Emelia Ainley has taken a big step in advancing her long-term goal of playing American college basketball.
The versatile Nayland College sports star relocated to St Andrew’s College in Christchurch at the start of term four to take up a basketball and netball scholarship.
So, is pursuing the US hoop dream already in the back of her mind? “No. It is in the front of my mind,” quips Emelia from her new base before heading to Tauranga to play for her Mainland Pouākai basketball side. She is a development player in the Rapid League, the youngest in her team and already making a name for herself with her rebounding skills.
The 15-year-old is loving her busy new environment. “They were so welcoming at Stac’s and it really helps that Ava Jones had already moved from Nelson to the school,” says the Year 11 student, who is a boarder at the college.
The pair had previously played age grade basketball together for New Zealand.
Emelia was also approached by another Christchurch school, St Margaret’s College.
It has been some year for Emelia, starting with NayCol winning the South Island Senior A girls volleyball championships in Christchurch and then the netball side reaching the final of the South Island Secondary School champs in Dunedin.
“We were the underdogs but had great support down here,” enthuses the goal shoot, whose team was ranked 32nd going into the tournament. The team was also runner-up in its first year back in the Nelson premier netball competition.
A standout in those two sports from an early age, Emelia was asked to try out for basketball three years ago.
“My height was obviously a factor but I was so unco-ordinated at the start and couldn’t even dribble,” she reveals.
But her growth was matched by her developing skills. She is 1.955m tall, six foot five in the old measuring system, but anyone seeing her play can immediately see she brings more than just height.
“Emelia is a generational player with athleticism and toughness. A unicorn,” declares Nayland College sports director and Tasman Volleyball chair, Brendan Crichton. As well as being a mythical creature, a unicorn is also a sporting term associated with basketball used to describe a rare athlete with a combination of size, skill and athleticism not typically seen.
As if her volleyball and netball achievements this year were not enough, Emelia was picked for the Junior Tall Ferns basketball side to play in the U16 Asia Women’s Cup in Malaysia.
She made such an impression, selection in the All-Star 5 tournament team followed.
“That was insane. The highlight of the year,” insists Emilia, given she has only been playing that sport three years.
She credits her rugby-playing father Alex, a former Tasman Mako captain and Highlanders lock, for a lot her success.
“Dad knew what I had to do to make the next step.” Alex confirms his background was helpful in assessing his daughter’s options once she realised he had been a professional sportsman too.
And to cap off a huge 2025, there is a family holiday to Europe. “And we don’t do things by halves,” says the avid traveller as she reels off the countries they will take in.
