Caitlin-Judith Heale can still recall the moment she became hooked on ice hockey.
As a child, Heale had recently started playing the sport when the Ice Blacks skated into town for the world championships in 2009.
She was one of the lucky few who were chosen to tag along with an international team, and Heale spent the week soaking up the chance to be up close with the Greek team, watching all their games at the Dunedin Ice Rink.
"That kind of cemented my interest in ice hockey," Heale said.
"Having this opportunity to have our team be a part of a tournament here like that ... I just hope that even if one person has that experience I had in 2009, I think that’d be pretty cool."
Heale is gearing up for a massive week with the Ice Fernz, competing at the division 2, group B world championships in Dunedin.
They get their campaign under way against Ukraine on Monday then play Belgium, Hong Kong, Australia and Turkey during the week.
For Heale, who was born in New Plymouth but moved to Dunedin when she was 10, skating on her home ice will be special.
"For someone who grew up here and learned to skate on this ice, it’s a real full-circle moment to be able to, I guess, showcase to the community that’s given us all of these opportunities what we’re made of, really.
"It’s super cool because I know lots of the people coming will never have been able to see us play live — it’s really special."
New Zealand last hosted the women’s event in Auckland in 2013, which was the first time Heale represented the Ice Fernz.
After making the national development team at 14, Heale made the step up to the senior team at the world championships at just 15.
"Because that was my first year, I was a rookie on the team, I just remember being so excited by everything.
"I’d never played anything internationally before, so getting to see all of the other teams was really cool ... getting to be a part of a national team and seeing how that worked, and also the step up was really pretty nerve-racking, too."
Heale might have a family member to thank for her career.
After just moving to Dunedin, her aunt was running out of things to do with her nieces and took them to the ice rink for a skate.
"I don’t think we ever left. We fell in love straight away."
She tried everything on the ice from figure skating to speed skating before ice hockey was the one that stuck.
The 27-year-old played in Dunedin, before moving to Christchurch, and eventually headed to Canada for her final two years of secondary school.
She played for the Leaside Wildcats in Toronto, Canada, then headed to the United States to study and play at Norwich University.
"I think my first season in Canada, I played more ice hockey games than I had my whole life combined.
"It was pretty cool. To go to a country where ice hockey is a premier sport, it was just worlds away from New Zealand."
She later returned to New Zealand, playing for the Dunedin Thunder until moving to the Wakatipu Wild in the national women’s league this season.
The league had made good progress since her return and the addition of a fourth team and extra games this year had boosted the standard, she said.
Through the years, Heale, who is a teacher at Southland Girls’ High School, noticed plenty of changes in the sport.
While she grew up playing as one of the only girls in boys teams, there were now full girls teams for young players to join.
Nationally, the addition of the under-18 women’s team, which was not around when she started, had been a game-changer.
"It’s pretty awesome to see the change from when I started and to seeing all the opportunities that girls, in particular, have now.
"If you can’t see it, it’s really hard to believe it.
"It’s really important, especially for girls coming out of high school.
"You have sort of less opportunity to play sports, so keeping girls interested, and having opportunities to go further with their sport, is really important."
There is another special layer to suiting up for the Ice Fernz next week — Heale gets to play at the world championships alongside her younger sister, Abbey.
"That’s probably my favourite part.
"Getting to represent your country’s awesome, but getting to do it alongside your sister is so cool."
World championships
Women’s division 2, group B
Where: Dunedin Ice Rink.
When: April 14-20.
Teams: New Zealand, Australia, Belgium, Ukraine, Turkey, Hong Kong.
Draw: April 14, Hong Kong v Belgium (1pm), Australia v Turkey (4.30pm), New Zealand v Ukraine (8pm); April 15, Australia v Hong Kong (1pm), Turkey v Ukraine (4.30pm), New Zealand v Belgium (8pm); April 17, Belgium v Turkey (1pm), Australia v Ukraine (4.30pm), New Zealand v Hong Kong (8pm); April 19, Turkey v Hong Kong (1pm), Ukraine v Belgium (4.30pm), New Zealand v Australia (8pm); April 20, Hong Kong v Ukraine (1pm), Belgium v Australia (4.30pm), New Zealand v Turkey (8pm).
Ice Fernz squad
Defenders: Alex Hefford, Caitlin Hollyer, Gracie Hellmrich, Hannah Cross, Jaime Jones, Rachael Richmond, Rebecca Lilly.
Forwards: Abbey Heale, Anjali Mulari, Caitlin-Judith Heale, Gabby Mills, Hannah Shields, Helen Murray, Hope Gregory, Jasmine Horner-Pascoe, Kate Vernal, Katya Blong, Kellye Nelson, Lily Hansen, Sammy Heyward.
Goaltenders: Grace Harrison, Lochlyn Hyde.
