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Ex-Whangaparāoa College student Jazmin Tufuga (Jaz) is the latest from the college to make inroads into top level netball, following in the footsteps of the college’s most well known netballer, Mystics player Michaela Sokolich-Beatson.
Jaz, 21, has been playing in the National Netball League (NNL) since 2019, as a defender or centre.
The league sits just below the ANZ Premiership and is a pathway in the Netball NZ High Performance programme. The teams are feeders to the Franchise teams.
Jazmin played with the NNL’s Comets in 2019, and joined the Northern Marvels the following year. However, she says not a lot of game time has been had because of Covid-19. In addition, she ruptured her ACL ligament in an U21 netball camp at the end of 2020.
Selected again for the Northern Marvels, Jaz’s first game in two years came on Saturday, March 19 and she is excited for the season ahead.
Two months ago, Sport NZ introduced an Its my Move campaign, aimed at combatting the steep drop-off in girls’ participation in sport and active recreation. Active NZ research shows that young women increasingly opt out of formal sporting environments, as they grow older.
Jaz played for Whangaparāoa College’s top senior team and says she stayed in the game after she left school because she makes great friends in the sport.
“I enjoy the social side and team culture,” she says. “Surrounding yourself with people with similar motivation and interests is such a positive thing.”
She says Mystics defender Michaela Sokolich-Beatson is an inspiration – not only for taking a path from Whangaparāoa College into top level netball, but also because of her resilience in recovering from injury.
Last year Jaz qualified as an architect and is now working fulltime. Her netball involves training three times a week and playing in the weekend.
She says furthering her career, and overseas travel, are key goals.
“But if a netball opportunity arrives, I’ll take it, as your time in top level netball is only so long,” she says.
