A fijian is set to create history at the 2024 Women’s T20I Pacific Cup cricket tournament scheduled to take place in Auckland, New Zealand from January 17-21.
Ruci Kaiwai, a former national cricket player and captain, will be the first Fijian woman to umpire at the regional event.
The mother of two is no stranger in the sport of cricket, representing Fiji women as a player in several international and regional events dating back to 2009.
In 2015, she participated in the Women’s International Cricket League in New Zealand which ranked together with becoming the first Fijian woman to represent the country in the 2019 East Asia Pacific team for the Australian Country Cricket Championships.
Kaiwai, who is an all-rounder, took up an umpire course while also serving as Cricket Fiji’s development officer.
The 37-year-old started officiating locally in 2012 during Easter tournaments and Suva Cricket competitions.
“This means a lot to me. I have a vision of where I want to reach in this new space, and this is only the beginning. Once I acquire an International Cricket Council level 1 umpire certificate, I would be able to share my knowledge to other women in this sport. “The certificate would enable me to become the first person who can teach other females to become umpires in the future,” the Korotolu, Moce in Lau trailblazer stated.
“I am nervous and excited about this opportunity. I’ll be in a three-day workshop in Auckland before umpiring the rest of the week.”
Cricket Fiji chief executive Sitiveni Rokoro said this was a special feat that went in line with their strategic focus of boosting women and girl’s participation in the sport.
“She has been officiating in most of our domestic competitions, so she has that experience. We are trying to promote our women officials so Ruci along with our High Performance Manager will go for training in New Zealand where on their return they will share what they’ve learned with aspiring umpires, both men and women.
“We will raise the number of women umpires as well in Fiji with Ruci now taking the lead to the regional level. We also want to raise the number of female representatives in our office and on our board as well. We have a seven-member board, only one is female.”
Kaiwai, who will depart our shores on January 12, also plans to one day coach a national women’s team having acquired an ICC Level 1 coaching certificate in the past year.
The Pacific Cup will be held at Lloyd Elsmore Park in Auckland hosting five East Asia Pacific Nations including the Cook Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Vanuatu, and Aotearoa Maori.
Teams will face one another through pool play, culminating in a Grand Final on Sunday, January 21, at Eden Park’s Outer Oval.
The 2024 Pacific Cup will also represent an opportunity for nations to build capability around cricket – with coach, umpire, and player development sessions planned for attendees.
