"When you are at school, you can always compete, but you are never at that level, said Sargison. "You had to have a head start, or some sort of advantage to get on the same level as anyone and you'll never have a chance of actually winning. This one, if I trained really hard and gave it my best, I could actually win."
Sargison recalls cross country events at school - "I always had a head start" - or using stools in other sports to help her.
She enjoyed hockey, though that got harder as "everyone grew and got a lot stronger than me".
Next week in Guelph, near Toronto, Sargison and fellow New Zealander Nina Kersten will join short stature people from more than 20 countries for the seventh edition of the World Dwarf Games.
First held in Chicago in 1993, the event is expected to attract more than 500 athletes across 13 sports. Some events have altered rules, but many don't. There is a raised floor in table tennis, but the badminton net is at normal height (1.55m), as are, impressively, the basketball hoops (3m), though the balls are smaller, for an easier grip.
Sargison's journey to Canada started almost a year ago. Her friend Kersten had entered, but was going to compete under the Australian flag as there was no New Zealand team.
"I said you can't [represent] Australia," laughed Sargison. "I asked her if she needed any help with fundraising or anything. She said, 'you could go with me'."
Sargison eventually agreed, then threw herself into training, with daily sessions at the Yvette Williams track in Howick and regular badminton and table tennis training. She also travelled to Greymouth regularly to train with Kersten, who would head north every other month.
"It's been full on," said Sargison. "We've made a lot of progress . . . but it's been hard."
However, Sargison is used to challenges. Along with her parents and younger sister, she was born with Achondroplasia (disproportionately short limbs), which accounts for around 80 per cent of New Zealanders with dwarfism. It hasn't affected her positive outlook on life and outgoing attitude - "My parents always told me that big things come in small packages" - but admits it can be difficult.
"It's more social than physical," said Sargison. "Physically, you just have to have lots of stools and things like that, but socially, it is a lot harder to get people to accept you
. . . maybe people don't understand difference. The stares, people judging you before they know you, making assumptions about you. I'm 23, an adult, a qualified teacher, but sometimes I think people still think of you as young, or a child."
Perhaps the worst situations are at parties or bars.
"Drunk people are a whole other story," said Sargison. "If you are in town, or at a pub, you need to be prepared. If people have been drinking, all of a sudden their filter goes through the roof."
There are practical challenges, too. The family home has a raised floor in the kitchen and an in ground washing machine, while Sargison's father used to take a special hook device to attach to hotel showers when the family travelled.
"It can be pretty tricky because a lot of things are made for people of average height, average weight," said Sargison. "But things are getting better and it's more common for people with dwarfism to have normal lives and normal jobs."
Sargison and Kersten have funded most of their trip. A GiveALittle page, a Zumba fundraiser and a donation from the Little People of New Zealand covered about a quarter of their costs, but approaches to various corporates, trusts and sporting bodies proved fruitless.
But it will all be worth it next week.
"I can't wait," said Sargison. "I want to do well and I'm really excited. But also I've never been around that many short stature people . . . and to see how other cultures are with their dwarfism. It will also be nice to have no one staring, or awkward questions . . . it's kind of a break from reality."
