WOMENZSPORTS presents Alice's Soapbox

WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with golfer and five-time World Long Drive Champion Phillis Meti! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Phillis to discuss all things golf. Phillis talks about her journey into long drive competitions and the realities of professional sport. She also reflects on the lessons she learned over the 10 years between championships and why she is so passionate about passi...

WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with Olympic road cyclist and New Zealand time trial champion Kim Cadzow! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Kim to discuss all things road cycling. Kim talks about navigating the chaos of her first pro year and her experience competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She also touches on her somewhat unconventional pathway into pro cycling and what it took to crack ...

WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with drummer and former professional skateboarder Georgina Matthews!! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Georgie to discuss all things skateboarding. Georgie talks about getting her first skateboard in 1999 and how she went on to win the National Championship the following year. She shares the ups and downs of her professional career and what it was like competi...

WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with NZBLAX attacker and current Waikato champ, Keita Perry! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Keita to discuss all things lacrosse. Keita talks about her journey into this minority sport and the role her family has played. She shares her perspective as a wahine Māori playing a sport invented by Indigenous North Americans. Plus, Keita reveals what it takes to r...

WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with Para Alpine Development Squad Sit Skier and Winton native, Bailley Unahi! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Bailley to discuss all things sit skiing. Bailley talks about the whole new world she’s discovered on the ski slopes and about using her lived experience in her mahi. She opens up about navigating the trauma of both injury and the news cycle. Plus, B...

WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with Caitlin O'Reilly, the youngest person ever to swim the Ocean's Seven! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Caitlin to discuss all things ultra swimming. Caitlin talks about setting her first open-water record at age 12 and her journey to conquer the six remaining open-water channel swims. She opens up about not only what it takes physically to spend hours in ...

WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with White Sox and Kaiapoi Queens outfielder Rissa McDowell! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Rissa to discuss all things softball! Rissa talks about growing up in a family of ballers and the vital role community plays in the sport. She opens up about her goals while back in Aotearoa, her time playing overseas, and the doors softball can open for players, even...

WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with professional trail runner and self-taught artist Caitlin Fielder! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Caitlin right after her victory in France to chat about all things trail running. Caitlin discusses the importance of small wins when aiming to conquer big distances, the issues with the "shrink it and pink it" mentality, and how she tackles training. She al...

WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with tenpin bowler (and four-time consecutive national champion) Sarah Young! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Sarah to chat about a nostalgia-inducing sport that many New Zealanders have played (albeit at a hobby level). Sarah shares about her growing up "on the lanes" in bowling centres run by her parents, then growing up to run one herself. She also highlig...

WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with Black Fin Surf Life Saving athlete and World Champion beach sprinter Briana Irving! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Briana to discuss one of New Zealand's most quintessential sports: surf life saving. Briana shares her journey in athletics, her passion for long-distance running, and her competitive experiences on the sand. She also highlights that surf l...

WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with Olympic Weightlifting Commonwealth medalist and multiple New Zealand title holder Medea Jones! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Medea to discuss the increasing participation of women in this traditionally male-dominated sport. Medea talks about her background in international power tumbling and reveals which gymnastic move has helped enhance her lifts. Sh...

WOMENZSPORTS is hyped to share our kōrero with Queenstown athlete and snowboarding Slopestyle Olympian Cool Wakushima!! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Cool to chat about the universal language of sport and how it helped ease the culture shock after moving to New Zealand from Japan. Cool talks about her race in the pool against both puberty and Erika Fairweather. She also reminds us of the importance o...

This week, WOMENZSPORTS is excited to share our kōrero with Tall Fern and captain of the reigning champion BNZ Kāhu, Penina Davidson! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Penina to discuss defining your own version of success — on and off the basketball court. Penina talks about the impact that former Tall Ferns have had on her basketball career and the importance of holding space for her teammates when the...

This week, WOMENZSPORTS is hyped to share our kōrero with field hockey coach and Masters Black Stick athlete Di Jordan!! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Di to chat about starting her masters field hockey career in the 90s, representing New Zealand overseas and reminiscing about wearing the Silver Fern for the first time. Di talks about the importance of having a sport that lasts for life and how removi...

This week, in celebration of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori WOMENZSPORTS is hyped to share our kōrero with Kī o Rahi athlete, advocate and coach Bobbie Hira!! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Bobbie to chat about the wonderful world of Kī o Rahi - a game that is rooted in legend and played around the motu. Bobbie talks about the importance of connecting her Māoritanga with her passion for sport and how she...

WOMENZSPORTS is hyped to share our kōrero with canoe polo athlete, Paddle Fern and World Games bronze medalist Casey Hales!! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Casey to chat about why she thinks canoe polo is rugby on the water, about the draw of team sports and how you can be successful at playing canoe polo chicken! Casey talks about growing up in the Hawke's Bay, the influence her older sisters ha...

WOMENZSPORTS is hyped to share our kōrero with handball athlete (2015 U21 Oceania Champ), player for London GD & handball commentator Alex Mair!! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Alex to chat about how she found her way into the unique sport, about being the voice that she never heard when she first entered the game and about why you should love handball just as much as she does! Alex talks about he...

WOMENZSPORTS is hyped to share our kōrero with Volley Fern and Australian Rules Football player for the North Shore Tigers (2023 AFLW Champions) Katie Adamson!! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Katie to chat about the nitty-gritty of indoor volleyball and AFL, the art of smack-talk, and the joy that is discovering a new sport after you have mastered another. Katie talks about her journey from growing up...

WOMENZSPORTS is hyped to share our kōrero with New Zealand SailGP Black Foils strategist Liv Mackay!! Sports journalist and rugby player Alice Soper sits down with Liv to chat about her less traditional pathway into the sport of sailing, why they both love a quota and about the pressure and privilege of being a first. Liv talks about the struggles she's had with finding her voice as the only female sailor on a team and the hurdles ...