Behind the whistle

By Josie Huxtable

For Uinita (Nita) Tauhalaliku, netball has always been more than a game – it’s been a guiding light shaping her sense of self, building friendships and fuelling her ambition.

First falling in love with the game in primary school, the wing defender turned goal attack went on to enjoy a stellar career at the international level, representing Tonga as a player, coach, and umpire.

“When I first started playing netball, at the time there weren’t many sports considered acceptable for girls to play,” she said.  

“Netball gave me a home where I could be active, make friends and be part of a team. It gave me confidence in myself.”  

After playing socially in Australia, Tauhalaliku returned to Tonga determined to create the same opportunities for girls back home. She began as a coach at her old secondary school – which was often dismissed as one of the lowest-performing schools in the country.

What followed was remarkable.

The team she coached were not only playing but winning competitions, transforming perceptions of the school and the children within it.

“Our school was under-resourced, but netball shifted the community’s view completely,” she said.

“Netball proved that everyone deserves the opportunity to discover their potential. Netball gave me that lesson and I wanted to pass it on.”

Her coaching success caught the attention of Tonga’s netball community and she was encouraged to apply as a Community Development Officer with the newly established Tonga Netball Association.

From that point, her leadership grew.

Now serving as Technical Development Officer, Tauhalaliku oversees participation and skills development programs across Tonga, promoting sport as a pathway for young people while also managing the systems that enable competitions to thrive.

Her role is supported through a partnership between Netball Australia and the Australian Government through Netball’s Ocean of Power – a program which invests in women sport leaders, officials, and administrators across the Pacific.

The program is increasing participation in netball for women and girls, creating more opportunities for women in leadership, and improving access to safe and inclusive competitions.

As she supported others, Tauhalaliku also held on to her own dream: to become a high-performance umpire.

For her, umpiring is more than rules. It’s about respect, discipline, and heart.

“The umpire sets the tone,” she said.

“If players believe you are fair, the game has a good spirit. You can’t have ego on the court. You need to love the game, and you need to love the people.

“I always wanted to umpire. I chose coaching first because Tonga needed it. Once I saw the next generation ready to step up, I told myself, now it’s your turn.”

Earlier this year, after 13 years of waiting and preparation, the program supported Tauhalaliku to return to Australia where she earned her B-Badge umpiring qualification through the Netball Australia pathway in Melbourne.

Tauhalaliku became Tonga’s most qualified umpire, and one of only three people in the Pacific to hold this accreditation at the time. It was a moment that she describes as a personal milestone.

“I was so nervous during the practical assessment in Melbourne. I couldn’t even hear my own voice when I was making calls on court. When they told me I had passed, I was so emotional,” she said.

“It was years of waiting and working and it wasn’t just for me. It was for Tonga – proof that we belong on an international stage.

“Previously we relied on flying umpires in for regional tournaments in the Pacific – now we can begin to umpire for our own region.”

The B Badge is also a professional breakthrough for Tauhalaliku. It qualifies her to umpire at higher-level competitions, opening doors to regional and international opportunities.

Within months, she was officiating at the Saints Super Netball competition in Samoa – her first regional tournament and her first official international appointment.

“I kept pinching myself thinking ‘am I really here?’ – but that’s what the B-Badge means. Before, it felt like just a dream. Now it’s a real career pathway. And once you’re on that ladder, you can keep climbing.”

Her eyes are now on future tournaments and uplifting umpires in Tonga.

During the inaugural Tala-Tutone Tour, in which Australian Pathway athletes competed against the Tonga Tala, Tauhalaliku, alongside Netball Australia umpries Chloe Grosser and Alexandra Brown, facilitated umpire workshops to accredit eight new C badge umpires.

For Tauhalaliku, these opportunities are significant for Tonga to continue to grow its cohort of umpires.

“If I go to an A Badge, that’s wonderful. But more important is that other women come behind me, and some go further than me. That’s true success,” she said.

Alongside her umpiring journey, Tauhalaliku has been an active participant in Netball Australia’s Strategic Leadership Workshops alongside peers from Samoa, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji.

“We always look forward to those workshops,” she said.

“It’s not just training. It’s a chance to sit together, share what went well, what challenges we face, and how we can adapt ideas to our own countries.”

She has taken lessons home - such as safeguarding approaches from Samoa, where posters were used to promote safe and inclusive environments for young players.

“We brought that back home to Tonga and called our secondary school tournament the Safeguarding Netball competition. It reminded everyone of the importance of safety, not just sport,” she explained.

At the same time, she has helped Tonga Netball Association establish strong partnerships to help streamline their programs.

“In Tonga, we shared how we partnered with the Tonga Leitis Association. Other countries saw how we were building local partnerships.”

The workshops gave her not just skills but confidence.

“It’s about listening, about building others up so they can lead too. When you hear from other Pacific women, you realise you are not alone, we are all facing similar challenges, and we can find solutions together,” she expressed.

Today, whether leading development programs, sharing ideas with other Pacific women, or umpiring regional tournaments, Tauhalaliku is shaping a future where young girls see possibility in every whistle and every pass.

“Sometimes people say Tonga is too small, but I don’t believe that. With the right support, our girls can be leaders, umpires, coaches - anything. My dream is to see a whole new generation stepping forward, confident that netball can take them anywhere.”

Netball Australia is proud to support women such as Nita through the Netball’s Ocean of Power Program that empowers women and girls to step into leadership roles and become champions within their community.

The program is an Australian Government initiative – reaffirming a shared commitment to supporting gender equality and positive social change through the power of netball.