New Zealand Rugby Player, Olympic Gold Medalist
Believes in “Ultimately, the only real thing about your journey is the step you’re taking right now“

Jazmin Felix-Hotham is a New Zealand rugby sevens player. She plays for the Black Ferns Sevens and represents Waikato provincially. Hotham was a member of the New Zealand Women’s Sevens team when they won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Another high school star, Jazmin Hotham made her international debut in the victory at the Sydney Sevens in 2020.

Covid lockdown’s meant it was almost two years before she got another taste World Series Sevens and she has gone on to become a regular in the Black Ferns Sevens. Hotham has impressed on the sevens field since start in Year 10, and in 2017 helped guide her Hamilton Girls’ seven team to a National title before starring in the New Zealand Under 17 team that won the World School Sevens.

Hotham was still attending Hamilton Girls’ High School when she was given a development contract with the Black Ferns Sevens team.

In 2017, she helped her school win the National Condors title and also scored the winning try in the World Schools Sevens final.
Hotham was initially chosen to captain the New Zealand girls’ sevens team to the 2018 Youth Olympics, but was ruled out due to a shoulder injury she received while playing representative rugby.

Hotham made her international debut for the Black Ferns sevens in the semi-final against France at the 2020 Sydney Women’s Sevens. She was named as a travelling reserve for the 2021 Olympics squad in Tokyo. Hotham was named in the Black Ferns squad for the 2022 Sevens Series. She made the Black Ferns Sevens squad for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

She won a bronze medal at the event. She later won a silver medal at the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Cape Town.

On 20th June 2024 it was announced that she had been selected as a member of the New Zealand Women’s Rugby Sevens team for the Paris Olympics. Hotham scored four tries over the course of the Olympic sevens competition and won a gold medal after the New Zealand team triumphed against Canada in the final, 19-12.

Medal record Representing New Zealand
Women’s Rugby sevens

Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team competition

Rugby World Cup Sevens
Silver medal – second place 2022 Cape Town Team competition

Commonwealth Games
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Birmingham Team competition

Women Fitness President Ms. Namita Nayyar catches up with Jazmin Felix-Hotham, an exceptionally talented New Zealand rugby sevens player player, here she talks about her fitness regime, and her story to success.

Namita Nayyar:

You were born at Henderson, Auckland, New Zealand.

As a high school star, you made your international debut in the victory at the Sydney Sevens in 2020.This later propelled your career to the height where you have been at the top of the world as a women rugby player. Tell us more about your professional journey of exceptional hard work, tenacity, and endurance?

Jazmin Felix-Hotham:

I was born in Auckland but grew up in Hamilton. I have four siblings including one sister and three brothers. Both my parents have represented New Zealand in Touch Rugby so naturally myself and my siblings grew up loving and playing all various sports.

I tried a lot of sports but my main ones being athletics, swimming, touch rugby and football. My whole family played together in a mixed Touch team and having three brothers I played lots of rugby in the backyard with them. There was never much opportunity for girls to play rugby. In primary school I was the only girl on the team but I played because I just wanted to hang out with all of my mates which at the time were boys.

It was later when I reached high school that I was asked to try out for the school rugby sevens team that was traveling to Japan that I started to properly learn how to play.

I really enjoyed it and loved that it provided me with the opportunity to travel to another country. I first watched the Black Ferns Sevens on TV when they competed at the Rio 2016 Olympics. I was 16, and at the time my math teacher Shakira Baker was actually a player in the team along with a few ex Hamilton Girls High students I had played touch with. I think watching them that year ignited this flame inside me that I wanted to one day wear a black jersey and represent my country for rugby sevens at an Olympic games.

Photo credit: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby

In 2017, after playing for my province at a national tournament the Black Ferns coach rang me asking if I would like to have a year’s training contract with the team. At the time I still had another year of high school so I told the coach I had to ring my parents first and ask if I was allowed. My parents’ only condition was that I was never allowed to fall behind in my school work. Through my last year of high school I would attend week long training camps in Mount Maunganui then go back to Hamilton and attend school.

I was the school’s deputy head girl prefect, Sports captain prefect and also a part of the senior touch, Rugby 1st XV and Rugby Sevens teams. I definitely learnt time management and balance that year. In September of 2018 I dislocated my shoulder and needed to have shoulder reconstruction surgery.

A few days after surgery I had a call from Allan Bunting the coach asking if I’d like to be a full time Black Ferns Sevens contracted player and I probably almost redislocated my shoulder jumping up super happy celebrating. In 2019 I moved to Mount Maunganui to be a full time professional Rugby Sevens player.

Full Interview is Continued on Next Page

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