When handball's Asian Championships begin in Japan at the end of this month, a history making New Zealand side will be among the 10 teams battling for glory.
For the very first time, New Zealand will compete in the Asian Championships, having previously played in the Oceania division, with the tournament the result of a gruelling 18 month campaign.
With handball being an amateur sport in New Zealand, the players have had to delve into their own pockets to fund the trip, a small price to pay to compete on the world stage.
"This trip means a lot to us here in NZ. Especially the team, the girls and their families," La Winitana told 1 NEWS.
"A lot of sacrifice has gone into this."
Being amateurs, the Kiwi side will face fully professional outfits, opening their campaign against hosts Japan, as well as eventually eyeing up a trans-Tasman showdown with Australia, the two teams drawn in the same pool.
New Zealand on the other hand, enter the tournament without a world ranking.
For captain Jaclyn Parker though, the underdog status is one that certainly sits well with the side.
"Just some experience of what handball is like on the world stage, and what level we need to target next, because that's our next step for us is to place highly at the Asian Champs."
"Those girls have gone to the Olympics before, so that'll be a pretty tough match. We're going to get a lot of experience from this tournament, but there are still games we're going to target for a win hopefully."
New Zealand begin their tournament against Japan on November 30, also taking on Australia, Iran and Kazakhstan.
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