When the University of Otago squash player was finally old enough to start competing at junior international tournaments, Covid-19 hit and put a stop to her dream.
But it has given the 18-year-old time to hone her craft and finally be selected for the transtasman junior test series against Australia.
Toghill, the only Otago player selected, will join Ella Lash, Anne Leakey and Ashlee Pepper, all of Auckland, representing the New Zealand under-19 girls team, competing as individuals and as a team in Sydney, starting today.
"I’m pretty happy considering it will be my last junior tournament and it’s a pretty cool way to end by playing overseas."
Being selected for her first international competition was exciting and she wanted to learn as much as she could from the opportunity.
"I have no idea who I’m going to face. I’m just going in with knowing I don’t know anything about them and just trying my best."
Toghill, who left for Australia earlier this month, was selected following her form for Otago at the national championships earlier this year.
She missed the singles, due to her university exams, but placed third in the team event.
After finishing the first year of her primary teaching degree, Toghill returned home to Wanaka and had been training hard ahead of the competition.
New Zealand will also send under-19, under-17 and under-15 boys and girls teams to compete in the transtasman test series.
