Meesi | Pukekohe, Auckland

“One of my rowing coaches, I went over to his rowing club and we were just talking about rowing possibly for my country, trying to open up a gateway for those Pasefika rowers to come in and try out rowing.

So our conversation was more-so covering what area of sport that I wanted to focus on, and he was basically just talking to me about where my areas of focus was and if I wanted to do one thing then I had to chase it, and he was basically just lining out my options. It was a heart-to-heart to me, because it actually made me think about what I wanted to do and how much one thing meant more than the other.

Currently I’m rowing just for fun, rowing with one other Tongan girl. Her name’s Ana, and Charles is coaching us. We’re rowing at the club just so it’s easier for us to row together, and our conversation basically covered her focus and what she’s doing. She’s training every morning and night. She’s doing other things on the side, say 10k runs, 10k ergs on the rowing machine, and because I have two sports on my mind, he was showing me how serious she is about rowing for Tonga, and then he was just reminding me of my options and how serious I would be about rowing for Tonga. And he goes, ‘you need to think about it thoroughly, what you want to do. If you want to row for Tonga, then that’s where your focus is and that’s what you chase’. So it kind of made it clear about what I wanted to do. I love netball, but out of the two sports, going further in rowing would be a clearer pathway for me. I don’t know how to word it, but it’s easier on my body with less injuries, it’s just an enjoyable sport, and I’m loving how it’s testing me. Especially growing up as an anxious child and not wanting to try new things, and being really shy. Rowing opened my personality up as well, and made me more confident. As in I would not be sitting here right now doing this interview. So, yeah it’s good. 

The way I found out about rowing was that my two sisters joined rowing, and my mum tried to persuade me. I had never wanted to row. I kept saying no and then the first day of training, I actually nearly cried, because that’s how much I didn’t want to go, but once I got over the fear of being on the water, and trying something new out of my square, I actually ended up really enjoying it. This is my sixth season of rowing, and I’m still enjoying it just as much as I did for the first time. 

With the Pasefika rowing, my friend Martin represented his country at the Junior Olympic Games, and that opened the gateway for all Pasefika communities to try and represent their countries out there. So, I think it’s really cool, and the sport is an amazing sport. It tests you physically and mentally. 

Heart to heart conversations are very important, because it keeps the bond between the two people strong, and especially in our generation with social media and the whole technology thing, so it’s kind of rare that you have heart-to-heart conversations especially face-to-face, and I think they’re really important. Talking to face-to-face means a lot more, and you can feel more emotion, I guess. 

I am 19 years old. I am full Tongan. I come from Pukekohe. Grew up there my whole life. I was raised on a farm for 13 years, and then recently moved into the town. I would say I’m more into the farm-type of lifestyle than the living in town kind of lifestyle. I like to keep active. I like to do hands-on things. I love sports. I’m really passionate about rowing and netball, especially rowing and I come from a family of eight children.

I’m studying exercise, looking to go into the further stages of the diploma and the degree. I was really interested in coaching in schools, and possibly becoming a teacher around sports.”