I love travel, but this year I didn’t go anywhere.
Unless you include Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.
I don’t, which is not to say I don’t like Te Whanganui-a-Tara – I do – but flying in or out of that city isn’t my idea of a great way to spend even a few terrifying minutes on any given day.
Cushla and Finn did travel though.
Twice.
First to Shanghai, then to Korea.
Both times for archery which won’t surprise any of you too much.
I have to acknowledge how immensely proud I am of Cushla and Finn, both of whom have represented Aotearoa with dignity and professionalism this year. Both value wearing the fern above all else and have done so in both archery and karate, Finn continues his work as a member of the Kings College PE staff and Cushla remains the World Archery Development Officer for Oceania. Both were selected – athlete and the manager – for World Archery Hyundai World Cup events in Shanghai (World Cup #3) and in Yecheon, Korea (World Cup #3) and because both were on the New Zealand Olympic Committee Long List for Paris ’24 they got to attend all the lead up seminars and events that proceeded the Olympic Games.
Korea is the archery capital of the known universe and neither Finn nor Cushla had been there before, so this was especially important for both of them.
Not so much for me because I got to stay home a mere twelve days after leaving hospital with a flash new hip and a couple of wayward crutches that I’m getting surprisingly good at managing. Cushla left heaps of easy to prepare food for me on the dining room servery, so I didn’t have to get around the house too much and risk falling over which is my eternal fear. I’m not sure if I fell over that I’d ever get up again, and when it’s a ‘home alone’ situation a few days after surgery the thought was totally nightmarish.
I worried most about being tripped up by our elderly cat but in fact she was fabulous. She’s a lovely old feline, isn’t very cuddly, and never sleeps on beds, but for the two weeks I was at home alone she slept with me, stayed out from under my feet, and really was a jolly good chum. All in all, it worked out well for me and was brilliant for the whanau which was all I could hope for.
Still in international event mode, March/April saw Cushla organise the World Archery Oceania CQT (Olympic Continental Qualifying Tournament) Camp which Finn attended (along with Julia also from New Zealand) and archers, coaches, and friends from across the Pacific.
I need to acknowledge too, that the other three members of the New Zealand team opted not to attend the camp.
Immediately following the camp, Finn completed in the World Archery Oceania CQT (Olympic Continental Qualifying Tournament) with the two Olympic places up for grabs being won by New Zealand.
There’s much more to say about this event but sadly that will have to be in the Bad Juju section of this reflection because the actions of a couple of people and the repercussions of these actions were as ugly as sport ever gets.
Both Cushla and Finn undertake private archery coaching and Finn’s two top students won the College Sport Auckland Men’s and Women’s Recurve Divisions and went on to be named College Sport Auckland’s Sports Persons of the Year.
We were all excited to be selected again to attend and compete in the WGKF World Karate Championships this time in Austria, but this year the finances simply didn’t stretch that far and we opted not to attend.
The next event is in India in 2026, and we will work hard to be selected for that.
The idea of India is beyond exciting, and wearing the fern is such an honour. It’s on a par with respecting the faith Hanshi May puts in us when he selects us to compete at these events.
dykiegirl 