Veronica Namai excited by state call up for under-13 nationals

Cairns hockey player Veronica Namai will soon be standing tall for her region, state and people in the upcoming national championships. SEE FULL REP LIST >>>

Veronica Namai’s ability to stand tall on the turf for her teammates and heritage will take another step in September.

The 13-year-old Trinity Stingers player is one of many from Cairns to represent Queensland at the under-13 Hockey Australia Carnival (championship) in Hobart.

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“I first found out when I as on my phone, and I had all these messages from my friends telling me saying good job and I didn’t really know what was going on,” she said.

“Then I saw the team list, and saw that I had made it – I was so excited.”

What started as a few school friends joining in on the astroturf after school has snowballed into Namai becoming an unstoppable force with the hockey stick.

She’s been able to work on her craft through the Aspire to be Deadly program, which has resulted in many an Indigenous and Torres Strait junior realising their potential in hockey.

“My friends were like “I am going to play, come with”, so we all went in and I like it, then I just sort of kept going,” she said.

Cairns junior hockey player Sarsha Myngha-Thompson has also been named in the Cairns representative squad for the upcoming state championships. Picture: Brendan Radke

Namai is one of 15 Cairns hockey players heading to under-13, under-18 and under-21 national tournaments in the coming weeks.

Last weekend, she represented her people for the Cairns Hockey Rene Archer NAIDOC round.

Namai’s Indigenous heritage stems from Moa Island on her father’s side, and Yam Island on her mother’s.

“It’s so good that we get to play on NAIDOC Week so we can show our culture and show with others that don’t know much about NAIDOC Week,” she said.

Namai will head to Tasmania with the under-13 teams in late September.

Cairns under-13 state reps:

Lachlan Fry

Jack Thompson

Lyla Pendrigh

Lara Richardson

Matilda Seivers

Chase Donnelly

Veronica Namai

Franky Baker

Caitlin Squire

Originally published as Veronica Namai excited by state call up for under-13 nationals