Contents 3.................. Board Chair and
Chief Executive’s Report
8.................. Netball New Zealand Board and Staff
9..................President’s Report 10...............Halberg Awards 2020 12...............COVID-19 16...............Key Statistics Zones 17...............Northern 18...............Waikato Bay of Plenty 19...............Central 20...............Mainland 21...............South
22...............Silver Ferns 26...............Retirements 30............... New Year’s and
Queen’s Birthday Honours
Photography: Michael Bradley Photography, mbphoto.co.nz 96th Annual Report and Financial Statements for the 12 months 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2020. The Annual Report and these Financial Statements will be presented to the 94th Council Meeting of Netball New Zealand to be held online on Saturday 27 February 2021.
32...............Silver Ferns 1938–2020 33...............Squads and Teams 34...............ANZ Premiership 38...............NZU21s 39...............Tania Dalton Foundation 40...............Commercial 42...............Community 46...............Pacific Sporting Partnership (PSP) 48...............Life Members 49...............Service Awards 52...............Poipoia 54...............The Netball System 56...............Financials 65...............Partners
Board Chair and Chief Executive’s Report
Ehara taku toa e te toa takitahi ēngari he toa takimano. My strength is not that of an individual but that of the collective.
When we were last together, it was February 2020. We were still celebrating the Silver Ferns’ Netball World Cup victory, and looking forward with optimism to the year ahead. Netball New Zealand (NNZ) had determined to invest in a substantial initiative to boost the performance of the ANZ Premiership with a view to lifting revenues and the sport as a whole. Ten months later, our system has weathered unprecedented pressure and the changes we envisaged have been replaced by survival strategies. Despite this, the collective approach has shone brightly and we have willingingly stepped in to help those who needed it most.
and highly value the trust placed in
Margaret Forsyth, who were both
us to make a difference. We offer our
recognised as Officers of the New
thanks and gratitude to the Minister of
Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM).
Sport and Recreation, Grant Robertson, and the outgoing Sport NZ CEO, Peter Miskimmin, for their continued backing of Netball.
More recognition followed mid-year when Silver Fern Joan Harnett-Kindley (ONZM), physiotherapist Sharon Kearney (MNZM) and administrator Mary Thompson
The inaugural Netball Nations Cup in the
(MNZM) were acknowledged in the
UK in January heralded a new era for
Queen’s Birthday Honours for outstanding
the Silver Ferns. It provided the perfect
contributions to Netball over many years.
opportunity for the new Silver Ferns captain, Ameliaranne Ekenasio, to stamp her mark and bring the new cup home to our trophy cabinet.
We congratulate all these very special honours recipients. At the Annual General Meeting held in
The New Year’s Honours List created a buzz of excitement also, when our inspirational coach Noeline Taurua
Christchurch in February, we launched Poipoia – our new Netball in New Zealand strategy, direction and purpose. Very
We would like to acknowledge the was made a Dame Companion of the support from Sport New Zealand New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM), (Sport NZ) and the Government through after guiding the Silver Ferns to their these difficult times of first world title in 2020. This assistance 16 years, and for Poipoia was has allowed us to deliver her many other the ANZ Premiership, while presented by the years of significant supporting our Zones, community, for contribution to Centres and Clubs. the community.” Netball. She set the
much a community-inspired plan with
Netball received additional support through the Community Resilience, Tū Manawa, and the Reset and Rebuild funds, which helped us move forward with peace of mind.
tone for the year
to connect and inspire communities
by accepting this
through Netball.
We do not underestimate the Government’s recognition of Netball as an important part of our community
We live this game.
Mai I Te Manukura, Mai I Tumu Whakarae
fantastic acknowledgement on behalf of Netball, rather than herself – mirroring the collective message of the Netball community.
input from the Centres, Zones and wider Netball community, Poipoia was presented by the community, for the community. Poipoia is inclusive and speaks of how the sport aims to guide and care for everyone, including the game itself. Poipoia encapsulates our purpose,
The unique southern night sky anchors our new strategy, with Netball’s focus moving towards its own Southern Cross, through Poipoia. It’s ensuring our sport
Dame Noeline was joined by world
remains accessible and affordable for
champion Silver Ferns captain Laura
all, embodying the essence of women
Langman, and former Silver Fern
and their families, while being bold and Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
3
dynamic in terms of our leadership, innovation and operational excellence. These are all things we’ve had to be true to this year.
Cancelling domestic events allowed us to focus on the community game, and lessen the burden on delivery. It was distressing knowing our Netball courts were empty and the opportunities for our young players were taken away. After the nationwide lockdown, there was an urgency and desire to put that back in place.
Popoia was met with an overwhelming sense of unity. This went a long way for us in 2020, setting the foundation that, as a collective, we are stronger than we are on our own. As part of the Silver Ferns’ brand project, the Pure As series was launched in February. An initiative inspired by the NNZ communications and marketing team after the Netball World Cup, the series featured Dame Noeline and a selection of Silver Ferns sharing their respective Netball journeys. Launched through SilverFans.co.nz and screened on Sky Television, Pure As drew an outstanding response. Viewers were moved by the heartwarming and inspiring experiences of those involved in the World Cup victory. This coincided with another spectacular occasion for Netball – a stellar night at the 57th ISPS Handa Halberg Awards. The Halbergs Awards are the country’s pre-eminent celebration of New Zealand sporting achievements. On an unforgettable night for our sport, Dame Noeline was named 2019 Buddle Findlay Coach of the Year, and was recognised with the Sport NZ Leadership Award. The resurgent Silver Ferns then clinched the Team of the Year title and the Sky Sport Moment of the Year, voted by the public. In another highlight for Netball, former Silver Ferns player and coach Yvonne Willering was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award, for her enormous contribution to Netball. To complete a perfect evening, the Silver Ferns went home with the Halberg Supreme Award – a phenomenal achievement which touched many. It
We live this game.
The Power of Pure As • Over 1.4 million video views on Silver Ferns channels • G lobal reach 3.3 million • 10,000 new SilverFans sign-ups • All 6 episodes picked up by mainstream media and Sky Sport • Significant increase in followers for Silver Ferns and athlete channels
• International recognition from INF and partner countries
was so humbling for our sport to be recognised across so many categories. And then, everything changed rapidly as COVID-19 took hold around the globe. As New Zealand went into lockdown, NNZ had something of a reference point – as an organisation that has had to adapt and evolve in recent years. And while we’d built the foundation for change, this was different to anything we’d ever encountered before. However, as a team we came together and worked through each challenge. This has been a very tough period. Tough on everyone, but particularly those who have been so impacted by the losses we have suffered. Losing staff from our Zones and Netball Centres has been incredibly difficult. It was devastating
when Mainland Netball went into voluntary liquidation, but as a result, we are building ourselves to be stronger and better. We are grateful to the Mainland Board for guiding us through the process, and for the leadership they demonstrated. We were also forced to make tough calls around the programmes we’d planned to run. And to ensure we didn’t face the worst financial scenario, we went hard. That distilled our focus to participation opportunities, the delivery of the ANZ Premiership and a reduced Silver Ferns programme. We were very mindful of the financial-related burdens on Centres set to host events like the NZ Secondary School champs, age-group champs and the inaugural Open Champs. Our decisions provided some surety for Centres and their future planning.
At a time when so many members were struggling financially, we also decided that NNZ wouldn’t charge membership fees. Ensuring our fees were reduced materially went to the heart of Poipoia – making sure our game remained accessible and affordable while providing participation opportunities in 2020 where possible.
Changes in Alert Levels meant the draw
tenure with the team. She now focuses
was reshuffled – with the first six weeks
her attention on guiding the NZU21
played at the Auckland Netball Centre,
team’s preparation ahead of the 2021
which partnered with NNZ staff to do
Netball World Youth Cup in Fiji.
the lion’s share of running games. We give our thanks to the Auckland Netball Centre organisers for their enthusiasm and hands-on involvement. Matches were played on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with chartered flights allowing out-of-town teams to travel safely. The level of detail to meet all COVID-19 requirements was carried out to the highest of standards.
We feel very privileged that the ANZ Premiership was the only Netball competition run in the world during 2020 that enjoyed the spectacle of full crowds. In another inspired move, the NNZ High Performance team, led by Dame Noeline, worked out how, in this uncertain environment, she could continue to grow the base of elite players, coaches and
The second half of the ANZ Premiership
managers by giving them opportunities.
returned to the regions. This was an important time for teams to
So, the Silver
Our decisions provided some surety for Centres and their future planning.”
The second lockdown really took its toll on the Auckland region. Some players only had a few games this year and it was really felt at Centre level. We would like to acknowledge everyone for their work, in particular those Centres which had to cancel seasons.
reconnect with their
For a long time, it seemed unlikely we would stage the ANZ Premiership in 2020. It was a sobering prospect, planning for ‘what does this look like if there’s no Netball this year?’ – whether it be community or elite. But again, we regrouped and introduced different ways to connect with our community.
Unfortunately, we were unable to
From that emerged NETFIT – streamed and screened live on Sky Sport, demonstrating Netball remained relevant even in our changed circumstances. There was huge willingness and creativity to ensure a televised show went on air during the lockdown. Liaising with Melbourne from their home offices in New Zealand, our NNZ staff made sure that Netball enthusiasts, the young in particular, could participate in original content and activities while stuck at home.
supporters and play in front of home crowds again. We saw big turnouts on game day as
have full crowds at the Finals Series in Invercargill due to Alert Level 2 restrictions. It was still a great spectacle. Congratulations to Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse for winning
the NZU21 teams came together for two intense and challenging training camps ahead of two Cadbury Netball Series. This was a
the public embraced the nationwide return of elite-level Netball.
Ferns, NZA and
bold and innovative move which proved a great success with outstanding benefits. Those benefits were far-reaching, with players across the three teams interchanging during the series. All ANZ Premiership coaches were also involved through both series.
back-to-back titles, and we acknowledge
The first Cadbury Netball Series in
outgoing coach Yvette McCausland-
Palmerston North, featured over 40
Durie, for her successful four-year
athletes across the Silver Ferns, NZA
Once the ANZ Premiership was given the green light to resume, we were able to get a largely uninterrupted season to the finish line.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
5
and NZU21s and the NZ Men’s team. All
experience an enjoyable one for the
international careers winning the 2005
were given an opportunity to participate
England Roses.
Netball World Youth Cup, and ended as
under the guidance of an aligned highperformance system, in front of full crowds. We would like to acknowledge the NZ Men’s contribution in ensuring this was a successful event, particularly those who came from Australia and spent two weeks in managed isolation to make it all possible.
Our achievements in 2020 didn’t end there – demonstrating our compounding progress. Our NetballSmart programme entered a new three-year contract; this signifies the positive reinforcement the programme is making on
The series was a terrific celebration of
the lives of our Netballers,
New Zealand Netball. The four captains
reducing the injury
spoke of their pride, who they were
rate and ensuring good
and what they stood for. This summed
practice is more deeply
up perfectly what 2020 has done in
embedded. Our thanks go
achieving collectively, and what really
to Sharon Kearney, who
matters.
leads this programme, for
It was an incredibly special moment welcoming the England Roses to New Zealand for the first Netball
challenging circumstances.
important for the progression of our young players.
On the eve of their departure, Roses
while in isolation here. England were fantastic opponents in a hard-fought battle for the Taini Jamison Trophy, eventually won by the Silver Ferns. The Government’s assistance in making this series happen cannot be underestimated. They acknowledged it was important for Netball, and for women, to have this platform alongside the codes of rugby and cricket. The frontline personnel at the Ministry of Health and the staff at the coalface of the quarantine facility made this
contributions to the Silver Ferns’ legacy. We offer huge thanks to our partners,
And we thank our Netball Centres’
in the Netball experience, is vitally
strict protocols including regular testing
their special
open to being flexible and innovative.
and willingness to adapt through such
conference calls. The team followed
acknowledge
space.
programme, which, as the first step
expertise via Zoom meetings and
years and we
strides made in the injury-prevention
highly enough of England’s positivity
in New Zealand while Jess lent her
over many
who have stood by us this year, and were
to strength in our futureFERNS
Ratnapala led the team on the ground
careers
her expertise, integrity and the visible
into lockdown in March. We can’t speak
for COVID-19. Assistant coach Kat
Silver Ferns’ centurions who forged
It was an incredibly special moment welcoming the Roses to New Zealand for the first Netball internationals since the world went into lockdown in March.”
We continue to go from strength
stay in England after testing positive
and Maria belong to a select band of stellar
internationals since the world went
coach Jess Thirlby was forced to
2019 Netball World Cup victors. Laura
The Cadbury Netball Volunteers
many in a voluntary capacity, riding this uncertain year with us and trusting us to make good decisions for the game. The Zones staff have been at the forefront of ensuring we continue to have a viable and vibrant Netball community, and we appreciate their unwavering commitment.
changing environment also, finding new
The NNZ Board members have worked
a wonderful occasion, during the second Cadbury Netball Series in Hamilton, when they were all acknowledged publicly. We have been working on a number of projects with Sport NZ, including
And of course, we are sincerely grateful to Netball people across the community, and the selfless goodwill from so many who pitched in and offered a hand through these difficult times. It is testament to our resilience, and we should be incredibly proud of the role we’ve all played connecting and inspiring communities through Netball.
personnel, who’ve been at the frontline,
programme adapted to the everways to recognise our volunteers. It was
goodwill. They found ways around every obstacle we encountered and worked tirelessly to deliver the incredible results we achieved despite the challenges. It has meant that for many of our staff, they have worked in physical isolation as resources have not enabled the team to be brought together. It has been a year like no other but it has galvanised us, and made us aware of what we’re actually capable of when we work collectively.
Jennie Wyllie NNZ Chief Executive
extremely hard this year. They have always been available when needed during some really tough and trying times. The NNZ staff always go above and beyond but this year, collectively, there has been an amazing sense of
Allison Ferguson NNZ Board Chair
Strengthen and Adapt. This has given us the opportunity to think more broadly about our future, so that whatever comes our way in the future, we are sustainable. While 2020 saw unprecedented support from Sport NZ and government, we can’t take that for granted. Change is inevitable and we must adapt accordingly. Earlier in the year, we farewelled two icons of our game – Laura Langman and Maria Folau – who both called time on their impressive Silver Ferns careers. These two stalwarts began their
We live this game.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
7
Netball New Zealand Board and Staff
President’s Report
Mai I Te Perehitini
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou.
Jennie Wyllie Chief Executive
Tania Karauria National Coaching Manager
Paula Bos Accountant
Jacqui Swan Executive Manager
Tammy Mehrtens National Training Manager
Stacey Lawrence Finance Manager
have had to adapt to new ways of doing things and
Ashvina Patel Community Netball Sports Co-ordinator
HIGH PERFORMANCE
team up to respond to the challenges of COVID-19.
Keir Hansen Head of High Performance
While Netball has been disrupted this year, our
Noeline Taurua Silver Ferns Head Coach
community has stayed strong and continued to
COMMERCIAL AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT David Cooper Head of Commercial and Business Development
Garratt Williamson National Technical Officials Manager Sharon Kearney NetballSmart Programme Manager
Rebecca Annan Business Development and Funding Manager
Charissa Barham Youth Development Manager
Matthew Abbott (until August) ANZ Premiership Innovation Manager
Hannah Coutts NetballSmart Development Officer – Mainland
Hayley Smith (commenced April) Commercial Partnerships Manager
Geni Tuilagi Community Netball Relationship Manager – Mainland
Michelle McGrath (April–November) National Funding Executive
EVENTS AND INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING Kerry Manders Head of Communications and Marketing Troy Han Communications and Marketing Manager Madeline van Wichen Junior Graphic Designer John Whiting Digital Engagement and Content Manager COMMUNITY NETBALL
Sammie Gordon High Performance Administrator Marianne Delaney-Hoshek Head Coach Tactix Esther Molloy Silver Ferns Manager Elissa Phillips HP Player Development Manager
Kate Agnew Head of Events and International
Netball New Zealand Board
Shannon Courtney Event Co-ordinator
Carole Maddix NNZ President
Emma Fowlie Event Manager
Allison Ferguson NNZ Board Chair, Appointed NNZ Board Member
Melissa Phillips Event Manager Ivan Harre Programme Manager – PSP Angela Carmody (Maternity Leave from October) Programme Co-ordinator – PSP
Sue Gordon Elected NNZ Board Member Shane Harmon Appointed NNZ Board Member Bernice Mene Appointed Board Member
Ruth Stanley Head of Community Netball
Ruta Schwalger (commenced November) Programme Co-ordinator – PSP
Hayley Griffith Volunteer Advocate
FINANCE AND SERVICES
Maxine Shortland Elected NNZ Board Member
Alysha Jensen National Programmes Manager
Lisa Greenaway Senior Finance Manager
Matt Whineray Appointed NNZ Board Member
Claire Britton Accounts Assistant
We live this game.
Lesley Murdoch Elected NNZ Board Member
It has been a significant year for us all where we
support our game in many ways. I had planned to get out and about visiting Netball Centres this year; however, this was impacted by restrictions on travelling outside of Auckland. I was pleased to get to the finals day at Taupō Netball in September. It was such a privilege spending the day with the fabulous Taupō Netball community and seeing Netball thriving there. I also had opportunities to test my skills using Zoom and participate in some AGMs.
