Switching Sides: Otago Cup Glory with Manawatu

Susie Ovens, an Aucklander, cheekily recalls playing for the Manawatu Deaf Women’s Basketball Team at the 1995 New Zealand Deaf Games in Porirua. With not enough players for an Auckland team, she and Nadia Baradi decided to jump ship and join Manawatu instead. They were also keen to form a New Zealand Deaf women’s team for the 1997 World Deaf Games in Copenhagen – but financial challenges meant it never came together. Still, Porirua was a triumph. The Manawatu team dominated, setting a record by thrashing Wellington 124–20, and went on to claim the Otago Cup for the Games.