Self funding her way to a World Cup

Emma Paaka’s commitment to touch rugby is undeniable.

After being selected for the New Zealand O40s team for the World Cup in England in July, she’s jumped straight into making her dreams a reality.

Having to fund her own way to the tournament and three training camps in Auckland, she’s estimated it will cost upwards of $12000 to represent her country.

To subsidise the expenses, she’s already started a number of fundraisers and plans to increase them in the new year.

But she thinks it will take some of her savings to get over the line.

“There’s four of us from the South Island. . . It makes it a bit more challenging being down here and quite isolated.

“Whilst I love playing in the local competition every week, it doesn’t give me the level I want.”

Emma plays two games a week on a Thursday in the local league, and she’s also played at a representative level for the past decade.

But her work as a Zumba instructor means she’s not nervous about her cardio being up to scratch for the World Cup despite the lack of game time.

As a middle, she had often captained the Tasman team when they still went to nationals, but she says Covid saw the team disband and they haven’t been able to form up again.

In recent years, she’s had to find teams from other regions because of the lack of a Tasman team.

“At this year’s national tournament, I’ll represent Canterbury because we’re unable to field a Tasman team. . . Last year, it was Bay of Plenty.

“I do a lot of individual training because there’s no one else in the area.”

Emma started playing touch in high school and was a Nelson open mixed representative in her 20s and early 30s before life got in the way.

“I took a break to have children, and we shifted to Japan for five years, so it was on our return from there that I got a real passion back for the sport and pushed to get a Tasman women’s team together to play at a national level again.

“Skills-wise, I’ve improved a lot more in my adulthood.”

She also says her husband, Weesang, who represented New Zealand in his 20s, was a big influence on her career.

“(He) now uses his knowledge and skills of the game to coach many local and regional teams. It’s been under his guidance and support that my game has grown.”

Anyone interested in supporting Emma on her journey to the World Cup can reach out to her over email emmapaaka@gmail.com, or drop into the Village Cafe or Kelly’s Coffee Cart, where a donation box has been set up.

She also plans to host a regional touch tournament in the new year, with details to come.