McCausland-Durie as she steps aside to
Thankfully we were able to complete the ANZ Premiership and the Cadbury Netball Series this year. It brought us great pleasure to watch strongly contested games played by superbly talented players and supported by outstanding coaches, umpires and administrators. Special mention to the NNZ staff who worked tirelessly to bring these games to us.
extremely proud of you all.
pursue other commitments. Congratulations to those in our Netball community who received New Year’s and Queen’s Birthday honours: Dame Noeline Taurua (Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of the Merit); Laura Langman, Margaret Forsyth, Joan Harnett-Kindley (Officers of the New Zealand Order of the Merit); and Sharon Kearney and Mary Thompson (Member New Zealand Order of the Merit). We are
We acknowledge and recognise those who have passed away this year: Marion Law – Silver Fern #25, Jean Rountree QSM – NNZ Service Award Member (1967) and Nina Smith – NNZ Service Award Member (2017).
It brought us
While Netball is all about the team,
it is important to Congratulations to Te great pleasure to also recognise and Wānanga o Raukawa watch strongly acknowledge our Pulse and The Good Oil contested games...” people. This year Tactix for a great ANZ Premiership Grand Final. Laura Langman Pulse came out on top for a second year, and Maria Folau announced their with this year’s win being extra special retirements from International Netball. for the team in honour of coach Yvette They have both been staunch Netball
supporters and Netball in New Zealand is all the richer from their extraordinary talent, leadership and compelling enthusiasm for the game. Sincere thanks to the NNZ Board led by Allison Ferguson, Chief Executive Jennie Wyllie and the NNZ staff for their continued dedication to ensuring that Netball remains the number one women’s sport in New Zealand and that Netball continues to thrive throughout the country. To the Netball community, thank you so much for everything you have done to keep our beloved game moving forward this year. I’m incredibly proud and honoured to be a part of our Netball whānau. Mahia te mahi, hei painga mo te iwi. We strive every day to do the work for the betterment of the people.
Carole Maddix, MNZM NNZ President
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
9
Halberg Awards 2020
This achievement also earned the Silver Ferns New Zealand’s Favourite Sporting Moment, voted by the public, at the evening’s awards. Former Silver Ferns player and coach Yvonne Willering put the stamp on a perfect evening when she was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award. From being an international player and coach, Yvonne has made an enormous contribution to Netball, not only in New Zealand but also around the world, in helping grow and develop the sport. Yvonne was made a Netball New Zealand Life Member in 2018, adding the icing
decade, she made her mark as one of the best defenders to wear the Silver Fern New Zealand’s premier annual sporting and was part of New Zealand’s 1979 event which acknowledges the pinnacle Netball World Cup-winning team. She of achievement across the codes. went on to become From outstanding the seventh coach player to umpire The achievement of the Silver Ferns to coach, and now from 1997 to also earned the international coaching 2001, guiding them Silver Ferns advisor, Yvonne has through 51 Tests, New Zealand’s had a rich and widein total. Favourite Sporting ranging Netball career Her coaching spanning 50 years. Moment, voted by influence has been the public, at the widespread and for She went from being a 30 years Yvonne evening’s awards.” Netball novice, plucked has conducted from obscurity as a coaching sessions 15-year-old, to making throughout New Zealand – and it to the Auckland Under-21 side in her overseas – guiding players, coaches and first year of playing. administrators in her inimitable style. Yvonne was chosen to play for New with her Lifetime Achievement Award at
HALBERG AWARDS 2020
HALBERG AWARDS 2020
Bailey Mes, Karin Burger, Te Paea Selby-Rickit and Phoenix Karaka all added invaluable impact throughout the tournament and ensured the Silver Ferns remained fresh at the business end.
Zealand in 1974 where, for the next
Inspirational coach Dame Noeline Taurua headlined a night to savour as the accolades flowed thick and fast for Netball at the 57th ISPS Handa Halberg Awards held in Auckland in February 2020.
At the country’s pre-eminent event celebrating and honouring New Zealand’s sporting achievements in 2019, there was double delight for Dame Noeline who completed a memorable evening after being named Buddle Findlay Coach of the Year while also picking up the prestigious Sport NZ Leadership Award. The resurgent Silver Ferns clinched the Team of the Year title, as well. Having slipped to fourth in the pecking order heading into the sport’s pinnacle event, Dame Noeline took the Silver Ferns on a heady ride following her appointment as head coach 11 months out from the 2019 Netball World Cup.
We live this game.
With just the smallest window of opportunity, Dame Noeline defied the odds by guiding the Silver Ferns from the depths of despair to become world champions without a backward glance, galvanising a team and the country. It was the Silver Ferns’ first world title in 16 years. Dame Noeline headed off fellow coaching contenders Eugene Bareman (mixed martial arts), Gary Hay (rowing), Gordon Walker (canoe racing) and Roly Crichton (Para swimming) to clinch the award. In the hotly-contested Team of the Year category, the Silver Ferns won out over the Black Ferns Sevens (rugby), BLACKCAPS (cricket), Women’s Eight (rowing) and Women’s Double – Olivia Loe and Brooke Donoghue (rowing).
Sixteen years on, the class of 2019 followed in the footsteps of the 2003 Netball World Cup-winning Silver Ferns, who also went on to claim the Team of the Year Award at the Halberg Awards. Stalwarts Casey Kopua, Maria Folau, Laura Langman – affectionately dubbed the fossils – and Katrina Rore ended a long barren run for the Silver Ferns which highlighted the benefit of experience. The steely nerves of shooting sensation Ameliaranne Ekenasio, the dynamic athletic ability of defender Jane Watson and the steadying hands and feeding vision of midcourters Gina Crampton and Shannon Saunders all shone through in wholehearted team efforts during defining semi-final and final moments.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
11
COVID-19 Netball became one of the many casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic following an eerily silent match played behind closed doors with no spectators in the final game of Round 1 of the ANZ Premiership.
Just four days after the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel and Splice Construction Magic had completed their opening match of the season in the most unusual of circumstances, the ANZ Premiership was postponed for two weeks on 20 March as the situation was monitored. Community Netball was suspended for the foreseeable future on the same day, while the Beko Netball League was cancelled for 2020 as NNZ aligned with government procedures and the strict policies set in place during Alert Level 4 and the country going into almost complete lockdown.
We live this game.
With a resumption of the season in limbo, it was a challenging time for all involved but the health and welfare of players, team management and the wider Netball community remained the top priority. This meant that players had to train in their own bubbles after group trainings were ceased due to the regulations at Alert Level 4.
Tough decisions The ongoing effects of COVID-19 also resulted in NNZ making the decision to cancel two new domestic events planned for 2020.
The Netball NZ U18 Champs and the Netball NZ Open Champs, replacing the former Netball NZ U19 and Netball NZ U17 national events, will now be launched in 2021. The continuing financial impact cast by COVID-19 had a telling effect across many businesses in New Zealand and none felt it more keenly than Netball Mainland Zone which was placed in voluntary liquidation in early April. Despite a huge amount of work towards ensuring the organisation was in a positive position during 2020 and exploring potential alternatives, the uncertainty around the resumption of community and high performance games during lockdown meant that pressing forward was unviable.
From players at the elite level to those at the grass roots, including umpires, Netballers showed their collective competitive spirits and inventiveness during lockdowns with some inspiring training regimes, all undertaken from their garages, lounges and backyards.
Many other online opportunities were provided for the Netball Community. Coaching courses were adapted, the coaches Kōrero was also acknowledged by International Netball Federation (INF).
Alert Level 2 brings new optimism
One of the more visible initiatives was the partnering of NNZ and ANZ New Zealand with global Netball fitness, skills and wellbeing organisation NETFIT and with it the launch of NETFIT NZ.
On 7 May, there was an excited buzz in
The partnership offered the New Zealand Netball community free access to live online workouts delivered by elite Netball players during New Zealand’s COVID-19 Alert Level 4 lockdown, screened live on Sky Sport three times a week. It was also available via the NETFIT website.
The key priority during this time
For those missing their Netball fix, it was a welcome opportunity for players to stay motivated, fit, build new routines and skills, and have some fun while having a positive effect on their mental wellbeing, too.
In accordance with the advice given
The online workouts also included health, fitness, coaching, nutrition and wellbeing sessions. The NETFIT NZ programme was hosted by former Silver Ferns Courtney Tairi and Laura Langman. The popular weekly magazine-styled Netball Zone on Sky Sport returned also but with a twist, morphing into Netball ISO-Zone. During lockdown, the Netball ISOZone team caught up with players and coaches from around the country while also delving into the archives in reliving highlights of the best matches and thoughts from the people who played in them. The audience was taken around the globe virtually as well, to check in with the international Netball family.
the air when the Government announced that professional sport, including the ANZ Premiership, could resume under COVID-19 Alert Level 2.
remained the safety of all those involved with the ANZ Premiership which meant ensuring that systems were in place to implement the public health measures, including contact tracing and hygiene requirements.
by the Sport and Recreation Minister regarding some modifications needed for training, play and competition, NNZ worked closely with Sport NZ and WorkSafe on how these would be put into place. There was a further welcome boost for the ANZ Premiership when NNZ received $2.2 million from Sport NZ’s $4.6 million financial relief package to help
ANZ Premiership schedule was announced. Matches were scheduled for every Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the Auckland Netball Centre starting on 19 June. The Robinhood Stars, Northern Mystics and Splice Construction Magic commuted by road, while chartered flights were scheduled for Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse, The Good Oil Tactix and Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel to allow for safe and controlled travel.
COVID-19
COVID-19
Bubble training
A sense of normality returns at Alert Level 1 With things changing on an almost daily basis, New Zealand quickly moved into Alert Level 1. As a result the ANZ Premiership became the first professional women’s sporting competition to return to action in front of crowds since the start of the global COVID-19 lockdown in March. In a hectic reshuffle behind the scenes, it also meant that games for the second half of the season, starting on 30 July, were rescheduled to home matches with elite Netball returning to venues around the country. The revised schedule included round-robin games in Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Porirua, Hamilton and Auckland.
The popular weekly magazinestyled Netball Zone on Sky Sport returned also but with a twist, morphing into Netball ISO-Zone.”
professional sports clubs remain viable and assist with costs required to get their competitions back up and running. The rules around mass gatherings still applied during Alert Level 2. This meant that the ANZ Premiership, at that stage, could not be played in front of crowds. Still under Level 2 restrictions, the six teams were given four weeks to prepare after a revised condensed 10-week
In a massive joint effort between NNZ and the ANZ Premiership teams, venue availability, accommodation and travel options were reworked to take the competition back around New Zealand while a triple-header Finals Series was planned for Invercargill on 23 August. Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
13
However, in one final twist to an everchanging landscape, the last round of the regular season was cancelled when Alert Levels changed once again. Auckland moved to Alert Level 3 and the rest of the country to Alert Level 2 just prior to the last round and with the Auckland teams unable to leave their home base or train together, the five matches due to be played in that round were deemed draws. This had no effect on the final points table but there was an anxious wait before the Grand Final in Invercargill was given the green light. The play-offs for 3 vs 4 and 5 vs 6 were cancelled because of the restrictions still in place for the Auckland teams. The ANZ Premiership Grand Final went ahead under Alert Level 2 restrictions with 300 friends and family attending in groups of 100. A mixed game comprised of players from the south featured as the curtain-raiser match. In the end it was the Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse who secured back-to-back titles.
School competition misses out With the ongoing uncertainty surrounding how the rest of the sporting year would look, NNZ, in collaboration with the regional event organisers, made the decision to cancel the 2020 South Island, Lower North Island and Upper North Island Secondary Schools events scheduled for Tournament Week. This included the Fuji Xerox NZ Secondary Schools Netball Champs. A number of factors were taken into account when making the call, including the heightened risks for students travelling for events, the lead-in time required by schools and organisers for events, and the financial pressures on
We live this game.
families, schools and communities at this time. These events are important opportunities in the athlete pathway for identifying players with future potential. NNZ has been working with Zones to ensure strong links to player identification systems and opportunities continued to exist for aspiring players in the second half of 2020 and into early 2021.
A boost for Community Netball There was more welcome news during May when ANZ New Zealand announced the ANZ Good Sports Cricket and Netball Grants programme, pledging $1 million to support the return of Community Netball and cricket following the COVID-19-imposed hiatus. With community sport significantly impacted, ANZ New Zealand, which has enjoyed long-standing relationships with NNZ and New Zealand Cricket, understood the importance of helping kids get back into their team sport and physical activity. ANZ NZ helped remove the financial barrier to get as many Kiwi kids back to playing Netball and cricket safely and to ensure community sport was back on its feet as soon as possible after lockdown ended.
All local Netball teams could apply for support through the ANZ grant. ANZ NZ encouraged applicants to ask for what they needed to help them get back up and running. This could include anything from uniforms and equipment to funding to help with ground maintenance. After two months of uncertainty and the possibility of no more Community Netball in 2020, there was a ray of sunshine on 18 May when NNZ released our COVID-19 Alert Level 2 guidelines to support member organisations in bringing a safe return to Community Netball as New Zealand negotiated its way down the Alert Levels. The guidelines were developed after consultation with Centres and aimed to provide the Netball community with clarity about what type of Netball activities could resume at Alert Level 2 and how best to create safe training and playing environments that met the requirements of COVID-19 government restrictions. The primary focus centred on any return to play being safe and in line with COVID-19 government restrictions and that Centres, Clubs and schools across the country felt well supported as they started to return to the courts.
Phase 1:
Phase 2:
Phase 3:
Get Ready for Netball
Prepare to Play
Return to Play
• Commenced on 15 May 2020
• Netball activity may start on or after 29 May 2020
• All Netball activity may start on or after 19 June 2020.
• This includes trainings and
• This includes the delivery of competitions. Centres moving into the delivery of each of these phases had to ensure they were compliant with all requirements as outlined in the guidelines.
• No Netball activity is to commence including trainings and workshops.
Affiliation Fees With an imminent return to play, NNZ and the country’s four Netball Zone chief executives initiated a change to the Netball Centre affiliation fees for 2020. Because of the unprecedented times, NNZ implemented a zero fee for the 2020 season while the Netball Zones reduced their fees to Netball Centres by 50 percent.
workshops but excludes the delivery of competitions.
our Netball system, acknowledgement
through this fund, which was distributed
of this prompted the move to give relief
on behalf of Sport NZ by Regional Sports
and certainty to the Netball community
Trusts (RSTs).
and ensuring all candidates had the opportunity to participate in 2020. Further welcome news quickly followed when the $15 million Sport
Late twist
NZ Community Resilience Fund was
Late in the piece, there was a glimmer
announced, which enabled Netball
of hope that a shortened version of the
Centres and Clubs to apply for financial
Beko Netball League would go ahead at
support.
the completion of the ANZ Premiership
The initiative’s aim was to deliver
but that was cancelled with the change to Alert Levels in August.
Centres within the Mainland Zone paid no Zone or NNZ affiliation fees in 2020 due to Mainland Netball having gone into voluntary liquidation.
immediate funding to help regional and
disruption created by COVID-19.
level with Auckland at Alert Level 3 and
With the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic being felt across all parts of
Clubs could receive up to $1,000 and
meant the call was made to cancel the
Centres up to $40,000 in support
2020 league.
local organisations remain financially viable through the immediate period of
COVID-19
The guidelines were structured in a three-phased approach:
Uncertainty over the length of lockdowns and changes to the requirements at each the rest of the country at Alert Level 2
We would like to acknowledge the efforts of the Advisory Group at this time, and also the massive amount of work done by centres to get competitions up and running through all the retrictions imposed.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
15
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.
1.45M
TV Audience
INTERNATIONAL LIVE STREAMING VIEWS
361,055 ON DEMAND
68,408
With your food basket and my food basket the TOTAL LIVE-STREAMING
429,463
INCREASED:
WORLD CHAMPIONS
#1
Total NNZ Affiliated Players
122,818
10,324 NNZ Registered Coaches
We live this game.
MAINTAINED:
INCREASED:
WORLD RANKING
#2
388,232 TOTAL SOCIAL AUDIENCE GROWTH +22,632
NNZ Accredited Umpires
1,763
Brand Strength
ATTENDANCE
11,823
#1 sport played in
SECONDARY SCHOOLS
people will thrive. This whakatauki (proverb) talks to community, to collaboration and adopting a strength-based approach. It acknowledges that everybody has something to offer, a piece of the puzzle, and by working together we can all flourish. If 2020 and all its challenges has taught us one thing, it’s how important it is to stay connected. Unbeknown to us, this theme of collaboration and connection would serve as a platform for our rollercoaster year. Before COVID-19 set in, we ran a development day on 22 February at Auckland Netball Centre. This event was developed to let athletes know from all around the Zone that they had been seen. We had 52 athletes from Waiuku up to Kaitāia take part in the day. These athletes were identified at Upper North Island Secondary Schools 2019. One of the highlights of the day was providing more insight into ‘Contest vs Contact’. We ran this event alongside an umpire development workshop and had Northern Mystics head coach Helene Wilson in attendance. This enabled the athletes, coaches, and umpires to all work together and gave everyone different perspectives of what is seen on the Netball court.
the Community team being presented their Zone uniform by the players. It was an emotionally-charged evening recognising the important role the entire organisation plays in growing and strengthening Netball. As we all navigated through a nationwide lockdown, our Netball whānau found creative ways to stay connected. Several Netball Centres created videos, held virtual workshops, and used popular apps to reach out to their community. Weekly ‘Zoom with the Zone’ sessions proved vital in connecting with our 17 Netball Centres but also provided an opportunity for Centres to hear success stories and challenges from one another, enabling a cross-Centre touch point. The Community team led coaches and umpires through CCA workshops, the Year 7 & 8 Player Development Programme (PDP), Techniques 1 Module, as well as position, vision and timing activities and then implemented the learnings on court with the players. All our activities and workshops were further complemented by our Zone NetballSmart Officers.
