Growing up watching her dad Richard play in tournaments, it was always going to be table tennis for Maia Cavanagh. 

The Academy Southland foundation year athlete has had a bat in her hand since before she can remember and has been playing seriously since she was 11-years-old. 

Last year she achieved national selection for the first time, picked for the New Zealand under 18 team for the Oceania Championships. 

She won silver medals in the teams and under 18 girls doubles events, as well as reaching the quarterfinals in both the individual and mixed doubles. 

“It was unreal,” Cavanagh said of her first taste of the international stage. 

“It was really cool to see Australia playing and be part of that team culture. I was quite nervous to go because the two other girls in the team were quite strong, but being there and getting feedback from the players and coaches was really cool.” 

As well as having Dad as a hitting partner, the Year 13 James Hargest College student has worked with Dunedin-based Ben Duffy and Invercargill’s Jono Wang to improve her game. 

She remembers watching the talented Michael Zhang playing for Southland before he headed to Duke University in the United States. 

This year was meant to be a big one for Cavanagh. It is her last as a junior and she was already selected for the New Zealand under 21 and senior women’s teams for the Oceania Championships in Brisbane before that tournament was cancelled as the full extent of Covid-19 became apparent. 

“The team was very young, which was cool. It would have been bigger than last year because it was in Australia. It was also the Olympic trials for mixed doubles, so there would have been bigger crowds. It would have been good to be exposed to those top Australians, like Melissa Tapper.” 

In case you haven’t heard of Melissa Tapper, she’s the first Australian athlete to qualify for both the summer Olympics and Paralympics. 

“Initially I was pretty disappointed, because it wasn’t actually that far away when we went into lockdown and I was into the preparation for the tournament and was getting really excited. Everyone at Academy Southland was disappointed that we’d had events taken away and we were all in the same boat. It was good to express how we were feeling together.” 

The Academy has provided some real benefit for Cavanagh in her first year of the two-year programme. 

Cavanagh is planning on studying health sciences at Otago University next year and has been further motivated to go down that path having worked with Academy nutritionist Aimee Hall. 

Cavanagh has also learned some important lessons through the Academy. 

“Our sports are not who we are as people, there’s a lot more to who we are,” she said. 

“I’m a bit of a perfectionist. Everything has to be 10 out of 10 or it isn’t good enough. That got me into a mindset where I had to train all the time. Talking with the Academy, it’s been good to change my mindset on that.” 

Cavanagh is already well into a busy domestic season, having ticked off the North Island individual, Otago Open and Southland Open. 

The South Island individuals and Southland Residentials are looming ahead of the national championships in Auckland. 

Running alongside that is Cavanagh’s other passion, netball umpiring. 

“I got into netball umpiring when I was Year 8 at school. I was playing in the top Hargest team and I wanted to improve as a player. I thought knowing the rules would make me a better player, but now it’s changed and I only play to make me a better umpire.” 

Cavanagh has been mentored by former international umpire Colleen Bond and hopes to one day officiate at a World Cup. 

Article added: Thursday 06 August 2020