By HARRY CLARKE
A DECADE on from when she first wore the green and gold jersey as a teenager, a touch football star hailing from country Queensland has achieved her dream of being named in the Australian Emus open women’s team.
Georgina Rackemann, a former Chinchilla girl who now works as a teacher at Toowoomba’s Fairholme College, will be part of our national squad hosting New Zealand in Brisbane in April for the long awaited biennial Trans-Tasman Test Series.
International touch football was put on hold throughout the pandemic, meaning the three-game tournament will be Australia’s first clash with the Kiwis since 2019.
Rackemann, 27, previously represented Australia in the Under-18s schoolgirls team and said she was thrilled and “relieved” to have now earned her position in the Australian Emus open team.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve represented Australia and I’m very excited to be able to do that again,” she said.
“It’s a very special feeling. You don’t get many opportunities to play for your country, so every now and then when you get the chance you make sure you soak up every moment of it.
“It’s a relief to get to the point where we get selected in the team and actually get to go away. During Covid, we’d go to the training camps and then find out the competition has to be cancelled, so it’s a long time coming.
[adrotate group=”2″]
Rackemann has been among Australia’s elite female touch football players ever since she first reached representative level at the age of 15.
She’s been a regular in the Queensland team but, in the intensely competitive and physically taxing sport, has had to work hard and consistently for just shy of 10 years to now crack the very top level of the sport.
“It’s definitely competitive. I’ve been playing for a while and it’s only now that I’m getting my chance to play in this team,” she said.
“Women’s touch football has always had such strong players. You kind of have to bide your time and wait for them to move on before you get your go.
“It’s something I’ve always looked up to. Australians are always so proud of their sportspeople and I think it’s really cool to push yourself to that level in your chosen sport.”
[adrotate group=”2″]
Footballing prowess runs in the Rackemann family.
Georgina’s mother, Brenda Rackemann, was a long time Queensland open women’s touch football representative while her father, Bill Rackemann, was a contracted rugby league player with the Narangba Rangers and was part of the Wynnum Seagulls squad in the 1980s.
“I enjoy the fast paced nature of the sport and the agility, and the skills that come with that,” Georgina Rackemann said.
“It’s also such a good team sport and socially it’s great. I’ve made a lot of great friendships – even with the girls from NSW. We come to know each other from playing against each other and from training camps.
“Everyone’s very excited and I can’t wait for April.”