Connecting the DOTS was the theme of our 2020 Coach Developer Hui. The day included understanding participants’ communication style and how to communicate with other DOTs, upskilling in cultural intelligence, connecting fresh ideas, collaboration opportunities, as well as learning more about ‘unpacking’ and the art of questioning while always keeping our participants at the heart of everything we do. To top off a great hui, we collaborated with Aktive Auckand, Sport Waitākere, Harbour Sport, Sport Auckland and CLM Counties Manukau in bringing some cross-code collaboration to fruition. We will further develop this next year.
ZONES
KEY STATISTICS
Netball Northern
The ‘Stand With Me - Kia tū ngātahi tātou’ looked to address sideline behaviour. Posters, sashes and videos were created and sent to Netball Centres to highlight that we need to stand together and support our whānau and community as we participate in an activity that we all care about. The linking of arms is the symbol of ‘Stand with Me’; we link together and stand together to help create positive sporting experiences for our community. Thank you to our Netball Northern staff, Centres and volunteers for standing together throughout an unprecedented year. We look forward to another year of mahi tahi (co-operation) in 2021.
Prior to the start of the ANZ Premiership, we held a very special presentation evening for both the Northern Mystics players and the Zone Community team. This event saw each member of the Community team present a Mystics player with their dress, which was then reciprocated with Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
17
Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty
Netball Central
The year 2020 was an extremely tough one for
The 2020 season has been a challenging one due to
Ainsleyana Puleiata, Paris Lokotui and
Waikato Bay of Plenty (WBOP), with various
COVID-19, and the impact this had on community
Pulse players Maddy Gordon, Renee
COVID-19 related challenges affecting all aspects
sport in Netball was felt across the country.
Savai’inaea and Tiana Metuarau were also
Despite these challenges, we are grateful to the NZ Government and Sport NZ for the funding options available to Centres, Central Zone and NNZ and for the fact that there could still be achievements on and off the court.
The Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse had
When COVID-19 restrictions brought Netball to a grinding halt, Zoom meetings became the norm as the Zone community staff initiated regular online meetings to support Centres to navigate their way through this new space. A huge thanks to the Netball Centres who not only joined in on regular Zoom meetings to ask questions, share their ideas and their learnings, but to those who also accepted roles on the national and local advisory groups to ensure all levels of the game were being considered around each ‘return to Netball’ phase of the sport. Membership numbers were understandably down this year, as five Centres were unable to provide any competitions. However, the 50 percent reduction in fees went a long way towards ensuring accessibility due to funds wasn’t a barrier. Thanks to the Centres who included their neighbouring Netballers to provide leagues and competitions for teams outside their normal catchment area. The ‘Hampton Downs’ Zone Forum, held in November, saw Centres congregate in person and share their enthusiasm around planning for the 2021 season. Reflecting through the ‘rear-view mirror’, identifying the bumps along the road, helped the planning process as we negotiated the road ahead looking through the ‘front windscreen’ while taking all our learnings with us from our modified Netball journey this year. We can
We live this game.
now look at what we can do differently to ensure everyone in Netball in our Zone has the best Netball experience possible. Congratulations must go to WBOP Centres, their staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly to provide Netball and followed strict protocols to ensure every person was entering a safe zone under the Government, NNZ and Zone guidelines. The staff of Netball WBOP should be applauded for sharing their skills and expertise through a very challenging year, and ensuring all Netball Centres, schools and Clubs were supported every step of the way. While the Beko Netball League was cancelled due to COVID-19, we still managed to organise a curtain-raiser match against the Northern Marvels, prior to one of the Splice Construction Magic matches at Claudelands Arena. This was a highlight for our players, being able to play in front of a home crowd. The cancellation of the U16 North Island Champs, Netball NZ U18 Champs and UNISS meant that secondary school Netball was also seriously compromised in 2020. In conjunction with Wintec, we hosted a series of talent identification roadshows throughout the Zone, which enabled us to make informed decisions on the selection of our U16 and U18 Zone performance squads. This year saw the introduction of the Emerging Talent squad where 10 to 12 players were selected who were 18
or over and close to National Netball League (NNL) selection, and who we believed would benefit from some extra pre-season coaching and strength and conditioning education to enable them to contest more strongly for the NNL selections at the end of the year. After two sessions held in February, this programme was sadly put on hold as well. The selection of the 2021 NZU21 Netball World Youth Cup squad was a highly anticipated announcement, with the Zone delighted to congratulate Khiarna Williams, Georgie Edgecombe and Greer Sinclair on their well-deserved inclusions. It was fantastic to see Khiarna and Georgie out on court with this team during the Cadbury Netball Series. The Splice Construction Magic showed true grit and determination throughout the adapted ANZ Premiership season, led brilliantly by head coach Amigene Metcalfe and captain Sam Winders. We are very grateful we were able to host three home matches at Claudelands Arena in Hamilton – it was an absolute pleasure to play in front of our home fans. We wish to thank everyone who continues to support us, including fans, commercial partners and the community. We look forward to an exciting 2021 season.
In the second year of the Cadbury Volunteer Awards, a light was shone on young Wellington umpire Amelia Wheeler, who was named as the Cadbury Volunteer Official of the Year having been described as a ‘real ambassador’ of the game from a young age. Amelia is an umpire coach for player umpires in Wellington East and is a Board intern who provides not only the youth voice but also the umpire’s voice at Board meetings. She tutors the New Zealand and Zone theory classes as well – congratulations once again to Amelia. Despite the interruptions of COVID-19, it was pleasing to have some Zone Umpire accreditation and New Zealand Umpire accreditation; congratulations to those recipients. With only two international events – congratulations also goes to the following umpires who were appointed to the Cadbury Netball Series: Angela Armstrong-Lush, Gareth Fowler, Ann Hay and Ken Metekingi and Angela Armstrong-Lush; and Gareth Fowler to the Taini Jamison Trophy. We have continued to develop our PCQ coaches with two new coaches being accredited – congratulations to Pelesa Semu and Charissa Barham.
acknowledgement goes to all our Centres and their respective boards for allowing our communities to have a positive opportunity to play. While we all faced slightly challenging issues within our communities the fact remains that Netball was able to be played and that is an amazing achievement given the year that has been. We were pleased that the following players were selected to attend the NNZ National Development Camp earlier in January. Ashleigh Poi (Hawke’s Bay), Atareta McCausland-Durie (Manawatū), Eileen Polu (Wellington and Hutt Valley), Janaya Preece (Manawatū), Lucy Ross (Wellington), Madison Thomas (Manawatū), Maia Karena-Barrett (Manawatū), Mollie Nicol (Wellington), Parris Mason (Manawatū), Parris Petera (Hawke’s Bay), Pypah Hailwood (Manawatū), Sam Mackinder (Manawatū), Shyan Murphy (Hawke’s Bay), Torren Isaako (Wellington and Kapi-Mana) and Zalika Clarke (Wellington). Those selected for the 2020 Central Manawa team were then unable to participate but the following players were subsequently named in the NZU21 squad:
selected.
another thrilling year, making the Finals Series for the fourth year in a row and in
ZONES
of the sport across the region.
Parris Mason. Te Wānanga o Raukawa
the Grand Final went up against The Good Oil Tactix in Invercargill. The result was a back-to-back win, 43-31, which was a fitting send-off for head coach Yvette McCausland-Durie after her four-year tenure. We are extremely grateful for the leadership and culture that Yvette was an integral part of. She fittingly went on to be named ANZ Premiership Coach of the Year and head coach of the NZU21 team. Notably Jill Clapcott has been named manager of the NZU21 team. National honours came fast for the team with nine players selected: Katrina Rore, Ameliaranne Ekenasio, Karin Burger, Claire Kersten, Kelly Jury and Maddy Gordon all selected into the Silver Ferns squad and Aliyah Dunn in the Silver Ferns Development Squad with Tiana, Maddy and Renee as mentioned in the NZU21 squad. A big thank you to all Netball Central Zone Board, staff, Centres and volunteers as we continue to focus on connecting our communities through our shared love of Netball.
With no age-grade tournaments played this year our concentration went well and truly into putting plans in place to get Community Netball up and running in all our Centres. A huge heartfelt Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
19
It has been a turbulent year for most, and especially Netball Mainland which went into voluntary liquidation in April. Regardless of the sudden change, it was heartening to see how adaptable the Mainland Centres were with their competition structures and rules throughout the pandemic. Centres worked on their health-check plans to ensure they were ready to return to play Netball under the COVID-19 guidelines from the Ministry of Health, the Government, Sport NZ and NNZ. The Poipoia strategy, set earlier in the year by NNZ, encouraged Centres to look at new and innovative ways of delivering Netball. A leadership group of Board Presidents and Centre Managers was formed to connect the region and bring the pillars of Poipoia to life. In addition, regular online Zoom meetings were held with the Centres to share learnings and to support one another through the disruptive season. Though there were challenges, it was great to see some of our pilot programmes come to fruition. Nelson Netball Centre and Christchurch Netball Centre were part of the Fast5 Centre Project (funded by Sport NZ’s Women and Girls initiative) led by youth for youth, as a way of encouraging participation in a reformatted style of play. Three developed Youth Advisory Groups encouraged youth in the region to have a say in the way they participate in Netball. Selwyn Netball Centre, South Canterbury Netball Centre and Marlborough Netball Centre were part of the Cadbury Volunteer pilot, giving thanks back to our volunteers in the
We live this game.
community for the time, energy and dedication to the game. Post the June lockdown, The Good Oil Tactix returned to the court stronger than ever in the ANZ Premiership. Along with the Centres, Netball Mainland’s voluntary liquidation meant a change to processes and forced the entire Tactix group to be more adaptable and versatile than ever before. Led by head coach Marianne DelaneyHoshek, the Tactix put together an extremely successful 2020 ANZ Premiership season, clinching a spot in the Grand Final for the first time. With one home match in the revised schedule, Tactix fans showed up in droves – with the match against the Robinhood Stars at Horncastle Arena in Christchurch making history as the
Netball South largest ANZ Premiership match ever, with over 5,000 people in the stadium. Despite a strong effort in falling short against the Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse in the Grand Final, it was a season to be proud of with captain Jane Watson earning the 2020 ANZ Premiership Player of the Year award as well. The Silver Ferns were fortunate to be able to take to the court in two series in October/November, taking the win in both. Congratulations to Jane Watson, Kimiora Poi and Te Paea SelbyRickit on being named in the 2020/21 Silver Ferns squad, Ellie Bird and Temalisi Fakahokotau on being named in the 2020-2021 Silver Ferns Development Squad and Hannah Glen in the NZU21 squad. A big thanks to all the Tactix sponsors; in particular, The Good Oil, SKOPE and Trident Homes. And a grateful thanks to all the funders that contributed to the development of Netball in the region: Rata Foundation, Sport Canterbury, Sport NZ, Christchurch City Council and the Lion Foundation.
The start of 2020 held very exciting prospects for Netball South. It was all about converting the value of changes made in 2019 to our staffing and our ability to connect with our members using newly-deployed membership database technology. In support of our new found capability, we welcomed a new Marketing Assistant to the team, who, among other things, was tasked with the job of igniting our digital channels to share the stories behind Community Netball in the South and the Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel. And so off we went, roaring into the first quarter with the Steel competing in Super Club after an early November start. Following a break, the Steel headed to Central Otago to engage with 891 children across 18 schools in between two pre-season fixtures against The Good Oil Tactix and Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse. While in Dunedin, a pilot programme was run for the Composite Coach Qualification (CCQ) closely followed by new coach developer training in February.
as our programme leads took their youth, junior, coach and umpire connections and development opportunities to the digital airways.
precedent to help us understand the toll it would take. So, we are very proud we were competitive despite two seasonending injuries to our shooters and a gruelling schedule of travel.
As the lockdown restrictions lifted in stages, our team kept contact with their Centres as they worked through the many impacts and scenarios. The work of Centres to organise competitions in innovative new formats was outstanding and truly reflected the necessity of thinking outside the square. In the South, 92 percent of players returned to competitions for 100 percent of our Centres as they ran 95 percent of their grade categories.
In the 2020 financial year we will post a surplus for the fifth year in a row. It will take us out of negative equity for the first time in our eight-year history. This result would not have been possible without the hard work of the Netball South team, NNZ and the financial support from the Government during COVID-19. Steel took significant financial hits to ticketing revenue, while also reducing membership affiliation fees by a minimum of 50 percent in order to support Centres with their adapted and shortened competitions. Our heroes are our Steel whānau of sponsors and funders, thanks to their unflinching support.
For our flagship Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel, the road was not easy. We were jubilant to hear the news that the ANZ Premiership would go ahead and willing to travel six hours each way to Auckland for eight weekends in a row in order to compete. But there was no
It was an extraordinary year when the wairua of Netball’s mana wāhine did not fade but instead grew stronger in adversity. The team at Netball South thank NNZ, the Government and the South Netball communities for their vital efforts in keeping our local game alive.
ZONES
Netball Mainland
We were midway through our Steps to Steel Talent Programme in March when the impact of COVID-19 started to bite. Practically, the relocation of the workday to our homes for the nationwide lockdown was smooth if not somewhat surreal. We had not long returned from NNZ’s Council meeting in Christchurch and experienced the wairua of mana wāhine as part of the launch of Netball’s new future – Poipoia. So it was with that lens that we saw the resilient spirit of mana wāhine in action as the Netball South team responded to the conditions of lockdown. Barriers around confidence using technology to connect melted away
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
21
Nations Cup Silver Ferns vs England / Jamaica / South Africa Looking to build on their status as world champions, the Silver Ferns highlighted the start of a new era in exemplary fashion when they headed off to the inaugural Netball Nations Cup in January.
SILVER FERNS Silver Ferns The Silver Ferns started and ended 2020 in great spirit but the months in between provided a high degree of uncertainty as COVID-19 looked set to potentially squash hopes of a full international Netball programme.
We live this game.
Without the experienced Laura Langman and Katrina Rore (on sabbatical leave) and the retired Casey Kopua and Maria Folau, there was a sense of the unknown when the Silver Ferns ventured to the UK minus 562 Test caps. However, the new-look Silver Ferns team, which was reduced to just 10 players for the tournament after defender Michaela Sokolich-Beatson and shooter Bailey Mes were left sidelined by injury, delivered plenty of positive signs from their successful campaign.
The growing maturity of Maia was an individual highlight of the tournament, gaining two player of the match performances. This included the final, where she played her first full match for the Silver Ferns while also posting her highest goal tally of 44, to surpass the 42 she scored against Jamaica in the round robin. With a depleted squad, the Silver Ferns coped admirably to set the stage for the remainder of what promised to be an exciting 2020. That all changed in an instant when the COVID-19 pandemic left no one unscathed, a global shutdown putting all facets of life on hold.
As New Zealand came out of lockdown, continued ongoing border restrictions and compromised international travel still conspired against any resumption of the international calendar. This resulted in the cancellation of the Netball Quad Series involving the Silver Ferns, Australian Diamonds, South Africa Proteas and England Roses, set to be played in New Zealand and Australia in September.
SILVER FERNS
Following their stunning win in the 2019 Netball World Cup, the Silver Ferns were without four of their stalwarts for the Nations Cup which included England, Jamaica and South Africa in a heavyweight contest between the world’s second, third, fourth and fifth-ranked teams.
There remained a glimmer of hope that the Constellation Cup could be moved from October to later in the year but the annual series between the Silver Ferns and Australia proved unworkable and was rescheduled for early 2021.
Ameliaranne Ekenasio revelled in her new role as captain, shooter Maia Wilson and midcourters Whitney Souness and Kimiora Poi made telling use of their opportunities while overall the team responded with suitable poise to all the variables thrown their way to go through the series unbeaten. This included a serious challenge in the final against a rejuvenated Jamaica to which the Silver Ferns responded like seasoned veterans.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
23
Cadbury Netball Series
Cadbury Netball Series – Taini Jamison Trophy
Silver Ferns vs NZ Men, NZA, NZU21
Silver Ferns vs England Roses
Keen to get some exposure and game time for the Silver Ferns, NNZ
After three demanding weeks where she had worked with over 40 high
worked diligently behind the scenes, coming up with a winning formula
performance athletes, Dame Noeline Taurua settled on her 12 for the
that few were expecting.
England series highlighted by the inclusion of shooter Monica Falkner.
the Cadbury Netball Series in Palmerston North in October to kick-start a bumper home season. In a unique situation, NZA and the NZU21s joined the Silver Ferns in an intense and challenging camp prior to the series. Coach Dame Noeline Taurua left no stone unturned in her preparations of selecting the top 12 players across the board for the England series. The Silver Ferns most capped player, Laura Langman, added her name to the retirement list, calling time on her distinguished career after playing a record 163 Tests in the black dress. After a new Silver Ferns squad was named in August, this series provided an important opportunity to start preparation towards future pinnacle events. Featuring eight games over four days, the Palmerston North series was a huge success as New Zealand’s depth of talent shone brightly in closely-fought contests and high-quality exchanges. These matches acted as a trial in what proved to be the perfect environment for getting the best out of players. Last year’s Cadbury Netball Series played a key role in the Silver Ferns World Cup
preparations and the return of the NZ Men in 2020 was another inspiring decision for all involved.
