“When I had that conversation, I was 14.”
Compain’s mother couldn’t have anticipated that a week after Megan’s 16th birthday, she would embark on that journey.
“People would ask my mum, how could you let your daughter go at 16?”
Her mother would respond, “And what if I didn’t?”
The initially planned one year abroad turned into 18 years of sporting success.
After securing a basketball scholarship with St Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, Compain went on to play in the WNBA and in Europe, represented New Zealand at the Sydney and Athens Olympic Games and then worked with global sport companies such as AND1 and Adidas.
“There was a lot of luck and timing but I still had to bring myself to get there with a lot of decisions and sacrifices,” she said.
Compain fondly remembers the game that captured the attention of the Utah Starzz.
It was her senior year in college and Compain’s team, the St Joseph Hawks, were undefeated apart from losing one game to “our nemesis” George Washington University.
“We met them again in the conference champion play-off finals and we beat them by three.”
A game filled with winning free throws and a tight-knit team, Compain said it was a “fairytale ending” to her college career. And on her graduation night, she got the call from Utah confirming she had got one of the two roster spots that allowed her to step on to the WNBA court.
It took Compain a while to acknowledge her achievements. Being a woman in sport was “nothing like it is now”, she said.
“It was a battle, and the sad thing about it is that we accepted it.
“We dismissed our own achievements and didn’t fight for more because anything we were getting felt like we should just be grateful.
“I would tell myself, yes, I played for the WNBA, but I didn’t play that much, I only played for one season. You sort of downplay it because your achievements weren’t valued as much as men’s were.”
The Athens Olympic Games marked a milestone for the New Zealand Tall Ferns and Compain.
“In 2004, it was really contested because we got there off the back of Australia, automatically qualifying, and we were the only other team from Oceania.
“There was a lot of tension and a lot of public commentary in the media, even from our own rugby community. They were loud and outspoken in the media saying we shouldn’t be there and it is disrespectful because we are not good enough and we are going to embarrass New Zealand.”
With the extra motivation to prove people wrong, it was the Tall Ferns’ goal to reach the Olympic quarter-finals that year.
“We targeted Korea, which we beat first, and then China, who were ranked number three in the world. We beat China as I had a buzzer-winner in the final seconds and we achieved our goal.”
When Compain made her way back to New Zealand, she became head of the commercial partnerships department for New Zealand Rugby from 2010 to 2020. She is now returning to New Zealand Rugby, starting her new role as the All Blacks’ commercial manager.
“Through my time working with rugby before and now, I understand how important it is for the fabric of New Zealand and society because I have lived it now. The community side of the game and that connection that rugby can make in our society is so important and I don’t think any other sport does that,” she said.
Compain will be in Whanganui on Tuesday, February 20, to feature in Sport Whanganui’s Women Who Lead event.
“The basketball community that I grew up with in Whanganui, even though I went away for a long time, they are still some of my biggest supporters and biggest advocates,” she said.
After 27 years, Compain is ready to hand over her title as the only New Zealand woman to play in the WNBA, suspecting Kiwi basketballer Charlisse Leger-Walker will soon become the second.
“I’m really gunning for her,” Compain said.
