The two Kavanagh College pupils have been sculling under the direction of coach John Parnell for the last four years. He is travelling to Lithuania to watch his rowers in action.
McBride was a certainty to gain selection after her brilliant performances over the last two years but O'Leary had to make his mark during the trials at Lake Karapiro.
''I knew I had it within me to achieve,''O'Leary said.
''I just had to give an awesome performance in the trial.''
Selection for the world championships was the culmination of a successful year for O'Leary. He won a gold medal in the under-17 boys single sculls at the Maadi Cup and a silver medal in the under-18 event. At the national club championships, he won a silver medal in the club double sculls.
But he has a long way to go to catch up on McBride, who has won 13 medals, including 10 gold, at Maadi Cup regattas in the last three years. She has also won four gold medals at the New Zealand club championships.
McBride learned a lot at last year's world championships.
''It opened my eyes to this calibre of rowing outside New Zealand,'' she said.
''It was an amazing experience and I learned to push myself mentally more than I had done before.''
Before leaving for overseas, she trained with New Zealand's elite rowers at Lake Karapiro.
''I saw what the next step was for me. It made me want to push myself as hard as I can and get there.
''I just work and train hard. It is important to be mentally strong. You can be physically strong but you've got to have it in your head as well.''
That emphasis on hard work was highlighted yesterday when Parnell joined his scullers on a 15km row to Macandrew Bay and back.
Parnell is following in the footsteps of his father, Wally Parnell, who coached both the New Zealand eight that competed against Australia in 1965, and John White and Grant McAuley, who competed in the double sculls at the 1978 world championships.