Sidelined for 15 months after a serious knee injury, Monica had limited game time under her belt but was a stand-out during the Cadbury Netball Series. She was joined by a number of returnees who fought their way back into the Silver Ferns after impressive ANZ Premiership campaigns, including Sulu Fitzpatrick, Kelly Jury, Claire Kersten and Sam Winders.
With the 2020 Men’s Netball World Cup cancelled due to COVID-19, the NZ Men were thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase their unique skill set. The NZU21 team couldn’t have wished for a better opportunity to help with preparations towards their pinnacle tournament, the 2021 Netball World Youth Cup in Fiji, while a talent-stacked NZA had the chance to push their credentials by providing a worthy challenge to their rivals.
In a very quick turnaround, the Silver Ferns were readying themselves to take on England in Hamilton in what were to be the first international matches to be played since the Nations Cup in January.
dress for the first time, the Silver Ferns Back to full fitness after rupturing her emerged from a tight first half before right achilles tendon in January, Silver surging to a 59-44 win over NZA to open Ferns squad member, defender Michaela their campaign. Sokolich-Beatson, who was set to play They followed this up with a 13-goal loss for NZA, suffered the heartbreak to NZ Men and an 81-33 win over the of a similar injury to NZU21s to complete her left leg on the round-robin play. This ...the return of eve of the series. resulted in a rematch the New Zealand The Silver Ferns for the Silver Ferns Men in 2020 was mixed and matched against the unbeaten NZ their personnel another inspiring Men in the final, which and combinations produced an historic decision for all throughout with outcome, with the involved.” changing matchwomen rebounding in day line-ups, giving style to post a pulsating all players equal opportunity while 55-52 win. Turning the tables, the Silver managing workloads. Ferns recorded their first-ever win over the NZ Men. Featuring highly-talented teenage * T hese matches were not INF sanctioned – shooter Grace Nweke* in the black therefore no caps were earned.
We live this game.
SILVER FERNS
In a showcase of New Zealand’s elite Netball talent, the public were afforded a rare treat when the Silver Ferns, New Zealand Men, a NZA team and the NZU21s faced each other in the first of
The three Tests were International Netball Federation (INF) sanctioned with players being awarded Test caps, but these did not count towards world ranking points because they were not umpired by INF appointed umpires. There was plenty to admire from the England Roses, who faced a myriad of challenges in getting the series off the ground, however, they remained full of positivity and enthusiasm throughout. Losing head coach Jess Thirlby on the eve of their departure from England to a positive COVID-19 test, the Roses then spent two weeks in managed isolation after arriving in New Zealand. Excited to be out of their bubble and with little match play under their belts in the preceding months, the Roses played their part in a hugely competitive series
which highlighted international Netball at its best. Once again, the Silver Ferns gave all players opportunities as they continued to improve throughout the series. England proved worthy opponents with their resilience and ability to stay in the contest. With Ameliaranne Ekenasio leading the team at home, the Silver Ferns completed a clean sweep to retain the much-cherished Taini Jamison Trophy after posting wins of 58-45, 54-47 and 62-47. Maia Wilson continued her impressive year and growing stature to equal her highest individual score of 44 goals in the third test while Monica became Silver Fern #176 when she made her debut in the second Test.
The Silver Ferns completed the year with one last training camp, which provided a review of what had been accomplished but also with an eye on the future. Fearing they might not have any play at all, the Silver Ferns were grateful to have the opportunity of getting on-court and taking part in two high-quality series. The work done during this time has proved invaluable in setting the standard and preparing for the future. The Silver Ferns ended a tumultuous year well placed, their depth of talent and high expectations being a particularly strong feature and with it the hope of being able to make further impact in a less disruptive 2021.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
25
Retirements
Laura Langman // Silver Fern #133 The most capped Silver Fern in history, influential midcourter Laura Langman retired from her sparkling international career in August.
Laura’s growing list of accomplishments during an outstanding 163-Test career never showed any signs of slowing down.
2005, captaining the NZU21 team to the World Youth Cup title the same year in Florida, USA, before going on to fashion an enviable career.
One of just seven Silver Ferns centurions, Laura developed into a fine leader, with a hard-fought 2019 Netball World Cup title and back-to-back titles with the Sunshine Coast Lightning in the Australian competition in 2017 and 2018 adding to her legacy.
The athletic and fleet-footed midcourter quickly became a striking presence in the Silver Ferns’ engine room. Her high standards, drive, preparation and ability to stay injury-free combined to produce an outstanding Netballer.
Laura was awarded the Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award in 2015, 2016 and 2019 at the New Zealand Netball Awards and became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in the 2020 New Year’s Honours after playing an integral role in leading the Silver Ferns on their stunning ride to the Netball World Cup title.
LAURA LANGMAN We live this game.
Laura’s athleticism and resolute neversay-never attitude often proved gamechanging. Held in high esteem, she went on to become one of the most influential and respected midcourters in world Netball.
Laura was blessed with dazzling speed and athletic ability, capable of playing all three midcourt positions. The supertalented athlete became renowned for her She became all-round talent on both New Zealand’s attack and defence.
Pushing to new boundaries was the hallmark of Laura’s first Netballer exceptional career, the Showcasing her famed to surpass effervescent bundle resilience and tenacious of energy putting 150 Test caps...” qualities, Laura the stamp on her clocked up an almost contribution as one of the game’s greats unthinkable run of 141 Tests, taking the when winning a first world title after court in every Silver Ferns Test in that three previous unsuccessful attempts. time (2005-2016), a true mark of her She became New Zealand’s first qualities and character. Netballer to surpass 150 Test caps Following an 18 month break from in 2019. This included winning two international Netball, Laura, once again, Commonwealth Games gold medals gave an indication of her standing when with the Silver Ferns (2006 and 2010) making a seamless return to the Silver and silver at the 2014 Games. Ferns in 2018 while also assuming the Showing a maturity beyond her years captaincy. Having played just Club Netball and a level of performance that set her in Hamilton during that time, it spoke apart, Laura became Silver Fern #133 in volumes.
As a no-fuss, get-on-with-the-job type of player, Laura’s DNA is the push behind the product. The midcourter became one of the best in the business and one of New Zealand’s finest. Raised in the small farming community of Te Pahu in the heart of the Waikato, Laura always remained close to her rural values, transposing the backdrop of lush green pastures to gracing Netball courts in the finest stadiums around the world. The midcourt stalwart has never accepted being second-best so has been resolute in honouring those who have come before in setting a new benchmark for those who will follow. Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
27
Retirements
Maria Folau // Silver Fern #134 After a long and decorated career with a 2019 Netball World Cup winner’s medal, celebrated shooter Maria Folau retired six months later as the second most capped Silver Fern in history.
The long-range specialist notched up her 150th Test cap – second only to Laura Langman in the all-time Silver Ferns standings – in the final of the drawn Constellation Cup series against Australia in Perth in late 2019 before calling time on a rich and rewarding career earlier this year. An agonisingly long wait proved well worth it when a fourth Netball World Cup provided an overdue career highlight for the standout shooter.
MARIA FOLAU We live this game.
When the Silver Ferns won the 2019 edition of the sport’s showpiece event in Liverpool, UK, it broke a 16-year drought for the Silver Ferns and, for Maria, a run of three straight silver medals from the previous three Netball World Cup championships. Almost a permanent fixture since her debut 15 years ago, Maria well and truly stood the test of time as the Silver Ferns goto at the shooting end of the court.
shots from all points of the circle. She went on to become a first-choice shooter for much of her remarkable career after making her debut in 2005. Earlier that year, the 1.88m tall shooter was part of the NZU21 World Youth Championship-winning team. As Silver Fern #134, Maria was, numerically, sandwiched between her great mates Laura Langman and Casey Kopua. The trio, whose careers have followed similar paths, once again joined forces in Liverpool where they were affectionately dubbed ‘the fossils’.
Earmarked as a quality performer from a young age, the stylish Maria had made significant strides by the time she reached 20, becoming a regular in the Silver Ferns’ starting line-up by the end of A game-changer, 2006.
Folau became one of the most feared shooters in world Netball...”
Maria put the seal on her sparkling career with an elusive Netball World Cup gold medal in trademark fashion, showcasing her unflappable temperament, ability to keep the circle moving and, her speciality, the longrange bomb. A game-changer, Maria became one of the most feared shooters in world Netball with her skill of being able to convert
Since then, her game continued to flourish, maturity and a wealth of experience adding to her considerable skill set. Maria continued to evolve as a player, her repertoire growing alongside her general attacking and defensive games. This included learning the intricacies of goal shoot late in her career and just months out from the Netball World Cup. However, her shooting ability and knack of rising to the occasion for the big games never wavered. After a string of foot and knee injuries kept her sidelined for a large part of
the 2016 and 2017 seasons, Maria bounced back in style with a sense of unfinished business, her experience and performances in 2019 being a key to the Silver Ferns’ success. Maria became the fourth Silver Fern to achieve 100 Test caps in 2015, which is a significant milestone, and she remains just one of seven centurions. Maria also played in four Commonwealth Games tournaments (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018). The sinking of a long-range winner after two spells of extra time against Australia in the Delhi 2010 final was an enduring moment during her influential career. Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
29
New Year’s and Queen’s Birthday Honours
Queen’s Birthday Honours More recognition followed mid-year when Silver Fern Joan Harnett-Kindley, physiotherapist Sharon Kearney and administrator Mary Thompson were acknowledged in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for their outstanding contribution to Netball over many years.
New Year’s Honours Noeline Taurua
Laura Langman
(DNZM)
(ONZM)
Netball World Cup-winning coach Noeline Taurua became a Dame in the New Year’s Honours after guiding the Silver Ferns to their first world title in 16 years during 2019.
Laura Langman played an integral role in leading the Silver Ferns on court as they prepared for the World Champs in England. The Silver Ferns’ most capped player returned to the international stage after an 18-month break and resumed the midcourt role with performances which made her one of the most respected Netballers in the game.
In being awarded a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DNZM), Noeline became just the third Netballer to achieve this status, following in the footsteps of Dame Lois Muir (for services to Netball) and Dame June Mariu (for services to Māori and the community). As a leading domestic coach for many years, Noeline coached the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic from 2002 to 2013, guiding the team to the ANZ Championship title in 2012, the only time a New Zealand team won the former trans-Tasman competition. She coached the Southern Steel to the semi-finals of the ANZ Championship in 2016, following an unbeaten record in their regular competition. She also coached the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Australia, winning the Suncorp Super Netball League in 2017 and 2018 and the minor premiership in 2019. As a player, Noeline played in 34 Tests for the Silver Ferns between 1994 and 1999, winning a bronze medal at the 1995 Netball World Cup and silver at the 1998 Commonwealth Games.
We live this game.
Captaining the Silver Ferns in their winning tilt at the 2019 Netball World Cup, Laura played in the 2007, 2011 and 2015 Netball World Cups as well. She became New Zealand’s first Netballer to surpass 150 Test caps in 2019 and won Commonwealth Games gold medals with the Silver Ferns in 2006 and 2010 and silver at the 2014 Games. Laura was awarded the Dame Lois Muir Supreme Award in 2015, 2016 and 2019 at the New Zealand Netball Awards.
Margaret Forsyth (ONZM) Former world championship-winning shooter, Margaret Forsyth received her New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to Netball and the community. She has continued to contribute to Netball as a national representative
The trio were recognised for their separate areas of Netball expertise, spanning several decades with Joan receiving an ONZM and Sharon and Mary becoming Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM).
Dame Noeline Taurua (Silver Ferns Coach), Dame Patsy Reddy (Governor General) and Margaret Forsyth (Silver Fern #66).
player, coach and selector since the 1970s. The two-time world champion was just 17 years old when first selected for the Silver Ferns in 1979 when New Zealand shared the world title with Australia and Trinidad and Tobago. She was still part of the side that won the world championships in 1987 in Glasgow, Scotland – making her one of a few Silver Ferns to have won two world crowns. Margaret played 64 Tests for the Silver Ferns. She also represented New Zealand internationally in athletics before turning her hand to coaching. She was head coach of the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in 2017 and 2018, and assistant coach of the New Zealand FAST5 Ferns in 2017 as well as the NZA team in 2016. Throughout the 2010s she was a Silver Ferns National Selector and a National Emerging Talent Selector. She coached secondary school Netball from the mid1990s until the mid-2000s.
Joan Harnett-Kindley
Sharon Kearney
(ONZM)
(MNZM)
Joan Harnett-Kindley was the golden girl of her era during the 1960s and early ‘70s when the stylish shooter excelled for Canterbury and the Silver Ferns. The match-winning goal attack became Silver Fern #34 in 1963 and went on to fashion an outstanding career which included featuring in three Netball World Cups (England, Australia, Jamaica).
A physiotherapist since the 1990s, Sharon Kearney has been involved in a number of sports including basketball, hockey, rugby and football, but it is in Netball where she has left the biggest impression.
Credited with changing the public perception of Netball in New Zealand, Joan was often referred to as the ‘belle’ of the court throughout her career. She was voted player of the tournament at the 1967 World Championships in Perth, which led to the Silver Ferns’ first Netball World Cup triumph. Her impact was duly noted in 1999 when NNZ celebrated our 75th anniversary. Joan was voted by a panel of experts as the goal attack in the Dream Team named at the event while also winning the public vote as the ‘dream player’ of the previous 75 years. Joan’s honour also recognised her long career in the real estate industry in New Zealand, including being the first woman appointed to the Real Estate Council.
After attending three Netball World Youth Cups as the NNZ U21 physiotherapist during the 1990s, Sharon took over as medical co-ordinator and touring physiotherapist for the sport’s governing body and attended five Netball World Cups and two Commonwealth Games with the Silver Ferns. Sharon has gone on to play a major hand in revolutionising injury-prevention in sport as the Injury Prevention Programme Manager for NNZ, and is regarded as one of the country’s top experts in the field. Sharon has remained at the forefront of developing injury-prevention, physio and management programmes, working closely with the Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) at community level to help decrease significant sporting injuries in New Zealand. Her research work and the subsequent reduction in major knee injuries in Netball is an ongoing legacy to Sharon’s vital contribution to health and wellbeing.
