"The sport has come such a long way and it's wonderful to see so many women out on the water. Seeing the diversity of the sport grow has been phenomenal."
McNae has been fishing since she was a child and competing for about three years. She says it has been "a pretty big journey".
"We only had two women when I competed in the Commonwealth competition, so as you can imagine it was a little bit daunting.
"It's so great to have a full complement of women's team members and to be able to put a full team together shows how much it has grown.
"There's a special kind of sisterhood that grows when you're on the water together. It's a very social sport but it can also be a very individual sport as well - it's whatever you make it.
"It's carved space for women and what has been wonderful is women and men have done that, it's been a really collaborative effort."
She says if the team are able to compete in Australia it will be a great opportunity to learn and develop their skills.
"It really opens up a whole different range of skills and techniques because you're applying your knowledge to a different context and different waters."
Delany says being in the team is "very exciting".
"I can't wait for next year. A couple of years ago one of the women from the Australian team taught us a new style of fishing which has been used in competition for a while.
"We became a lot more interested, a couple of ladies forged the way in competition, and now there are six or seven of us competing regularly and Sport Fly Fishing NZ decided to create a women's team."
Delany has never represented New Zealand before and says it is something she never thought would be a possibility. She enjoys the challenge of competing.
"You get given a stretch of water and you have to catch as many fish over 20cm as possible, within a two-hour period, and you get points. It's all catch and release and you do it on rivers and lakes.
"It really tests anglers in different places and conditions, you can't just go to your favourite spots."
Sport Fly Fishing NZ selector and angler development officer Cory Scott, an eight-time national champion himself, says women in fly fishing have always been eligible to compete for New Zealand, alongside the men, but this is the first time there has been an all-female team.
"What we found previously is it becomes a minority and then women feel intimidated. Once they start getting more numbers of women around them they have that camaraderie.
"Two or three years ago an all women's team from the Czech Republic competed in the European Championship and finished fourth overall, beating a lot of the fancied men's teams. It does prove that women can match it with the men, unlike a lot of other sports where they play their own tournaments."
Scott says the Australian women are a couple of years ahead in their development but will provide a valuable learning experience for the New Zealand side.
"Just having enough numbers to make this team is a positive step. There are a lot of other women talking about competing and keen to get involved.
"Having more and more women involved is already growing, that's definitely the growth area across a lot of sports throughout the world."
The ultimate goal for Sport Fly Fishing New Zealand is to send a team to the inaugural World Women's Fly Fishing Championships in Norway in 2022.
The Sport Fly Fishing NZ teams
Women:
Rachel McNae
Suzie Foggo
Louise Stewart
Wendy Lu
Heather Carrington
Sarah Delany - Reserve
Senior (Open):
Hugo Pearce
Tim Anderson
James Fuller
Ollie Bassett
Billy Thrupp
Masters:
Chris Young
John Bell
Peter Scott
Tim Rich
Neil Hirtzel
Nick Langdon – Reserve
