“It definitely felt weird.”
That’s how generational sporting talent Emelia Ainley felt about coming up against her former Nayland College netball team in Nelson last week.
Emelia had been a key figure in Nayland’s outstanding run to finish second at the South Island Secondary School (SISS) Netball Tournament in Dunedin last year.
The 16-year-old then went on a sporting scholarship to St Andrew’s College in Christchurch to further her netball, basketball and volleyball careers.
StAC took on a new-look Nayland in the play-offs last week and powered away 62-24.
“I went to cheer for some of the Nayland girls during the match. I do miss them a lot. They have managed to rebuild well from last year and I am proud of them. I miss Nelson and I try to come back here as often as I can,” says the teenager, who got a breather on the bench once her side pulled clear.
Emelia confirms she is still growing.
“I am now 1.98m (six foot six) with my shoes on,” she laughs.
StAC coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek is just pleased to have her in the side.
“Emelia is obviously a great asset to any team she is in,” declares the former Tactix mentor.
The sharpshooter had been hoping to strike rival Christchurch school St Margaret’s College in the final, to avenge a narrow loss earlier this year, but StAC went down 41-39 to defending champions St Hilda’s Collegiate in the semi-finals.
Just hours after the SISS event wrapped up on Thursday at Saxton Stadium, Emelia headed back to Christchurch with several of her cross-code teammates to play the last two days of the winter basketball tournament for StAC.
“Basketball gives me the most opportunity and will take me further,” confirms Emelia, who was a standout in the New Zealand side that finished fifth at the FIBA World U17 Cup in Czechia.
The Canterbury centre led the team in scoring (11.9ppg) and rebounding (10.3rpg).
She ranked first at the tournament in field goal shooting at 56.9% and was third overall in rebounding, highlighting her efficiency.
The team, which made the top eight for the first time, was captained by another former Nelsonian, Ava Jones, who also went to St Andrew’s College and has secured a scholarship to Santa Clara University in California.
Meanwhile, adding to an even busier year than 2025, Emelia has national age grade volleyball trials to look forward to as well.
She stayed on to watch a thrilling SISS final in which St Hilda’s beat St Margaret’s 41-39 in extra time.
Earlier in the day, Nelson College for Girls finished a frustrating sixth in the A Grade section, one place short of qualifying for the national secondary school champs in Auckland next month.
NCG, Ashburton College and Cashmere College had all tied for eight points in their play-off section, but a superior goal advantage saw Ashburton advance to the match to decide third and fourth which assured the Mid Canterbury side of a trip to the nationals.
Nelson College, which lost 47-40 to Ashburton, still had a chance to qualify if it upset Columba College for the fifth and final spot.
However, the Dunedin outfit, coached by former Silver Fern Jodi Brown, got off to a flier and led 19-9 by the end of the first quarter.
The southerners went on to beat the young NCG side 50-29, whose sixth-place finish was one better than last year.
Meanwhile, Waimea College, which was relegated from A Grade last year, went unbeaten in the B division to earn a return in the top tier.
Waimea beat Garin College 37-16 in its opening game and went on to defeat three West Coast sides during its eight-match winning streak.