Mary Thompson (MNZM) Mary Thompson has been a Netball leader in the Bay of Plenty for more than 40 years. She’s been Netball Rotorua’s secretary for over three decades and convened the Kurangaituku tournament – one of the country’s largest recreational Netball events. She is a past manager of the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, and has been event co-ordinator of the Magic’s Rotorua home games for the past 20 years. If there is a finger on the pulse of Netball in Rotorua it belongs to Mary, a tireless volunteer at all levels over many years. In what started out as a playing career, including representative duties for Waikato, Mary followed up with roles as an umpire (up to Zone and Regional level) and as a team manager in the former Coca-Cola Cup. But Mary, a NNZ Service Award holder, found her true niche in administration having taken up positions on the Netball Rotorua Executive in 1979 where she remains a loyal servant. It is behind the scenes where she excels. Mary’s leadership of the day-to-day running of Netball in Rotorua, and her responsibility for 40 years of catering for approximately 3,000 players each week, are the real mark of her selfless contribution. Mary’s contribution to the Bay of Plenty Region has been recognised with Service (2001) and Life Membership (2008) awards, along with a Sport Bay of Plenty Service to Sport Award (2008) and Community Leadership Award for Services to Sport in 2012.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
31
#1 Margaret Matangi, #2 Jean Mitchell, #3 Elva Divers (née Howard), #4 Muriel Boswell (née Howe), #5 Mary Martin, #6 Ethel Withell (née Neame), #7 Jean Lomax (née Willson), #8 Oonah Shannahan (née Murray), #9 Azalea Sinclair (née Clark), #10 Dixie Cockerton, #11 Josie Hickey, #12 Alison Preston-Thomas (née Hughes), #13 Mary Sullivan, #14 Dell Bandeen (née Turner), #15 Beverley Malcolm (née Avery), #16 Leslie Purvis (née Black), #17 Joyce Sullivan, #18 Thelma Turner (née Trask), #19 Rona Woodgyer, #20 Betty Plant, #21 Natalie Wicken (née Nicholls), #22 June Mariu (née Waititi), #23 Judy Blair (née Dunlop), #24 Pamela Barham (née Smith), #25 Marion Law (née Johnston), #26 Colleen Falloon (née McMaster), #27 Lois Muir (née Osborne), #28 Shirley Annan (née Patrick), #29 Betty Steffensen (née Pratt), #30 Margaret Pawson (née Elliott), #31 Rebecca Chaplow (née Faulkner), #32 Betty McNamara, #33 Elva Simpson (née Tait), #34 Joan Harnett (née Martin), #35 Lesley Harris (née Baker), #36 Mirth Solomon (née Te Moananui), #37 Tilly Hirst (née Vercoe), #38 Ann Rankin (née Blair), #39 Pam Marsden (née Hamilton), #40 Billie Irwin, #41 Sandra Easterbrook (née James), #42 Margaret Filippini (née Gardiner), #43 Elizabeth Rowley (née Story), #44 Nancy King (née Carroll), #45 Shirley Langrope, #46 Lynne Macdonald, #47 Frances Webster (née Hawe), #48 Brenda Rowberry (née Walker), #49 Sandra Richards (née Norman), #50 Coral Palmer, #51 Lorraine Mair, #52 Olwyn McKay (née Frethey), #53 Lyn Gunson, #54 Beth Huntington (née Carnie), #55 Frances Granger (née Rawstorm), #56 Marilyn Munro, #57 Christine Pietzner (née Cottrell), #58 Georgina Salter (née Hapuku), #59 Yvonne Willering, #60 Maxine Blomquist, #61 Anne Taylor (née Downey), #62 Margharet Matenga (née Kamana), #63 Pauline Knaggs (née Flynn), #64 Leigh Gibbs (née Mills), #65 Ruth Aitken (née Fathers), #66 Margaret Forsyth, #67 Lyn Robertson (née Proudlove), #68 Geane Hohipuha (née Katae), #69 Janice Waddy (née Henderson), #70 Waimarama Taumaunu, #71 Te Aroha Keenan (née Clarke), #72 Tracey Fear, #73 Rhonda Wilcox (née Meads), #74 Rita Fatialofa, #75 Sandra Edge, #76 Annette Heffernan (née Blomquist), #77 Karen Henrikson, #78 Julie Townsend, #79 Liz McJorrow (née Neilson), #80 Julie Carter, #81 Tracy Shortland (née Eryl), #82 Denise Felix, #83 Joan Hodson (née Solia), #84 Angela Bell (née Pule), #85 Sharon Gold (née Burridge),
SILVER FERNS 1938–2020 #86 Cathrine Wilkinson, #87 Robin Dillimore, #88 Ana Noovao, #89 April Ieremia, #90 Louisa Wall, #91 Tanya Dearns (née Cox), #92 Carron Jerram (née Topping), #93 Pania Papa, #94 Leonie Leaver (née Wendt), #95 Sheryl Waite, #96 Margaret Foster (née Bray), #97 Lisa Wilson, #98 Bernice Mene, #99 Sheryl Burns (née George), #100 Gael Nagaiya (née Robinson), #101 Sonya Hardcastle, #102 Linda Vagana, #103 Leilani Read, #104 Teresa Tairi, #105 Belinda Charteris (née Blair), #106 Julie Seymour (née Dawson), #107 Lesley Rumball (née Nicol), #108 Noeline Taurua, #109 Debbie Fuller (née Matoe), #110 Anna Stanley (née Rowberry), #111 Elisa Taringa, #112 Belinda Colling, #113 Tania Dalton (née Nicholson), #114 Donna Wilkins (née Loffhagen), #115 Gail Parata, #116 Jenny-May Clarkson (née Coffin), #117 Sheryl Scanlan (née Clarke), #118 Jo Morrison (née Steed), #119 Lorna Suafoa, #120 Adine Wilson (née Harper), #121 Temepara Bailey (née George), #122 Irene van Dyk, #123 Vilimaina Davu, #124 Anna Galvan (née Veronese), #125 Victoria Edward, #126 Angela Mitchell (née Evans), #127 Daneka Tuineau (née Wipiiti), #128 Anna Harrison (née Scarlett), #129 Leana de Bruin (née du Plooy), #130 Jodi Brown (née Te Huna), #131 Joline Johansson (née Henry), #132 Amigene Metcalfe, #133 Laura Langman, #134 Maria Folau (née Tutaia), #135 Casey Kopua (née Williams), #136 Jessica Tuki, #137 Debbie Christian (née White), #138 Maree Bowden (née Grubb), #139 Paula Griffin, #140 Katrina Rore (née Grant), #141 Liana Leota (née Barrett-Chase), #142 Wendy Frew (née Telfer), #143 Anna Kennedy (née Thompson), #144 Larrissa McAlister (née Willcox), #145 Grace Kara (née Rasmussen), #146 Camilla Poyser (née Lees), #147 Kayla Johnson (née Cullen), #148 Cathrine Tuivaiti (née Latu), #149 Sulu Fitzpatrick, #150 Bailey Mes, #151 Courtney Tairi, #152 Shannon Saunders (née Francois), #153 Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, #154 Katarina Cooper, #155 Phoenix Karaka, #156 Ellen Halpenny, #157 Ameliaranne Ekenasio (née Wells), #158 Temalisi Fakahokotau, #159 Malia Vaka (née Paseka), #160 Jane Watson, #161 Te Paea Selby-Rickit, #162 Storm Purvis, #163 Maia Wilson, #164 Gina Crampton, #165 Samantha Winders (née Sinclair), #166 Kelly Jury, #167 Whitney Souness, #168 Claire Kersten, #169 Michaela Sokolich-Beatson, #170 Elisapeta Toeava, #171 Karin Burger, #172 Aliyah Dunn, #173 Erikana Pedersen, #174 Kimiora Poi, #175 Erena Mikaere #176 Monica Falkner
Squads and Teams
Silver Ferns Karin Burger PN, TJ, NC Gina Crampton PN, TJ, NC Ameliaranne Ekenasio (C) PN, TJ, NC Monica Falkner PN, TJ Sulu Fitzpatrick PN, TJ Maddy Gordon Kelly Jury PN, TJ Claire Kersten PN, TJ Bailey Mes NC Kimiora Poi PN, NC Katrina Rore Shannon Saunders PN, TJ, NC Te Paea Selby-Rickit PN, NC Michaela Sokolich-Beatson Whitney Souness PN, TJ, NC Jane Watson PN, TJ, NC Maia Wilson PN, TJ, NC Samantha Winders PN, TJ TRAINING PARTNERS: Phoenix Karaka NC Grace Nweke PN MANAGEMENT: Noeline Taurua Head Coach Debbie Fuller Assistant Coach Esther Molloy Manager Hayden Croft Performance Analyst Mark Overington Physiotherapist Dr Mel Parnell Doctor Guy Mothersole Strength & Conditioning Tracy Kirkcaldy Nutrition Vicki Hudson Athlete Life Rod Corban Psychologist
Silver Ferns Development Squad Ellie Bird Aliyah Dunn Tayla Earle Temalisi Fakahokotau Monica Falkner Kate Heffernan Jamie Hume Erena Mikaere Grace Nweke Samantha Winders
NZA Team Cadbury Netball Series Ellie Bird Kate Burley Aliyah Dunn Tayla Earle Maddy Gordon Kate Heffernan Jamie Hume Oceane Maihi Erena Mikaere Georgia Tong Michaela Sokolich-Beatson* MANAGEMENT: Marianne Delaney-Hoshek Head Coach Gail Parata Assistant Coach Mandy Souchon Manager Amanda Foster Physiotherapist
NZU21 Squad Tayla Earle PN Georgie Edgecombe PN Taneisha Fifita PN Hannah Glen PN Maddy Gordon PN Kate Hartley Vika Koloto PN Paris Lokotui PN Parris Mason PN Holly Mather Tiana Metuarau PN Grace Nweke Ainsleyana Puleiata PN Renee Savai’inaea PN Greer Sinclair Teuila Sotutu Carys Stythe Jessie Taylor PN Saviour Tui PN Nanise Waqaira Khiarna Williams PN MANAGEMENT: Yvette McCausland-Durie Head Coach Temepara Bailey Apprentice Coach PN Jill Clapcott Manager Corina Ngatuere Physiotherapist
KEY: PN Palmerston North Cadbury Netball Series TJ Taini Jamison Trophy Cadbury Netball Series NC Nations Cup
* Did not play due to injury
We live this game.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
33
ANZ Premiership The wider concept of the meaning ‘team’ was a prominent feature during a disruptive and challenging 2020 ANZ Premiership, but one which ultimately delivered a highly successful campaign on all fronts.
The impact of COVID-19 had severe repercussions across the entire sporting landscape but the fourth edition of NNZ’s elite domestic competition shone brightly in being able to complete its season. With the exception of the final round, which had to be cancelled because of a change in COVID-19 Alert Levels, the Grand Final was able to be played behind closed doors to draw the curtain on a memorable season. From start to finish, the ANZ Premiership traversed a lengthy and bumpy trail, which from the opening round in midMarch was finally completed 24 weeks later with the staging of the Grand
We live this game.
Final in late August. The cancellation of the last round made no impact on the final points table and it was a credit to all involved that 41 matches out of a possible 48 were completed. In between, the league endured two lockdowns with many adjustments needing to be made along the way. After the completion of Round 1, the league was initially postponed for two weeks, then when New Zealand went into Alert Level 4 it was halted for 13 weeks with its continued future up in the air. However, once the country was back in Alert Level 2, the welcome news was that the league would recommence with the teams given four weeks to prepare.
A 10-week condensed season resumed on 19 June, played at the centralised location of Auckland Netball Centre in order to meet the Ministry of Health guidelines of providing a consistent and controlled venue. Fitness, flexibility and recovery became the staples as all teams took a leap into the unknown in the revised draw, which involved a schedule with teams playing 14 games apiece to complete this year’s league. This meant that matches were staged on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. In normal circumstances more time is usually spent on the training court but in a season where much was different, there was game-time aplenty, with the new draw involving five double-headers
This also meant plenty of travel, most notably for Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse, The Good Oil Tactix and Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel which spent six weeks taking chartered flights to and from Auckland. Meanwhile, Splice Construction Magic did multiple road trips up State Highway 1 from Hamilton. Going back into pre-season mode during the four weeks of the nationwide Alert Level 4 lockdown, players were innovative and industrious, making the most of their time in isolation with rigorous training regimes. As a result, when the season finally resumed, the athletes were in tip-top condition, many reaching their best-ever fitness levels and it showed in the on-court product.
This also drove a significant increase in TV news coverage, using post-match interviews and stories created by the NNZ communications team. Content provided to media included match reports, match photography, video interviews, audio interviews and match previews. There has been a focus on continuing to build our digital capabilities to engage and retain fans through digital media (social media, website stories and other forms of digital consumption). The results from the ANZ Premiership website, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube showed a significant growth from 2019 and engagement rates above industry standard. With the ANZ Premiership being the only Netball competition up and running at the time, international live-streaming proved enormously popular with a substantial
increase in viewers where the action was With the shorter quarters and highlybeamed into 96 countries around the tuned athletes world. raring to go, With the shorter all games Following six rounds produced quarters and highlycompleted in Auckland, greater levels there was universal tuned athletes raring of intensity euphoria when the to go, all games and skill while remaining three rounds produced greater being played returned to the regions at a cracking levels of intensity...” when New Zealand pace. Also, with moved down to Alert many games Level 1. After weeks of going down to the wire, it provided an hectic travel schedules, teams rejoiced exciting platform with interest in the at being able to play at home in front of league captivating the sporting public their faithful fans. both in New Zealand and further afield. It However, there was one more twist when engaged a huge audience with numbers Alert Levels changed once more, with following the action soaring. Despite a very testing COVID-19-affected season, coverage of the 2020 league was more extensive than ever before. The impact of the pandemic meant there were less sports journalists covering Netball than usual. However, through the in-house content created, NNZ managed to lift the volume and quality of media coverage and exposure of the ANZ Premiership.
Auckland moving to Level 3 and the rest of the country to Level 2 just prior to the last round of the regular season. The Auckland teams were therefore unable to leave their home base or train together, so the five matches due to be played in that round were deemed as draws. This had no effect on the final points table, however, the play-offs for 3 vs 4 and 5 vs 6 were cancelled because of the
ANZ PREMIERSHIP
ANZ PREMIERSHIP
per team on back-to-back days. Playing quarters for the season were reduced to 12 minutes from 15.
restrictions still in place for the Auckland teams. The Grand Final was played in Invercargill in August. Stacked with talent on both sides, the Pulse and Tactix confirmed their places in the Grand Final before the end of the regular season. The defending champions remained at the front of the pack throughout with the southerners improving from the start to achieve their first attempt at the title. ‘Go hard, go early’ was the Government’s response to tackling COVID-19 and the Pulse took a similar approach in the Grand Final. A decisive and uncompromising first half set the Pulse on their way to back-to-back titles, the Tactix unable to make inroads against the well-drilled team from the Central Zone. The Pulse had the edge in all areas of the court with their top-notch shooting, speed on transition and smothering defence. This negated any thoughts of a Tactix comeback, delivering a decisive 43-31 win. With five playing in last year’s Grand Final and durable captain Katrina Rore suiting up in Pulse colours for her 150th game, experience proved a key factor.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
35
The Tactix can take much satisfaction from a very successful 2020 campaign, continuing to build a formidable team while making big strides along the way. The addition of shooter Te Paea SelbyRickit provided the impetus at the attacking end while captain Jane Watson (the ANZ Premiership Player of the Year) was the inspiration. For the first time, the Tactix won six games in a row during the season and made the Grand Final for the first time, so there’s plenty to be positive about for the future. A rejuvenated Northern Mystics were well in the hunt to clinch a spot in the Grand Final for much of the season but faded at crucial times. Leading an inexperienced teenage trio under the hoop, outstanding young shooter Grace Nweke carried a big load with all the poise of a seasoned professional. At the other end, the defensive combination of Phoenix Karaka and Sulu Fitzpatrick were a devastating duo. The Mystics have set a strong foundation going forward. The Robinhood Stars had their moments too and were very competitive in most outings. Shooter Maia Wilson, once again, was as solid as a rock under the hoop – her
movement, variety and accuracy adding to her game. Long-limbed defender Kate Burley continued to impress with her ability to generate turnover ball and midcourter Mila Reuelu-Buchanan had an outstanding season as well. Enduring the most travel of all the teams, the Southern Steel were also the unluckiest team, their shooting end being decimated by serious injury. Within a short space of time, the southerners lost shooters Georgia Heffernan and Jennifer O’Connell to season-ending knee injuries. As is their way, the Steel battled on bravely, securing morale-boosting results against the odds with the experienced heads of Shannon Saunders, Gina Crampton and Te Huinga Selby-Rickit setting the tone with reliable support from Trinidad and Tobago’s shooting import Kalifa McCollin. With Australian shooting import Georgia Marshall unable to return to New Zealand because of COVID-19 restrictions, the Magic struggled with their attacking depth under the hoop. Captain Sam Winders was an influential figure while defender Georgia Tong, in her first season, showed plenty of promise for the future. The Magic had their moments but lack of consistency was their major downfall. It is a credit to the wider team of NNZ staff, bench officials, umpires, volunteers and all the personnel involved with the teams for the sacrifices they made in ensuring we had a season at all. In the face of adversity, it was a glowing endorsement of our people and the result was an outstanding showcase of Netball.
1st: Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse 2nd: The Good Oil Tactix 3rd: Northern Mystics 4th: Robinhood Stars 5th: Ascot Park Hotel Southern Steel 6th: Splice Construction Magic
ANZ Premiership Player of the Year: Jane Watson ANZ Premiership Coach of the Year: Yvette McCausland-Durie ANZ Premiership Umpire of the Year: Josh Bowring
Teams NORTHERN MYSTICS
TE WĀNANGA O RAUKAWA PULSE
Tayla Earle Courtney Elliot Sulu Fitzpatrick Asher Grapes Dani Gray Emma Iversen Phoenix Karaka Grace Nweke Peta Toeava Saviour Tui Coach: Helene Wilson
Karin Burger Aliyah Dunn Ameliaranne Ekenasio Maddy Gordon Kelly Jury Claire Kersten Tiana Metuarau Katrina Rore Renee Savai’inaea Elle Temu Coach: Yvette McCausland-Durie
ROBINHOOD STARS
THE GOOD OIL TACTIX
Kate Burley Jamie Hume Fa’amu Ioane Grace Kara
Ellie Bird Charlotte Elley Temalisi Fakahokotau Sophia Fenwick
Vika Koloto Lisa Mather Storm Purvis Mila Reuelu-Buchanan Daystar Swift* Maia Wilson Coach: Kiri Wills
Samon Nathan Erikana Pedersen Kimiora Poi Jess Prosser Te Paea Selby-Rickit Jane Watson Coach: Marianne Delaney-Hoshek
SPLICE CONSTRUCTION WBOP MAGIC
ASCOT PARK HOTEL SOUTHERN STEEL
Ariana Cable-Dixon Holly Fowler Abigail Latu-Meafou Georgia Marshall* Kelsey McPhee Erena Mikaere Jenna O’Sullivan Whitney Souness Georgia Tong
Kendall Corkery Gina Crampton Abby Erwood Taneisha Fifita Georgia Heffernan Kate Heffernan Kalifa McCollin* Jennifer O’Connell Shannon Saunders Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit Coach: Reinga Bloxham
Sam Winders Coach: Amigene Metcalfe
ANZ PREMIERSHIP
Rising young midcourt dynamo Maddy Gordon was a shining light in a classy Pulse line-up to scoop the Most Valued Player award, while it was a fitting sendoff for coach Yvette McCausland-Durie after guiding the team to two titles and four finals during her four years at the helm. The popular mentor was named the ANZ Premiership Coach of the Year.
* Import player
We live this game.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
37
Tania Dalton Foundation
NZU21s NZU21s The build towards the 2021 Netball World Youth Cup began in earnest with the naming of a well-credentialled 21-strong NZU21 squad in September.
Highlighting their depth of talent, the squad includes players who are currently in the Silver Ferns or Silver Ferns Development squads and a number who played in the 2020 ANZ Premiership.
With the cream of New Zealand’s Netball talent on hand during the Cadbury Netball Series, the youngest representatives in the form of the NZU21s excelled when given the opportunity to test their ability at a senior level.
The NZU21s were put through their paces when joining the Silver Ferns Squad and NZA players at training camps, before a 12-strong team was chosen for the Cadbury Netball Series which included all three teams, as well as the NZ Men.
Being exposed to this level of competition, along with their participation in the ANZ Premiership and National Netball League, has driven a higher level of performance and with it intense rivalry to be part of the 2021 Netball World Youth Cup.
We live this game.
Squad members not selected for the Cadbury Netball Series remain in contention, some having a chance to play England ahead of the series against the Silver Ferns in October. With the Netball World Youth Cup set to be played in December 2021, there will be a number of opportunities for all players to press their claims over the coming months.
