Board Chair and Chief Executive Report

The year 2019 proved to be a defining one for Netball, with change at the centre, providing an afterglow of positivity across the Netball community.

With the Netball World Cup taking place, 2019 was a pinnacle event year, which was underpinned by a number of key changes culminating in a massive shift for the sport. On the back of some tough times, brave decisions were made and Netball emerged in strong shape, spirit and heart from an inspiring, eventful and action-packed 12 months.

The Silver Ferns rode a growing wave of support during their campaign to the Netball World Cup title, moving from fourth to second in the world rankings in the process. Interest in the ANZ Premiership grew to new levels, Netball continued to flourish at community level and new initiatives were introduced that focused on youth/rangatahi.

All aspects of the game hit new marks with community and grassroots levels maintaining the strong foundation for future success alongside the indomitable spirit and support delivered by the wider Netball community.

Grow

Netball New Zealand was delighted to celebrate and acknowledge the enormous contribution made by its loyal and dedicated volunteers this year. They are an intrinsic part of the Netballing landscape and are key contributors to ensuring the game runs smoothly at all levels. Five recipients from the Netball community were acknowledged at the NZ Netball Awards.

In partnership with Cadbury, we have launched our Volunteer Strategy 2020–2022. This strategy acknowledges that our sport drives off the back of volunteers within New Zealand in so many different places. Our volunteers are a vital part of our game, and it’s fantastic to be able to implement tools to recognise their value.

With support from Cadbury, over 500,000 bars of chocolate were distributed to Netball Centres during 2019 as a small acknowledgement of the countless hours of work volunteers put in behind the scenes.

The Youth Strategy remained a key focus in 2019, with Netball at the forefront of engaging with youth in their community, the emphasis being on how they want to be engaged with.

A raft of initiatives is being piloted, all centred on providing relevant opportunities for youth to participate in our game.

NNZ was successful in the Sport New Zealand funding round for the Women and Girls initiative, which looks at opportunities that accelerate participation of youth. The funding has been secured for the FAST5 version of this initiative which will be Centre-based and aimed at 12 to 18-year-olds.

We were really pleased to see Netball’s leadership in this space being recognised, with NNZ being selected with just a few other National Sports Organisations (NSOs). We will continue to have a focus on the areas that Netball thinks are a priority as well.

Netball joined the Halberg Games this year, thanks to an enterprising initiative undertaken by Auckland Netball.

The Halberg Games is an annual three-day sports competition open to 8 to 21-year-olds who have a physical or visual impairment. The Games, hosted by the Halberg Foundation, provide the opportunity for athletes to have fun, enjoy some competition and make new friends.

With further developments in the pipeline for participants with physical or visual impairments, we would like to acknowledge Auckland Netball for making this come to life.

Our Mother Earth futureFERNS programme continues to provide a strong base for a first positive touch of Netball. It’s heartening to see such a good uptake from boys and girls in this space, and it remains a real foundation-setting piece for our sport.

NetballSmart, supported by ACC, is an area that has gone from strength to strength. Globally, we are leading the way in integrating our injury prevention tools into the way Netball is delivered by coaches and volunteers.

Led by NetballSmart Programmes Manager Sharon Kearney, there has been a strong emphasis on studying all aspects of Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries. This has highlighted the prevalence of ACL injuries in women playing Netball, from the elite level right down into the teenage space.

Through Sharon’s expertise, Netball is focusing on proven prevention strategies which are playing a leading role in reducing the incidence of this type of injury. Recent data revealed a 13 percent decrease in ACC-recorded ACL Netball related injuries between 2016–2019.

We are delighted that through 2019, Netball remained the number-one sport at secondary school level across all codes.

COMMUNITY

In respect to community, 2019 has been an equally productive year. One of the most significant factors was a review of our competition structure, based on feedback from our members at Council, for the 2020 year.

After listening to our community and noting its changing demographic, NNZ will implement two new tournaments in 2020: Netball NZ Open Champs and a Netball NZ U18 Champs. These will replace the U19 and U17 national tournaments and offer more opportunity for players at the competitive level.

Sport NZ has partnered with the five highest-participation NSOs to launch the Balance is Better initiative, which focuses on ensuring young people are given a positive experience in sport.

It is the first time all of these sports (Netball, rugby, cricket, football, hockey) have got together and formulated a common vision of intent.

The Voice of the Participant survey measures the ‘sentiment of experience’ at local level Centres, and we’ve seen improvement in results, which is fantastic. This has been achieved through focusing on areas that we can impact and shows our willingness to understand how people want to engage with us at a Centre level. Our results are encouraging and show some strong movement in alignment across the system.

Launched in 2017, the Pacific Sporting Partnership (PSP), a joint NNZ and New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) initiative, continues to make a significant impact.

The five-year programme partners with Netball associations and schools in Fiji, the Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga, with the aim of increasing the participation of young people in Netball while also raising awareness of healthy lifestyles.

