TRAINING MOVES: Raven Stevens tries to spoil her opponent’s pass during training with the national under-20 ultimate frisbee team. Picture supplied
OVERCOMING adversity seems to be the forte of Gisborne-born Raven Stevens, who will represent New Zealand at the World Junior Ultimate (frisbee) Championships in Poland at the end of this month.
Raven, 16, describes the moment her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was torn during the national secondary schools ultimate frisbee final in Taupo last year.
“I was running one way and someone came from behind me in the opposite direction and just collided with my knee.”
Raven’s team won the final and their opponents named Raven the Most Valued Player.
“After that, my whole team were sent invitations to trial for the under-20s but I had a torn ACL so I couldn’t go. I really didn’t know if I would make it in.”
Despite not trialling, and being on the sideline for most of the year due to her injury, Raven — a former Gisborne Intermediate School student who goes to Epsom Girls’ Grammar — gained a spot on the national team.
Raven suspects New Zealand Ultimate executive officer Iain Stewart based her inclusion on her form in regional competition in Auckland, before the nationals.
“I love getting this chance; I’m so happy to have it,” she says.
Raven’s mother, Rochelle Mackey-Stevens, says she is “pretty stoked” that Stewart selected Raven even though she couldn’t go to the trial.
“It really blew me away.”
Rising over difficultiesRising above difficulty is nothing new to Raven. In 2014, she left Gisborne — and her family — to head north.
“I moved to Auckland for football but then I was doing other sports like touch and rugby, and then there was frisbee,” says Raven, listing the sports teams she joined after starting at Epsom Girls’ Grammar School.
Before the move, Raven had played frisbee at Gisborne Intermediate and trained in Shane Rufer’s Palmerston North-based football academy.
“We used to travel from here to Palmy every couple of weeks for training,” Rochelle Mackey-Stevens says.
Raven says she didn’t really go to school often because of all the travelling.
She was scouted for the National Talent Centre football programme and travelled to Japan to compete in Shane Rufer’s academy team.
Moving to Auckland meant Raven could compete in high-level sport while attending school.
“Epsom Girls’ Grammar is a soccer school and Raven went straight into the top team there,” her mother says.
In her first year, Raven joined five other school sports teams, including waka ama, basketball and rugby.
Raven’s sporting ability has been recognised by both her school and external organisations.
She was selected for New Zealand Football women’s under-17 development squad and has received multiple school sports awards.
“She got her team colours last year for frisbee. Normally only seniors get those,” Rochelle says.
Raven still has a strong interest in football, but has put it on hold as she prepares for Poland.
“Because my ACL has been healing, I’ve stopped all my other sports and limited myself to ultimate,” she says.
She describes “ultimate” as a combination of all the sports she takes part in.
“All my sports go into it and it helps me out with my other sports.
“The playing area is based on a football field — the dimensions are similar — but instead of goals you have two areas at the end and that’s the score zone. You have to make your way from one end of the field to the other by passing the disc around . . . but there’s always a person defending you.”
Self-refereeingThe sport is self-refereeing, so games can get contentious, Raven says.
“The person with the disc can’t always see, so if I saw someone travelling but I wasn’t holding the disc I could call it up,” she says.
If the foul call is contested, the frisbee goes back to the person who had it one step before the foul took place and play continues.
“It was really great in the final,” Raven says.
“They just call it, they stop the play, explain to you what you’ve done wrong and then it’s ‘game on’ again,” Rochelle Mackey-Stevens says.
Raven says the world championships in Poland will have people who can step in and help, but the players have to make the final decision.
All players have to pass refereeing and drug tests before they take part in the championships.
With frisbee offered at several Gisborne schools, Raven is not the only East Coaster to excel in the sport.
Renee Holmes, also a former Gisborne Intermediate student and now an Gisborne Girls’ High School pupil, is part of the 21-strong squad going to Poland.
Epsom Girls’ Grammar have four current students and one old girl in the team for the worlds.
“I think we did so well at the start because we had the captain of the under-20s going to our school,” Raven says.
Epsom Girls’ Grammar are the current regional and national champions in the sport.
Raven lives in the school’s boarding house and is happy she chose to move. But she comes home as much as possible.
“I love it; I’m making new friends every year,” she says.
“In between the studying and stuff, I just text mum to see if I can come back.”
Leading up to the worlds, Raven has also been coming home for work.
“I had to raise six thousand dollars for the trip, just for me,” she says.
Working to raise fundsShe babysat and worked at her parents’ business, Xmen Logging, to raise the funds.
Raven isn’t the only family member to do well in sports.
Cousin Alex Rufer is an attacking midfielder with the Wellington Phoenix Football Club.
Raven’s mother recalls that after an Under-20 World Cup game in Hamilton, Alex jumped over the fence, took off his New Zealand shirt and gave it to Raven.
While Raven is interested in a professional sports career, she plans to join the navy after finishing school.
“I have an uncle in Australia who’s in the army,” she says, adding she has always wanted to be in something like that, although she prefers the navy.
“They offer so much,” she says.
Raven and her mother left for Europe this week.
They will travel together before meeting the rest of the ultimate frisbee party in Munich.
All the New Zealand squads will take part in a one-week training camp and friendly competition with German opponents before they start the world championships on July 31.