Four Netballers were named in the 2020 Tania Dalton Foundation Scholarship Programme, which is aimed at inspiring young people to be the best they can be through sport.
In memory of Silver Fern #113, Tania Dalton, Netballers Ivari Christie (Morrinsville), Khiarna Williams (Whakatāne), Fiapalagi Lai Kong (Christchurch) and Parris Mason (Taranaki) were included in the third intake of deserving recipients for the Scholarship Programme.
are having in their respective sports and
The Foundation was launched in 2017 after the tragic death of Tania, to honour her passion for supporting young women in sport by co-ordinating a range of programmes aimed at making a positive and measurable impact.
was and the contribution she made
communities,” he said. The programme provides opportunities for girls to connect with like-minded athletes and with experienced mentors. The support from these mentors, scholarship funders and the community is testament to the unique person Tania
Ivari Christie (Netball) Morrinsville Fiapalagi Lai Kong (Netball) Christchurch
“Following Tania’s footsteps, we’re
Terri MacDonald (Water Polo) Hamilton
encouraging these girls to see themselves as future role models and
Founder Duane Dalton, Tania’s husband, ways to work alongside and inspire them has been the key to realise their driver behind the ultimate dreams,” ...supporting young programme Duane said. which supports women in sport by “And we’re talented young co-ordinating a range looking forward sportswomen
of programmes aimed at making a positive and measurable impact.”
“We’re in our third year now, with the 2018 Scholarship recipients in their final year of the programme. I am proud, as would Tania be, of the impact these girls
K’Lee Begbie (Rugby) Putāruru
across a variety of sports.
leaders within their communities, finding
from differing circumstances and backgrounds, who will benefit from the unique and valuable support the Foundation can provide.
Scholarship Recipients Class of 2020:
to helping our 2020 Scholarship recipients achieve success just as we have in previous years.”
There’s a huge engine of support behind the Foundation, including some of Tania’s
Patricia Maliepo (Rugby) Panmure, Auckland Parris Mason (Netball) Inglewood, Taranaki Mile Naime (Athletics) Manurewa, Auckland Alana Paewai (Basketball) Hamilton Tara Turner (Touch Rugby) Whangārei Maama Vaipalu (Volleyball) Papatoetoe, Auckland Kenya Watene (Rugby) Kaitāia Khiarna Williams (Netball) Whakatāne
closest friends and former team-mates. Her daughter, Tayla Dalton, has also played an influential advisory role.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
39
futureFERNS in what will be their final year. Mother Earth have been involved in our futureFERNS programme since its inception and NNZ has enjoyed the partnership immensely. ANZ continued to support the grass roots of our game through grants and also by their support of our futureFERNS programme. The undoubted highlight for the community game, though, was the unprecedented post-COVID-19 provision of $500,000 for our Netball Clubs and Centres to apply to so they could ride out the pandemic. This was an incredible gesture from our longest-serving partner. GJ Gardner Homes extended their relationship as the official sponsor of umpires across all levels of the game.
Commercial With the impacts of COVID-19 well documented throughout this Annual Report, it goes without saying that we are thankful for the depth of partnerships that we have within Netball and the near-unwavering support that the game received in a year where normal was just not possible.
While at times our options to deliver for our partners looked grim, we were eventually able to deliver a large amount of our Netball throughout the year and provide opportunities, often in new and varied ways, for our partners to support New Zealanders return to play or to watch Netball.
Broadcast We worked hard with Sky Sport, to deliver a large array of live Netball into people’s homes and to their devices this year. The Silver Ferns’ matches in January and the start of the ANZ Premiership in March
gave us false hope of a year celebrating our 2019 Netball World Cup success before COVID-19’s impact on the delivery of live sport. During the initial lockdown period, NNZ provided live NETFIT NZ sessions multiple times across a week as we awaited our return to play. Once back up and running we were able to successfully deliver the ANZ Premiership and the Silver Ferns’ season, seeing a lift in digital viewership through both Sky Go and Sky Sport Now. There was also strong viewership of the Silver Ferns’ matches, including free to air on Prime. NNZ once again live-streamed our games internationally and there was a large spike in the viewing audience as Netball
fans from around the world sought out our content for their watching fix.
Netball New Zealand As mentioned above, Netball looked very different in 2020; however, NNZ is lucky to have a number of partnerships across different areas of our game. Cadbury continued as our partner in support of our volunteers, recognising many volunteers throughout our game and ensuring they were thanked for their tremendous contribution. Mother Earth continued as the naming partner of the Mother Earth
NZ Police and Fuji Xerox took on roles as naming rights partners for the Open Champs and Secondary Schools Netball Champs respectively but unfortunately these events were cancelled due to COVID-19. However, both partners took up other opportunities to support the game and still allow us to support them also. We continued our great relationship with Barfoot & Thompson in their role as an official sponsor of our High Performance coaching programmes. Further relationships exist with Asics in and around our age-group teams and with Gilbert as official ball supplier for all our NNZ-run tournaments and competitions. Thrifty Rental Vehicles was our official rental vehicle partner. We acknowledge the very difficult year they have had, reliant on the tourism market, and we look forward to supporting them where we can over the coming months and years. In 2020, we changed our printing partner to Benefitz.
Silver Ferns MYOB renewed their partnership leading into 2020 as the principal partner of the Silver Ferns. They continued to leverage their relationship in several ways, utilising the Silver Ferns to support their business. While principally the naming rights partner of our elite national league – the ANZ Premiership – ANZ’s presence with the Silver Ferns has continued to showcase how ANZ support New Zealanders. Cadbury (Mondelez) enjoyed a second year of association with the world champions as our official series sponsor of the Cadbury Netball Series. As well as the above, we continued to have strong support from PUMA, Suzuki, Special K, Frucor Suntory, Mediaworks and Thrifty Vehicle Rentals. Dermaviduals joined us in 2020 too, becoming the Silver Ferns’ official skincare and make-up partner. Also joining us in the latter part of the year as a partner, Pantene will launch some fantastic initiatives in 2021. In addition, we enjoyed a new partnership with BABY-G which saw a generous gifting of products to our fans. We also enjoyed fantastic support from PTP Fitness, Voyager, SKINS, Asics, Gilbert, USL, GO Media and Augustine.
ANZ Premiership The real success of 2020 was actually executing the ANZ Premiership. While a number of parties played a massive part in achieving this in what was an incredibly difficult year in which to plan, our partners showed the support of our game we love by being flexible and innovative. Once again, ANZ’s support of the revised Premiership was a superb display of support for Netball.
We live this game.
As with last year, Suzuki branding was displayed on the goalpost pads and the goal circle decal, extending their presence on the court. The ANZ Premiership also saw Gilbert, MYOB, Asics, BABY-G, Sky Sport, Mediaworks and GO Media as partners, and GJ Gardner Homes once again partnered with our match officials.
Beko Netball League
COMMERCIAL
COMMERCIAL
As a result of COVID-19, the Beko Netball League was not played in 2020.
Funding Organisations NNZ would like to acknowledge the excellent support received from the following organisations (in no particular order): • • • • • • • • •
New Zealand Community Trust The Lion Foundation One Foundation The Southern Trust Trillian Trust Rata Foundation Sport New Zealand High Performance Sport New Zealand ACC
There are also many other partners, suppliers and funders of the game of Netball at many levels throughout the country and NNZ wishes to thank them for their ongoing support of our game. Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
41
COMMUNITY Community The year 2020 required Community Netball to be adaptable. With the changing environment we faced due to COVID-19, we learnt new ways to collaborate and deliver Netball online. In the toughest of times our Netball community showed true strength and resilience.
Coaching Performance Coaching Development We commenced the year with gusto delivering a second Composite Coaching Qualification (CCQ) to Netball Central Zone in Wellington, quickly followed by Netball South Zone in Dunedin. Being hit by the COVID-19 pandemic created new opportunities to connect with our coaches nationally and internationally. We connected promptly with our performance coaching community, offering online coach education modules during the first lockdown and
We live this game.
thereafter. While nothing will replace the value of face-to-face coaching development and support programmes, We were able to adapt, and designed innovative ways of delivering that was meaningful, accessible and ultimately allowed coaches to progress in their development. The Performance Coaching Qualification (PCQ) programme experienced an influx of new coaches at entry level following completion of the first pilot of CCQ in Wellington in 2019. We have been able to develop an online coaching logbook and deliver a new module – the Understanding Tactical Behaviours workshop which enables ongoing learning.
Congratulations to the following coaches who were awarded the PCQ Award in 2020; Charissa Barham Netball Central Sonya Noble Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Paula Smith Netball Northern Rhiana Wheadon Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty The highlight was the virtual online roadshow presented by Dame Noeline Taurua – Sharing the Love of PURE. Two series of three workshops during the ANZ Premiership competition allowed performance coaches to engage in a bespoke experience with Dame Noeline. She shared her knowledge, experience and learnings, generously providing collegial conversations for coaches to
Community Coaching During the COVID-19 initial lockdown, we had to move speedily to create innovative ways to connect and support our coaches. One exciting and collaborative initiative was the launch of the Coaches Kōrero video series on the NNZ Facebook page. This weekly series featured 12 episodes of interviews with key influencers in the coaching space, with the aim to keep coaching front of mind during the lockdown to enable coaches to have an entertaining learning opportunity, accessible within their homes. We received just under 40,000 views across the series. We also developed coaching workshops that were delivered online both in New Zealand and internationally; we have received such great feedback from these, that we will be continuing with this offering in the future. As we moved into the return-to-play stage, we worked with both Sport NZ and other codes on a return-to-play campaign. This campaign featured a promotional video that thanked coaches for their work during the lockdown. We also created a webinar session for coaches to prepare them for post-lockdown play with over 500 registrations; this was a great chance for us to engage with Coaches during an uncertain environment post-lockdown. In addition, NNZ also developed return-to-play resources that were used by Centres and coaches to help deliver Netball to returning players in a safe and enjoyable way.
coaching community to have their say on the direction of coaching and coach development over the next four years. We released the Coaching Diary as well, which aims to give coaches a resource to support their planning and player development and wellbeing throughout the season. We worked with our Zones on the continuing professional development opportunities for our growing number of Coach Developers (CDs) too. This included four regional workshops and a national collaborative Coach Developers course, run in partnership with Sport NZ and Volleyball NZ across the country.
year for online use so accessibility to the workshops could be improved during COVID-19. More than 1,000 coaches completed their coaching workshops online. This is thanks to the group of junior coach developers who upskilled themselves to be able to deliver quality content digitally.
Player participation numbers: 57, 798 Mother Earth have continued to be a supportive partner in this space,
Mother Earth futureFERNS and Year 7 & 8 Player Development Programme
supporting the Festival Days held in
The Netball community worked hard to get Mother Earth futureFERNS off the ground this year. As a result of COVID-19, this required replanning seasons multiple times, introducing new health and safety practices and ensuring Netball ran every week. Our Netball community are resilient though and managed to get 80 percent of Netball Centres delivering Mother Earth futureFERNS.
product and their much-loved mascot
the Zones with hampers, Mother Earth Basil the Squirrel. Mother Earth also provided 10 gear bags of equipment to Mother Earth futureFERNS Netball teams that needed them this year. The Year 7 & 8 Player Development Programme continued into its third year in 2020 with now over half of the Centres delivering the programme across the country.
Over 850 coaches attended Mother Earth futureFERNS workshops this year to upskill and provide the best experience for our players. All the coaching workshops were updated this
COMMUNITY
unpack and make sense of newly learnt information and how it may relate to their own environments. It was an extraordinary experience with coaches tuning in from around New Zealand, as well as Kiwi coaches based in Singapore, Hong Kong, Wales, England and Australia.
It is amazing that so many of these initiatives continued to be delivered to ensure players had access to Netball extension opportunities.
Pre and post lockdown, we worked on the development of the Community Coaching Strategy which brought together key people from across the Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
43
made his debut at ANZ Premiership level. The impact of COVID-19 and the cancellation of the Beko Netball League meant that we were only able to appoint nine of our squad in an elite domestic competition. The five umpires not selected to umpire in the ANZ Premiership showed great resilience and a positive attitude in continuing to hone their craft within the community. NNZ contracts six umpires with their
Umpiring
International Umpire Award and one
Community Umpiring
2020 National Umpire Squad
The spirit with which the umpire coaching fraternity embraced online learning and the growth of our umpire coach developers were the highlights of community umpiring in 2020.
Josh Bowring (IUA)
When we were forced into Alert Level 4 in March, we were able to adapt quickly and deliver our 2020 umpire coaching update through a series of online workshops. In total, 44 online umpire coaching workshops were delivered to 310 umpire coaches by 28 umpire coach developers. The feedback from participants was overwhelmingly positive with over 90 percent wanting an online learning experience in the future. Seeing our umpires back on court later in the year was rewarding in a challenging year. In all, we had 1,763 qualified active umpires out on court supported by 471 umpire coaches. A total of 26 umpires achieved their Zone Umpire Award with four achieving their New Zealand Umpire Award in 2020. High Performance Umpiring Highlights Fourteen umpires were selected to the 2020 NNZ National Umpire Squad this year, to officiate in the ANZ Premiership and Beko Netball Leagues with Marlissa Howard and Michelle Stagg being
We live this game.
internationally talent-identified umpire.
Angela Armstrong-Lush (IUA) Myron Elkington Gracey Farquharson Gareth Fowler (IUA) Ann Hay (IUA) Marlissa Howard Jess Lea Sasha McLeod (ITID) Ken Metekingi (IUA) Zak Middleton Cory Nicholls
NetballSmart is making a difference to the injury rate of Netball players. With a reduction in the number of injuries and an impressive return on investment, ACC has committed to supporting the NetballSmart programme for another three years. NetballSmart and NNZ greatly appreciate the ongoing support from ACC. Thank you to the following NetballSmart Development Officers (NSDOs) for taking NetballSmart to the community, imparting their knowledge and making a difference to the injury rates: Mel Kemp and Suzie Belcher Netball Northern Jenne Jones-Poole Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Carla van der Merwe Netball Central Hannah Coutts Netball Mainland Gwenda Harrop Netball South Thank you to the coaches, players and umpires who have embraced NetballSmart. Collectively they are all making a difference. And thank you to the Zones who have supported the NSDOs, promoted a collaborative approach to engagement.
Kristie Simpson (IUA) Michelle Stagg
NetballSmart
NetballSmart is looking forward to another three years of working with and supporting all of Netball.
Youth In 2020, we moved into the second year of the Youth Engagement and Retention Strategy (YERS). The YERS aims to be agile in its approach, so the pillars have been updated and the direction from the learnings in our first year framed our work. The impact of COVID-19 did halt some activity, but it was great to see the work the Centres and Zones put into providing opportunities for rangatahi to play in an ever-changing, challenging landscape. Our mission has always been to “Connect and empower youth by providing participantcentred opportunities through quality experiences”. NNZ established the Netball New Zealand Youth Board (NNZYB), a group of young leaders who are passionate about Netball and growing our sport. This group co-designed their purpose and values that underpin the actions and motivations of the Board. One key outcome of this is that Georgia Trent was appointed as the NNZ Board intern as a youth representative. The group have become ‘champions of youth voice’ and have presented at the Sport NZ CEO forum, NNZ Council Workshop and Strategy presentations, and leadership workshops/conferences with Queensland Netball and Netball Victoria.
This year has been a challenge for all of Netball and like the other NNZ programmes, NetballSmart has responded to support the Netball community. As the healthy heart of Netball, NetballSmart has continued to develop into a comprehensive holistic injury-prevention programme and has an extensive and new array of resources to support the player, the coach and the umpires to help improve performance and decrease injury risk. With a new website in place that is mobile friendly, NetballSmart resources are now accessible to all.
Sport NZ’s Women & Girls Fast5 Project was implemented this year with 12 Centres involved. This Fast5 project is developed by youth, for youth. Though this was challenging to deliver this year, it was great to have rangatahi co-designing what their participation experience would be and become a vehicle for change in the youth space.
Volunteering Our volunteer partnership with Cadbury has continued to grow and see more volunteers in Netball valued and supported.
This year especially, Netball volunteers were at the heart of ensuring that Netball was able to be played safely across the country. Centres were thrilled with how their volunteer army stepped up and went the extra mile to make sure that participants were able to play the game they love. It was vital that Centres could recognise and thank these people, for all their efforts. Highlights: • Centres and Zones said thanks to their volunteers with over 40,000 Cadbury Thanks-Packs distributed nationally. • The Cadbury Volunteer of the Month acknowledgement initiative ran from July to September. There were 330 nominations from 52 Centres and three volunteer feature video stories on NNZ channels. • Five volunteers were awarded in the annual Cadbury Volunteer Awards across the categories of Coach, Administrator, Official, Youth and Community Champion. Winners were presented and hosted at the Cadbury Netball Series when the Silver Ferns played the England Roses on Sunday 1 November in Hamilton. • Volunteer resources available on NNZ website.
• Visibility of volunteers and their stories on NNZ, Zone and Centre communication channels. • Cadbury Call Out segment on NETFIT NZ during Alert Levels 4 and 3 national lockdowns. • Cadbury Volunteer Capability Fund established to develop volunteer management capability within 10 Centres as a pilot project. Each Centre has appointed a Volunteer Lead as part of this initiative.
