21/09/16

First it was Joe Kayes off to Hungary and then Australia, now Rebecca Parkes is set to join Tauranga Water Polo’s honours board as she eyes up Hungarian citizenship to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

“When Joe got signed over, it definitely gave me the idea to go overseas to play.

“I’m looking at a special athlete’s grant. Basically the Hungarian federation get to choose if they want me or not, through lawyers, then I have to take an oath to get citizenship” she says.

Parkes is entering her third season with the Hungarian Eger club, that competes in the Hungarian Cup and National Water Polo League. Just like her clubmate Joe, she’s making waves overseas.

“I play full games as centre forward – I was somewhere around 11th top scorer last season, and near the top at earning kick-outs” she said.

Whilst she’s making a name for herself in Europe, Parkes’ roots are firmly grounded in New Zealand. She grew up launching a ball around playing Flippa Ball at the Papamoa school pool – she could throw the length of it as a primary school student. However, water polo wasn’t her first love.

“I wanted to succeed in basketball, I was in the Bay of Plenty rep team but I had bad knees and ankles.

“I was also swimmer, I played [water polo in] under 12s as a goalie because I could throw the whole pool” she laughed.

Basketball wasn’t going to work because of her injuries, so she chose the sport that was low-impact whilst still maintaining a highly-physical aspect, and the rest is history.

Her New Zealand career spans six years: from cadets in 2008 to New Zealand’s best-ever placing at a FINA World Championships; 6th at the FINA World Women’s Youth Championships in Perth in 2012, and then the 2013 Junior Championships in Greece.

Parkes says that while representing New Zealand is an honour, she always wanted to be a professional.

“I was never interested in going to the States for university, I always wanted to be the best and go professional.

“For Hungary it’s all paid for – their programme train 24/7. In New Zealand you have to work. Basically for me it’s an unreal dream unfolding to be real – I get paid to work out”

In the off-season, she travels home to New Zealand and gives back to the sport by refereeing and coaching. Her stint at home saw her referee the NZCT AIMS Games girls’ division final in Tauranga.

“I enjoy refereeing, I love water polo and getting paid to do something I like. It’s good to see kids coming through and doing very well”

On the subject of the Olympics, Parkes says that whilst representing Hungary is the goal for her, she can see the potential in the New Zealand squad.

“It looks like they’re really pushing for it and to get better. It’s a huge opportunity if it happens for New Zealand” she said.

Parkes will rejoin the Eger club for the season before returning to New Zealand again in June next year.