It has been rewarding for us to be able to support this programme with leading figures from our Netball community, such as Waimarama Taumaunu, Jodi Brown, Irene van Dyk and Maria Folau, adding their expertise to help deliver and support this project to the ever-growing number of Netball players in the Pacific.

Connect

There were encouraging signs in 2019 of Netball’s rising brand identity when the brand equity results were released just prior to the Netball World Cup (as shown here):

NNZ: 65% (increase from 16%) Netball: 43% (increase from 19%) ANZ Premiership: 31% (increase from 14%)

With many of those involved in the men’s game attending the end-of-season New Zealand Netball Awards, it was fantastic to see that the bonds and closeness forged during the New Zealand Men’s Invitational team’s historic participation in the Cadbury Netball Series have remained tight. Their willingness to be involved and help in whatever capacity, and their overall contribution to our sport, is hugely appreciated.

Win

In celebrating the first-ever televised games between women’s and men’s national teams, the brave decision set the tone in a defining moment for the sport. It highlighted what the men and their association bring to the table with their support of the Silver Ferns and their willingness to pitch in and help with their preparations ahead of the Netball World Cup.

These games provided an amazing spectacle for our fans. With considerable skill and athleticism, the men challenged the Silver Ferns and through this, instilled a belief in the Silver Ferns that they could jump higher, run faster and be stronger athletes, while showcasing the inclusive nature of Netball as a game for everyone.

There was no fear about the end result, the Silver Ferns rounding out their preparation with the most ideal of opponents; the men providing the perfect stage to absorb and adjust to situations that were likely to surface at the Netball World Cup. We would like to acknowledge the significant contribution of the NZ Men’s Invitational team for the part they played in this ground-breaking initiative. They were delighted to be involved and from the outset were always open and available to be a part of it.

Winning the Netball World Cup in Liverpool, for the first time in 16 years, was an incredible achievement. It was the result of an immense amount of hard work and dedication as well as visionary leadership from Silver Ferns coach Noeline Taurua, assistant coach Deb Fuller, the management team and the athletes who fully committed to embracing change and giving it their all. As well as their inspiring win, the entire team were wonderful ambassadors for our country and our sport in Liverpool.

With the generous support of Sky Sport, ANZ, MYOB and PUMA we were able to recognise the achievements of the Silver Ferns upon their return home.

The role the Zones played during the Silver Ferns’ campaign ahead of the Netball World Cup cannot be underestimated. The Zone coaches were deeply involved in the build-up through the ANZ Premiership, and each contributed to the compelling performance delivered in Liverpool.

It was a true display of Netball working together towards a common goal, irrespective of the part individuals were playing in it. That extended from the Zones, through the NNZ High Performance team, to the NNZ Board and the combined commitment to shift the thinking and do whatever we could to support the Silver Ferns.

Another important component was the inclusion of the New Zealand Men’s Invitational team for the Cadbury Netball Series in June, the last hit-out for the Silver Ferns before they departed for Liverpool. After capturing the nation’s attention with their thrilling Netball World Cup triumph, the Silver Ferns were hosted at a government reception in Wellington. The Silver Ferns enjoyed some touching moments with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and baby Neve, one of very few babies to ever get their hands on the Netball World Cup.

It was an exceptional moment for the team to be acknowledged at the Beehive and to receive such overwhelming cross-party support while also being able to engage with large numbers of the public who turned up.

The end-of-season Constellation Cup was always going to be a series where we asked whether we could hold our own, and that’s exactly what the Silver Ferns did. Throughout the series, the team demonstrated the gains they have made. It reinforced a new era of where the Silver Ferns are, in a physical, mental and cultural sense.

We would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance provided by specialist coaches Yvonne Willering and Jane Woodlands-Thompson during the drawn Constellation Cup series.

We also saluted the stellar contribution of Maria Folau to reach the milestone of 150 Test caps in the final match of the series in Perth. She sits second on the all-time most capped list behind Laura Langman.

New Zealand Netball Awards

Held in October, the New Zealand Netball Awards allowed us to recognise all of our community, from elite to grassroots, in one place. It was fantastic to acknowledge all aspects of the year.

The Silver Ferns `red carpet’ entrance was televised live on Sky Sport followed by the individual award presentations. We would like to congratulate Silver Ferns captain Laura Langman for winning the Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award for a third time.

It was great to be able to host the awards, and we thank Sky and ANZ for their support.

Dame Lois Muir and Laura Langman with the Dame Lois Supreme Award at the New Zealand Netball Awards

The inside story of the Silver Ferns road to the Netball World Cup was recorded in the Sky television documentary This is Pure which proved compulsive viewing. We saw a real flavour of the competition and how much it meant to the athletes.

We would like to acknowledge Sky bringing the journey to light through the making of this documentary. It was a first for the Silver Ferns, and delivered a heart-warming story, which was enthusiastically received by the public. It was shown on both Sky Sport and Prime.