COMMUNITY
selected for the first time. Cory Nicholls
Cadbury Volunteer Coach of the Year: Jason Pope Hamilton, Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Cadbury Volunteer Official of the Year: Amelia Wheeler Wellington, Netball Central Cadbury Volunteer Administrator of the Year: Jo Morriss Waiuku, Netball Northern Cadbury Youth Volunteer of the Year: Georgia Trent Dunedin, Netball South Cadbury Community Volunteer Champion of the Year: Dana Turnbull Eastern Southland, Netball South
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
45
PSP
have been able to use their Fizz Free Whānau campaign in the Cook Islands (Fizz Free Anau) and Samoa (Fizz Free Fanau), we work with the Pacific Island Food Revolution to deliver healthy cooking lessons, and have utilised the promotions from Pacific Heartbeat (NZ Heart Foundation) and the New Zealand Health Promotion Agency. In Vanuatu, we have established partnerships with the Vanuatu Family Health Association to support delivery of their reproductive
health messages to young women and Won Smal Bag, a local NGO with a strong youth wellbeing focus. The development of the Pacific Islandfocused Netball Leaders Programme has been a very exciting step in 2020. This initiative builds youth leadership and empowerment, alongside providing Netball development training to young people, helping to create the next generation of sport leaders. The programme was trialled in Fiji and
1. Further development of the sustainable coach developer and umpire coach network for long-term Netball development;
It has been a year of learning and development for our Pacific Sporting
2. Deployment of the Netball Leaders youth leadership programme, including extension to the Pacific Island community in New Zealand, and other sports.
Partnership. We have continued our partnerships in Samoa, Fiji, the Cook Islands and Tonga, and started programme delivery in Vanuatu.
The PSP was established in 2017 as a five-year commitment, with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). The aim is to increase physical activity, and promote and encourage healthy lifestyles for young people in the Pacific. We have established partnerships with the Netball associations in each country, working closely with them to support the development of Netball with their young people and have partnerships
We live this game.
with government and non-government organisations to promote healthy lifestyles as part of the netGO programme. Each country is unique in its sport development and health awareness approach. Therefore, we work with the local Netball associations, government ministries, schools and local NGOs to develop locally-relevant plans, utilising common programmes where useful. We have developed accredited Netball coaching programmes endorsed by the Oceania Netball Federation, including an accredited umpire development programme, a fundamental movement skills programme endorsed by the Fiji Ministry of Education, Heritage and
Our programme slogan “Netball for Life” and programme name “netGO” embodies our focus of creating a lifelong love of Netball and promoting healthy lifestyles.
In 2021 the programme will focus on:
Pacific Sporting Partnership (PSP)
The restrictions due to each country’s COVID-19 response has impacted our delivery, but has also provided the opportunity to redevelop our programme to be more resilient and improve its long-term sustainability.
Vanuatu in 2020. In 2021, we plan to bring this programme to our Pacific Island Netball communities in New Zealand, connecting the participants between New Zealand the Pacific Island nations, as well as extending to the NZ Rugby PSP.
Culture, and this year a youth sport leadership programme, derived from the NNZ Netball Leaders Programme. Our experts from NNZ and the Zones provide training in these programmes to local coach developers and umpire coaches. In 2020 this has included Nicola Jones, Ann Hay, Tammy Mehrtens, Charissa Barham, Ruta Schwalger and Irene van Dyk. We also provided Netball equipment to schools, communities and clubs to support their training and development. However, PSP is not just about Netball. All our programmes have nutrition and general healthy lifestyle components. In addition, we partner with nutritionfocused organisations. Through our relationship with Hāpai Te Hauora, we
In Numbers To date in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands and Vanuatu:
• 1031 teachers and volunteers accredited as Oceania Foundation coaches
• 37 coach developers trained who can locally deliver the Foundation Coach course
• 186 teachers and student teachers trained in the Fundamental Movement Skills programme to support their in-class physical education teaching to Years 1-4 students
• 174 umpires trained
3. Enhancement of our relationship with health and nutrition partners, focusing on establishing long-term partnerships. 4. Creation of a sustainable approach to the Fundamental Movement Skills teacher professional development work. Lastly, we would like to thank those that have donated Netball equipment through our work with schools and clubs in our partner countries – Netball Northern Zone, Netball Wellington, Netball Waitākere, Whitestar Netball Club in Pukekohe, Wānaka Primary Schools, Auckland Netball Centre and others. We are always appreciative of these donations – thank you.
• 647 Netball kits given to schools and clubs • 6 youth facilitators trained to deliver the Netball Leaders Programme
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
47
LIFE MEMBERS
Service Awards
1967
Ona Coatsworth+ Waikato Joan Durbin+ Auckland Joyce Ellis+ Auckland Eileen Lane+ Netball NZ President Jean Lodge+ Rotorua Jean Rountree+ Auckland
1968
Doreen Brown+ NZNA Pat Cairney+ NZNA Vonnie Flood+ NZNA K Palmer+ NZNA V Rainey Waikato Iris Weston+ NZNA Edna Yates+ Canterbury
1969
Peggy Bithell+ Taranaki Margaret Gibson+ Wellington
197O
Rona McCarthy Hawke’s Bay Hazel Paul+ Wellington Isobel Stuart Auckland
1971
Life Members in the order they were conferred: 1932 Irene McInnes+ 1949 Betty Armstrong+ 1949 Myrtle Muir+ 1965 Stella Schnack+ 1966 Sara Foster+ 1967 Rena Mackenzie+ 1967 Catherine Vautier OBE+ 1968 Eileen Lane QBE+ 1969 Evelyn Bell+ 1969 Margaret McAughtrie+ 1975 Ona Coatsworth+
1975 Edna Yates QSM+ 1977 Jean Lodge MBE+ 1978 Joyce McCann MBE+ 1981 Marjorie Jenden QSM+ 1987 Anne Taylor OBE 1989 Dame Lois Muir OBE DNZM 1991 Judy Russell MNZM 1991 Betty Steffensen QSM 1993 Dawn Jones OBE 1994 Joyce Ellis + 1994 Dal Knuckey QSM +
Dixie Cockerton+ Matamata Pat Cullen+ Wellington Alison Elder Canterbury Florence Gough+ Canterbury E Hoglund (née Penman) Ashburton Dorothy Hughes Canterbury Dal Knuckey+ Joyce McCann+ Wellington Alice Nichol+ Canterbury Shirley Peacock North Shore Joyce Prevett Matamata Squib Ramsey Matamata A Taylor Hutt Valley
1976 Val Gavin+ Otago Edna George Otago Doreen Hes+ Southland Lena McTaggart Otago Yvonne Sycamore+ South Waikato Nancy Whittleson Otago C E Williamson Poverty Bay
1977
Myra Denniston Western Bay of Plenty N Ford South Canterbury Taini Jamison Rotorua Barbara Marchant Wellington
Yvonne Atkins Hawke’s Bay Violet Byers Otago Myrtle E Lee Hawke’s Bay Ellie Moon Waikato Anne Taylor Waikato
1972
1978
Ina Graham+ South Waikato Marjorie Jenden+ NZNA Gladys Symes+ Hawke’s Bay
1997 Monica Leggat MNZM+ 1999 Christine Archer 2002 Fay Freeman ONZM 2003 Sheryl Dawson MNZM 2006 Sheryl Lady Wells CNZM 2010 Robyn Broughton ONZM 2010 Taini Jamison OBE 2011 Marian George QSM 2012 Kereyn Smith MNZM 2017 Leigh Gibbs ONZM 2018 Yvonne Willering ONZM
1975
1973
Alice Gemming Western Bay of Plenty Hazel Wickens Te Kawau
1974
Betty Ditford+ Canterbury Lorraine Duffy Hutt Valley O Husband Ashburton Joyce Lee+ Canterbury Margaret Pierson Hutt Valley Helen Yates+ Canterbury
Sonia Deeble King Country Pam McCloy Otago Mary McConnell+ Otago Margaret McDougall South Auckland Lois Muir Otago Judy Russell Auckland Shirley Smith+ Wellington Anne Temple Wellington
1979 Molly Dorne+ Horowhenua Edna Hansen Manawatū Dale Wortman Wellington Betty Plant+ Wellington Nancy Read+ Canterbury Jo Selby Manawatū Oonah Shannahan Canterbury Betty M Steffensen Manawatū
198O
Cherrie Beattie Te Kawau Dorothy Dee Nelson Marian George (née Smith) North Shore
1981
Losene Collins Hawke’s Bay Val Fletcher West Auckland Bev Fryer Poverty Bay Irene Gurr+ Manawatū Dawn Jones Auckland Joyce Prankerd Wellington Shirley Sanderson Matamata Jean Skelsey Whanganui Annabel Sutton Hawke’s Bay A Tippet Southland
1982
Norma Burns North Otago Pat Cleland Wellington Ainsley Jacobs Howick/Pakuranga Diane Madgwick North Shore Nita McLean Western Bay of Plenty I Reeves South Waikato Dorothy Smith Wellington Betty Woodham Marlborough Molly Wright South Waikato
1983
Janice Blissett Temuka and Districts Margaret Herron (née Thompson) Otago Audrey Thurlow Otago
1984
Rangi Delamare Eastern Bay of Plenty Dorothy Fathers Thames Valley Nita Harris Kaikōura N Shannon Eastern Bay of Plenty D Simpson North Canterbury Aroha Turnbull Thames Valley
1985
Edith Findlay Southland
1986
B Harding Hawke’s Bay Norma Peggs West Auckland Bernice Wood Taranaki
+ Now deceased
We live this game.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
49
1987
M Donovan King Country Joan Williams Howick/Pakuranga
1988
Heather Brewer West Auckland Fay Freeman North Shore Mavis Kennedy South Canterbury
1989
Christine Archer Wellington Monica Leggat+ Waikato Julia Murray+ Canterbury Eileen Robinson South Canterbury
199O
Ruby Aberhart Nelson Barbara McIntosh Mid-Canterbury Anne Vernon Manawatū B Wells Waitākere
1991
Billie Armstrong Canterbury Anne Carnie North Shore Shona Cooper North Shore Mairie Erickson+ Canterbury S Mackle Temuka and Districts
1992
E Collett+ Waimate Sheryl Dawson Bay of Plenty Coast Lois Fowler Auckland F Howard Western Districts N Ryder+ Waimate Nancy Toomer+ Kapi-Mana
1993
Rita Cosgrove+ South Canterbury Marlene Flavell Auckland Valerie Fowler Howick/Pakuranga Lyn Gunson Waikato Nita Hornbrook+ Nelson Audrey Leath Ashburton Patricia Maddocks Wellington Marilyn Munro Wellington Jill Shanley Waikato Lorraine Stowell Ashburton
We live this game.
1994
Edna Balle Pukekohe Carole Craighead Auckland Audrey Hinton Pukekohe Lyn Miles Canterbury Annette Orangi+ Canterbury Kathleen Thomas Sunrise Coast Sheryl Wells Auckland Heather Williamson Midland
1995
Lois Bush Auckland Jean Hansen Northland Beverley Harrison Howick/Pakuranga Keitha McKendry+ Manawatū Margaret Sheppard Pukekohe
1997
Janet Hefford Canterbury Jessie Thompson Canterbury Valerie Winder Whanganui
1998
Flora Beynon Buller/Westland Kathleen Farrell Waikato Shona Foxcroft+ Temuka and Districts Alwyn Stiven West Otago Joyce Wallace Waimate Yvonne Willering North Harbour
1999
Margaret Burgess North Harbour Shirley Davis Auckland Wilma Hendry Otago May Laws Otago Gay Netton Horowhenua Ann O’Brien Otago Rose Williams Bay of Plenty Coast
2OOO
Kathy Doyle Wellington Kate Leebody Southland Beryl O’Sullivan Manawatū Beverley Raine Taranaki
2OO1
Sheena Armishaw Whanganui Colleen Bond Southland Hazel Burrowes+ Southland Dorothy Fitzpatrick Marlborough Jean Gillett South Canterbury Pat James Howick/Pakuranga Kay McIntyre North Harbour Maureen Russell Thames Valley Georgina Salter+ Otago Beverley Tibbles West Coast
2OO2
Robyn Broughton Southland Mary Meek Rangitīkei Margaret Perry Wellington Ian Schrader+ Otago Carolyn Sengelow South Canterbury
2OO3
Lyn Bailey Howick/Pakuranga Annette Lewis Horowhenua Lyndsay Meads Katikati Doreen Neil Rotorua Hiraina Hilda Ross+ Harbourside Mary Thompson Rotorua
2OO4
Irene Collins North Harbour Joanna Paora Hutt Valley Mirth Solomon Rotorua Elaine Tollen Manurewa Doreen Tucker Dunedin Noeline Ward Canterbury Isobel Whyte Hurunui
2OO5
Marjorie Carr Waikato Eileen Margaret Crowe Christchurch Maureen Flannagan Manawatū Kereyn Smith Netball New Zealand Sylvia Smith Waikato Margaret Spencer+ Auckland Waitākere
2OO6
Norma Bates North Maree Bernasconi Pukekohe Annette Parkinson Manawatū Noeline Ramsey Waiuku Rebecca Tukukino Bay of Plenty
2OO7
Anne Bloomfield Western Tina Karaitiana Gisborne Te Aroha Keenan Auckland Waitākere Violet Lynch+ Eastern Southland Margaret Nicholson Waikato Susanne Trim Manawatū
2OO8
Annette Bradley Whangārei Jan Castle Howick/Pakuranga Suzzanne Driscoll Hutt Valley Anne Marie Leech Mid-Canterbury Julie McDonald Howick/Pakuranga Dianne McTigue Mid-Canterbury Kay Norris Christchurch Christine Rodda Christchurch Sheena Tyrell Mid-Canterbury
2OO9
Margaret Bennie Otago Monica Burns Southland Robyn Harding+ Auckland Waitākere Nancy Lewin Kāpiti Centre Susan Miller Counties Manukau Theresa Strachan Taranaki Waimarama Taumaunu Wellington Patricia Wyatt Bay of Plenty Diane Yorke Bay of Plenty
2014
Jan Gallop Tasman Linda Liggins Manawatū Lyn Pellow Auckland Waitākere Ronwyn Wilkins Motueka
Ngamahirau Grace Barnett Hawke’s Bay Tasi Betteridge Hutt Valley Yvonne Brew Upper Clutha Iwi Courtney Howick/Pakuranga Julie Erskine Invercargill Julie-Ann Hallett Waikato Bay of Plenty Leigh Knight Papakura Sylvia McCleary Hawke’s Bay Briar Martindale Papakura Bronwyn Meek Auckland Michelle Newton North Harbour Grace Rhind Papakura Sheryll Roy+ Dunedin Jan Skilton North Harbour Gail Wenmoth Rotorua
2O11
2015
2O1O
Paula Bailey Auckland Waitākere Karen Brown Southland Madge Cathro Taranaki LeeAnne Clark Auckland Waitākere Shelley Fissenden Kaikōura Susan Hare Hutt Valley Geraldine Hodgson Nelson Raeline Ottley Waimate Ivy Topping Taranaki
2O12
Ruth Aitken Netball New Zealand Dulcie Brunel North Harbour Joanne Davis-Goff Waikato Tracey Fear Netball New Zealand Leigh Gibbs Netball New Zealand Adrianne Hayes Christchurch June Kilgour Howick/Pakuranga Colleen Lyons Otago Carole Maddix North Harbour Raewyn Mills Papakura Helen Schulz North Harbour Cathie Shaw Waikato Eleanor Simmons North Harbour Rhonda Turner Papakura Michele Wallace North Harbour
2O13
Edna Brown Hamilton City Dorothy Craighead+ North Canterbury Isabel Forrester North Canterbury Lynette Gubb Rodney Diane Moloney South Canterbury Lynn Stratford South Canterbury Mureen Turfrey Eastern Southland
2018
Ann Condor Central Otago Alison Cormack Eastern Southland Therese Dixon Papakura Rayma Gunson Whangārei Margaret Marsh Christchurch Aileen Mason Waitākere Amanda Nottingham Christchurch Valerie Temm Hamilton City
Sherrill Beale Gisborne Geoff Bendall Waitākere John Bongard Netball New Zealand Glennys Burney Christchurch Dianne Dickens Eastern Southland Judith Downer North Harbour Sandra Edge Wellington Allison Ferguson Auckland Carol Ferguson Pukekohe Bridget Gane Marlborough Julie Hansen Gisborne Ann Hay Wellington Raewyn Henry Northern Zone Shirley Hocquard Marlborough Natalie Kelly Waikato Bay of Plenty Christena Loomans Papakura Lorna Manu Waitākere Robyn Mayo Pukekohe Karen Naylor South Canterbury Ngami Prattley Eastern Southland Anne Reid Eastern Southland Bubs Reweti Wellington Jan Teesdale Waikato Bay of Plenty Ann Tod Netball New Zealand Beryl Turketo Waitākere
2016
2019
Jane Andrew Nelson Netball Ann Bourne Netball North Harbour Jono Bredin Dunedin Netball Jan Clough Netball Manawatū Kathy Hely Selwyn Netball Anne Marett Mid-Canterbury Netball Veronica Martin Gisborne Netball Marilyn Milne Nelson Netball Maree Smith Nelson Netball
2017
Rosemary Adlam Mid-Canterbury Netball Beverley Douglas Netball New Zealand Adrienne Ensor Dunedin Netball Debbie Hodges Netball New Zealand Shirley Hooper Netball New Zealand Sharon Kearney Netball New Zealand Raewyn Lovett Netball New Zealand Kerry Manders Netball New Zealand Karla Newlands Mid-Canterbury Netball Sally Paki Paki Nelson Netball Centre David Pala’amo Christchurch Netball Centre Lee Piper Netball South Barbara Reid Mid-Canterbury Netball Dr Lesley Rumball Netball New Zealand Julie Seymour Netball New Zealand Nina Smith+ Howick/Pakuranga Netball Centre Irene Takao Gisborne Netball Centre Lorraine Tapp Dunedin Netball Fatulatetele Tolo Netball Wellington Centre
Lyn Barr Netball North Harbour Gail Benseman Mid-Canterbury Netball Centre Lillian Cattell Netball Manurewa Pam Clayton Netball WBOP Elaine Curtis Netball Waitākere Gail Griffiths Netball North Harbour Marcia Hardcastle Netball North Harbour Gayle Hare Netball Wellington Centre Casey Kopua Netball WBOP Lee Manaia Netball Manurewa Jo Morrison Dunedin Netball Centre Cathy Roa Kapi-Mana Netball Centre Martha Taru Netball Wellington Centre Zora Vitasovich Netball Waitākere
2020
Karen King Netball South Canterbury Fay Trezise Netball South Canterbury Fay Selby-Law Netball Manawatu Yvette McCausland-Durie Netball Manawatu Lynette Imrie Netball Hutt Valley Kay Jenkins Christchurch Netball Centre Robyn Daly Christchurch Netball Centre Lee McKenzie Christchurch Netball Centre Robyn Garner Howick Pakuranga Netball Centre
+ Now deceased
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
51
Poipoia At the AGM held in Christchurch in February, we launched our new Netball in New Zealand strategy, direction and purpose – Poipoia. Very much a communityinspired plan with input from the Centres, Zones and the wider Netball community, Poipoia was presented by the community, for the community.
Our Purpose
Poipoia encapsulates how, in New Zealand, we connect and inspire communities through Netball.
Our Southern Cross
Why we are here »
Protecting our community, providing sustenance and watching our next Netballing generation grow – whether an elite athlete, an umpire, a volunteer or a player at grassroots level – it’s what we have always been about.
Always moving towards »
•
•
The most important part of our strategic framework – everything has to connect to our purpose. What we are about, and have always been about.
•
Something for Netball to own – the difference Netball makes in New Zealand.
•
An expression that defines us, what makes us/Netball unique.
The simple translation of Poipoia means to inspire, to care for, to provide guidance, to nurture. Poipoia is inclusive and speaks to how the sport aims to guide and care for everyone, even the game itself.
Our Direction Where we are going » • This unique and differentiated space Netball wants to occupy • Something that will challenge us to connect, think, and work differently • How we speak about our aspiration
• Embodying the wairua of mana wāhine and their whānau
• Where we will achieve the most return and learning across the whole Netball system • How the many move as one
• Embracing all of New Zealand’s diversity within fun, safe and welcoming environments
Our Strategy
• Being local, affordable and accessible
For the future »
• Empowering dynamic leadership, innovation and operational excellence • Inspiring New Zealand with our performances at home and on the world stage
System Shifts How we get there » • What we need to do together to bring our purpose to life and move towards our Southern Cross
We live this game.
• A set of levers to focus and align our plans, actions and experiments
Our future strategy must enable us to shift and adapt to meet the needs of all future Netball participants. No longer can we plan out precisely what is needed across our sport. Rigid planning will leave us behind. Instead, with the guidance of our understanding of what really matters to us in our sport, we will find our future paths. So, it is important that we listen to the many voices that make up the guardians of our sport: inclusivity, excellence, fun, inspiration, friendship, care for one another.
Embracing all of New Zealand’s diversity within fun, safe and welcoming environments.”
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
53
THE NETBALL SYSTEM
2020
82 Netball Centres
We live this game.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
55
FINANCIALS
Independent Auditor’s Report To the Members of Netball New Zealand Incorporated Report on the Audit of the Consolidated Special Purpose Financial Statements
Opinion We have audited the consolidated special purpose financial statements of Netball New Zealand Incorporated and its subsidiary (‘the Group’) on pages 60 to 64, which comprise the consolidated special purpose statement of financial position as at 30 November 2020, and the consolidated special purpose statement of financial performance and consolidated special purpose statement of movements in equity for the year then ended, and notes to the consolidated special purpose financial statements, including significant accounting policies. In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated special purpose financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated special purpose financial position of the Group as at 30 November 2020, and its consolidated special purpose financial performance for the year then
International Code of Ethics for Assurance Practitioners (including International Independence Standards) (New Zealand) issued by the New Zealand Auditing and Assurance Standards Board and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (‘IESBA Code’), and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the IESBA Code. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. Other than in our capacity as auditor and provider of other assurance services we have no relationship with, or interests in, Netball New Zealand Incorporated or its subsidiary. The provision of these other assurance services has not impaired our independence.
ended in accordance with the Basis of Preparation as statements. Our report is made solely to the Members of the Group. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Members of the Group those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the Members of the Group as a body, for our audit work, for our report or for
Emphasis of Matter – Basis of Accounting We draw attention to Note 1 of the consolidated special purpose financial statements, which describes the basis of accounting. The consolidated special purpose financial statements are prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on page 62. As a result, the consolidated special purpose financial statements may not be suitable for another purpose. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.
FINANCIALS
per Note 1 of the consolidated special purpose financial
the opinions we have formed. Basis for Opinion We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (New Zealand) (‘ISAs (NZ)’). Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Special Purpose Financial Statements section of our report. We are independent of the Group in accordance with Professional and Ethical Standard 1 (Revised)
We live this game.
Emphasis of Matter – Increased level of inherent uncertainty arising from the ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 We draw attention to Note 1 the consolidated special purpose financial statements, which describes the impact of the ongoing global pandemic of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (‘COVID-19’) and Management’s assessment of, and responses to, this pandemic on the Group. Since March 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic has lowered overall
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
57
Other Information Those Charged with Governance are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Group’s annual report for the year ended 30 November 2020 (but does not include the consolidated special purpose financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon). Our opinion on the consolidated special purpose financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of audit opinion or assurance conclusion thereon. In connection with our audit of the consolidated special purpose financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the consolidated special purpose financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.
Other Matter The consolidated special purpose financial statements of Netball New Zealand Incorporated for the year ended 30 November 2019 were audited by another auditor who expressed an unmodified opinion on those special purpose financial statements on 18 December 2019. Responsibilities of Those Charged with Governance for the Consolidated Special Purpose Financial Statements Those Charged with Governance are responsible on behalf of the Group for the preparation and fair presentation of the consolidated special purpose financial statements in accordance with the Basis of Preparation as per Note 1 of the consolidated special purpose financial statements, and for such internal control as Those Charged with Governance determine is necessary to enable the preparation of the consolidated special purpose financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the consolidated special purpose financial statements, Those Charged with Governance are responsible on behalf of the Group for assessing the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless Those Charged with Governance either intend to liquidate the Group or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Special Purpose Financial Statements Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated special purpose financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (NZ) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these consolidated special purpose financial statements.
We live this game.
A further description of the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the consolidated special purpose financial statements is located at the External Reporting Board’s website at: https://www.xrb.govt.nz/assurance-standards/ auditors-responsibilities/audit-report-7/ Matters Relating to the Electronic Presentation of the Consolidated Audited Special Purpose Financial Statements This audit report relates to the consolidated special purpose financial statements of Netball New Zealand Incorporated and its subsidiary for the year ended 30 November 2020 included on Netball New Zealand Incorporated’s website. Those Charged with Governance of Netball New Zealand Incorporated are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of Netball New Zealand Incorporated’s website. We have not been engaged to report on the integrity of Netball New Zealand Incorporated’s website. We accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to the consolidated special purpose financial statements since they were initially presented on the website. The audit report refers only to the consolidated special purpose financial statements named above. It does not provide an opinion on any other information which may have been hyperlinked to or from these consolidated special purpose financial statements. If readers of this report are concerned with the inherent risks arising from electronic data communication they should refer to the published hard copy of the audited consolidated special purpose financial statements and related audit report dated 18 December 2020 to confirm the information included in the audited consolidated special purpose financial statements presented on this website.
FINANCIALS
economic activity and confidence, resulting in significant volatility and instability in financial markets and economic uncertainty. Consequently, there has been an increase in the level of inherent uncertainty in the critical accounting estimates and judgements applied by Management in the preparation of these consolidated special purpose financial statements, described in Note 1 of the consolidated special purpose financial statements. As at the date of the signing of these consolidated special purpose financial statements, all reasonably known and available information with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic has been taken into consideration in the critical accounting estimates and judgements applied by Management, and all reasonably determinable adjustments have been made in preparing these consolidated special purpose financial statements. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.
Legislation in New Zealand governing the preparation and dissemination of consolidated special purpose financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
BAKER TILLY STAPLES RODWAY AUCKLAND Auckland, New Zealand 18 December 2020
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
59
Consolidated Special Purpose Statement of Financial Performance
Consolidated Special Purpose Statement of Financial Position
for the year ended 30 November 2020
Notes
NNZ 2020 ($000)
NNZ 2019 ($000)
Operating Revenue
3
19,608
19,115
Operating Expenses
3
17,082
18,761
2,526
354
6
(1,750)
Operating Surplus Transfers to Reserves Net Surplus for the Year after Transfers
as at 30 November 2020
NNZ 2019 $000
7
11,983
2,097
138
2,569
Assets Cash and Short-Term Deposits
-
776
Notes
NNZ 2020 $000
Accounts Receivable
354
Prepayments Total Current Assets
Consolidated Special Purpose Statement of Movements in Equity NNZ 2020 ($000) Notes Members’ Equity at beginning of year
Accum. Funds 3,418
Poipoia Reserve
Int’l Teams Reserve
-
-
(1,750)
1,500
250
Total Movements for the year
776
1,500
Members’ Equity at end of year
4,194
1,500
Total
Accum. Funds
Investments
7
4,139
3,792
4,271
3,908
16,488
8,762
6
5,944
3,418
8
2,409
1,800
8,135
3,544
Total Liabilities
10,544
5,344
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
16,488
8,762
Members’ Equity
Poipoia Reserve -
Int’l Teams Reserve -
Creditors, GST and Accruals Total
3,418
3,065
2,526
354
354
-
-
-
250
2,526
354
-
-
354
250
5,944
3,418
-
-
3,418
2,526 6
116 Allison Ferguson Chair 18 December 2020
3,065
Income Received in Advance
Matt Whineray Chair, Audit and Risk Committee 18 December 2020
FINANCIALS
Transfer to Reserves
132
Liabilities
Movements for the year Operating Surplus for year
4
TOTAL ASSETS
NNZ 2019 ($000)
188 4,854
Plant and Equipment Total Non-Current Assets
for the year ended 30 November 2020
96 12,217
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
We live this game.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
61
1 Accounting Policies
Basis of Reporting The consolidated special purpose financial statements have been prepared applying the accounting principles of accrual accounting and double-entry accounting. The special purpose financial statements have been prepared on the basis of historical cost. The consolidated special purpose financial statements comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, Performance, Movements in Equity and accounting policies as well as the notes to these statements. The financial statements are presented in New Zealand Dollars (NZ$). Consolidation The consolidated special purpose financial statements include the parent (NNZ) and its subsidary (New Netball Team Ltd), which are accounted for using the purchase method. All significant inter-company transactions are eliminated on consolidation. Going Concern The consolidated special purpose financial statements have been prepared on a going-concern basis.
Revenue Recognition The revenue from Sponsorship contracts is allocated over the term of the contract. Where the Sponsorship relates to a specific event the revenue is recognised when the event occurs. The revenue from Grants that are project specific is recognised when the project occurs.
Commitments Under Non-Cancellable Operating Leases Current
NNZ 2020 $000
NNZ 2019 $000
217
219
Income
Operating Surplus includes:
NNZ 2020 $000
NNZ 2019 $000
Non-current
54
215
Sponsorship
10,705
10,384
Total Operating Lease Commitments
271
434
Sport NZ and HPSNZ
5,202
2,571
Contra Contra is to recognise in-kind contributions. These are recognised as Sponsorship revenue and expenses when amounts are quantifiable in terms of the Sponsorship contract.
Grants
2,322
2,540
Audit Fees
20
20
Depreciation
61
104
Accounts Receivable Accounts Receivable are shown at an amount which represents their estimated realisable value.
Rental and Operating Lease Expenses
146
215
Change in Market Value of Investments
197
408
Expenses
Investments Investments have been valued at market value as at 30 November 2020. The change in market value during the year is recognised through the Consolidated Special Purpose Statement of Financial Performance. Plant, Equipment and Depreciation Plant and Equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Plant and Equipment have been written off over their estimated useful lives on a straight-line basis to calculate the depreciation charge for the period as follows: Office Alterations .......... 10 years Office Equipment ........... 2-5 years Furniture and Fittings.... 2-15 years Other Equipment ........... 2-5 years
4 Plant and Equipment NNZ 2020 ($000)
NNZ 2019 ($000)
Cost
Depn
Accum Depn
Book Value
Cost
Depn
Accum Depn
Book Value
Office Alterations
80
0
77
3
80
23
77
3
Office Equipment
122
4
103
19
149
6
126
23
Furniture and Fittings
143
14
118
25
147
14
107
40
Other Equipment
617
43
532
85
705
61
655
50
Total Plant and Equipment
962
61
830
132
1,081
104
965
116
Uniforms Uniforms are expensed at the time of purchase, unless purchased for future squads.
COVID-19 had an impact on the organisation in 2020. It is expected that COVID-19 will continue to impact the business in 2021. The potential effects of any disruption are being planned for, and mitigations are in place, however, the financial impact of these disruptions cannot currently be quantified.
Taxation NNZ is a Non-profit body for taxation purposes under section CW 46 of the Income Tax Act 2007 and therefore no taxation is payable on the profit for the year.
Goods and Services Tax (GST) Figures shown in these consolidated special purpose financial statements are exclusive of GST, with the exception of Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable.
Changes in Accounting Policies There has been no change in accounting policies during the year and all policies have been applied on a consistent basis to all periods presented in these consolidated special purpose financial statements.
We live this game.
3 Operating Surplus
FINANCIALS
Reporting Entity Netball New Zealand Incorporated (NNZ) is an Incorporated Society in New Zealand. NNZ is a Public Benefit Entity. The primary objectives of NNZ is for the administration, promotion and development of Netball in New Zealand. The consolidated special purpose financial statements of NNZ comprise NNZ and its subsidiary New Netball Team Limited, together referred to as NNZ. The consolidated special purpose financial statements have been prepared in accordance with s23(i) of the Incorporated Societies Act 1908.
2 Commitments
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
63
8 Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Zone
5 Board Honoraria An honoraria payment was made to Board members for 2019 and 2020 as follows: 2019: President $10,500, Board Chair $25,000, F and A Committee Chair $13,500, five remaining Board members $10,500 each. 2020: The Board members agreed not to take an honoraria payment. The CEO does not receive an honorarium.
6 Members’ Equity NNZ 2019 $000
General Funds
4,194
3,418
Poipoia Reserve
1,500
Total Members’ Equity
250 5,944
3,418
During 2020, the Board of NNZ resolved that a portion of the 2020 surplus be ringfenced to ensure the strategic direction of Netball and our international teams can be catered for after the devastating effects of COVID-19.
NNZ guaranteed a $100,000 overdraft facility for Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Zone in 2019; this was removed April 2020. Post November 2019, NNZ provided letters of financial support to Netball Northern Zone, Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Zone, Netball Mainland Zone and Netball South Zone. These were re-evaluated as required due to the impact of COVID-19 on the organisation.
10 Related Party Transactions
Poipoia Reserve: This reserve is to be used to achieve strategic priorities. An initial balance of $1.5 million was transferred to the Poipoia Reserve in 2020.
The ANZ Premiership commenced in 2017; this competition is owned by NNZ. New Netball Team Ltd was established for the sixth team (Northern Stars), that participates in the competition. This company is 100 percent owned by NNZ and is also consolidated into the NNZ Group results.
International Teams Reserve: This reserve is to be used to support international campaigns. This may include Silver Ferns, NZA, U21s and NZSS as appropriate. An initial reserve of $250,000 was transferred to International Teams Reserve in 2020.
One of the NNZ Board members is also a Board Member of the New Zealand Community Trust (NZCT). NNZ has recognised NZCT grant income of $232,464 (2019: $294,843). The Board Member removes themselves from any NZCT discussions regarding NNZ funding.
7 Cash and Investments
Cash and short-term investments – short term Investments - long term Total Cash and Investments
Thank you to our Partners.
9 Guarantee and Contingencies NNZ 2020 $000
International Teams Reserve
Included in the consolidated special purpose balance sheet at 30 November 2020 is an accrual for the liabilities relating to Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty Zone (the Zone). In November 2020, after formal request from the Zone Board, the NNZ Board agreed to take over the temporary administration of the Zone due to financial hardship. At the end of the financial year, due diligence was being undertaken and any structural changes can only be determined once this evaluation is completed. NNZ does not control the Zone and therefore the Zone’s results are not included in the Group’s consolidated results.
10 Subsequent Events NNZ 2020 $000
NNZ 2019 $000
11,983
2,097
4,139
3,792
16,122
5,889
There have been no events subsequent to balance date that would have a material impact on the financial statements (2019: $nil).
NNZ has an overdraft facility of $200,000 (2019: $200,000). NEW ZEALAND WINE
We live this game.
Netball New Zealand Annual Report 2020
65