We would like to thank High Performance Sport New Zealand for their significant support throughout the year. It is incredibly important to our sport and does not go unnoticed.

NETBALL SUPER CLUB

Timing of the Netball World Cup pushed the third edition of Super Club to December. This was the first time all six ANZ Premiership teams were involved, with the addition of Wasps Netball (UK) and Collingwood Magpies (AUS). The winners were Collingwood Magpies, who defeated Northern Mystics 49–42 in the final.

We would like to acknowledge Nelson City Council, Nelson Netball and Major Events for their support of this popular event.

NZA PROGRAMME

The NZA programme continues to grow our depth of talent in both players and coaches, providng more exposure at international level.

In 2019, NZA participated in a series against England A and Australia A, which featured Helene Wilson as head coach and Amigene Metcalfe as assistant coach.

ANZ PREMIERSHIP/BEKO NETBALL LEAGUE

Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse and the Northern Stars produced a riveting and hard-fought match in a fitting finale to the third series of the ANZ Premiership.

After being closely challenged all the way in front of their home crowd, the Pulse kept their noses in front throughout the Grand Final to clinch a first-ever title.

The jubilant winners followed up with an inspiring and emotional haka led by Pulse teenager Tiana Metuarau, capturing an enthusiastic and warm response in the process. It highlighted the Pulse’s strong partnership with Te Wānanga o Raukawa in helping to lead the way with Te Reo Māori.

Continuing to grow in its role as a feeder to our premier competition, the Beko Netball League delivered another memorable season.

We congratulate Central Manawa, who continued their dominance when cementing a third successive Beko Netball League title after toppling Waikato Bay of Plenty 49-46 in the Grand Final in Christchurch.

Sustain

WHOLE OF NETBALL PLAN

We are at the end of our Whole of Netball Plan four-year cycle, and the Board has been working on an exciting new direction for Netball. We look forward to sharing that in early 2020.

COMMERCIAL

We remain focussed on providing a strong and sustainable future for Netball in New Zealand. Despite it being a pinnacle event year, we delivered a strong result in financial year 2019.

Looking ahead, we are now entering a traditionally quiet stage of our financial cycle. We are committed to continual improvement however, and will look for opportunities to continue advancing the sport for the entire netball eco-system.

We remain committed to ensuring our business is managed astutely with a view to sustaining the present and long-term future of the sport.

We are delighted to have extended our Sky agreement until the end of 2024. We’re entering a new age of partnership with Sky, which is committed to seeing our game grow at all levels. It gives us some real certainty as we move in to the next phase of our ANZ Premiership and pinnacle events cycle. It is a significant extension, one that we’re proud to have brought to fruition. It’s great that Sky recognise the value of the number one women’s sport in New Zealand and are fully committed to supporting us.

We are grateful for the continued commercial support we receive and would particularly like to thank Sky, MYOB, ANZ, Mediaworks, High Performance Sport NZ, Sport NZ, PUMA and our wider family of partners for their invaluable support.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The NNZ Board has moved into a new way of thinking and working and continues to go from strength to strength.

We would like to acknowledge the work done this year by the High Performance Advisory Group – comprised of former Silver Ferns Bernice Mene, Yvonne Willering and Wendy Frew and chaired by Lesley Murdoch. Having that depth of skill and experience to provide a sounding board for us as we moved into the Netball World Cup campaign was invaluable.

We would like to acknowledge outgoing President Bev Douglas, who finished her term in February, for all her hard work, and we welcome Carol Maddix to the role.

Our congratulations go to NNZ life member Sheryl Dawson, who received an International Netball Federation (INF) Service Award during the Netball World Cup. It is a significant achievement and acknowledges her stellar contribution at the global level during which she served time as President of the international body. We also acknowledge the contribution of Molly Rhone, who stepped down from her long tenure as INF President at the Netball World Cup, and we offer Liz Nichol a warm welcome to the role.

New Zealand is well represented on the INF Board, and we thank Shirley Hooper and Ann Tod for the big contribution they make behind the scenes.

The Zones continue to work tirelessly across our talent pathway and community programmes, and we are grateful for the outcomes they are producing.

We would like to acknowledge Yvonne Willering (OWZM), Lyn Pellow (QSM) and Maree Bernasconi (QSM) who were recognised in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Sadly, during the year, we mourned the passing of Netballing icon and Life Member Monica Leggat. A larger-than-life figure, Mons, as she was universally known, contributed across all facets of the game for decades. Fittingly, a who’s who of Netball came out in force to pay tribute.

Lastly, we would like to thank the NNZ staff for their dedication and willingness to go the extra mile. They are a phenomenal bunch of people who ride the highs and lows with diligence and passion, and we are fortunate to have them.

Jennie Wyllie Netball NZ CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Allison Ferguson Netball NZ BOARD CHAIR