Netball volunteers from across Aotearoa have been recognised at the 2024 Cadbury Volunteer of the Year Awards held last night.
There are thousands of wonderful volunteers that help run the game each week at Netball Centres, clubs and schools. But last night’s celebration put the spotlight on a special few, who were nominated by their peers for going that extra mile.
“We know volunteers don’t do it for recognition, however, nominating a volunteer can be a great way of acknowledging the amazing mahi they contribute,” said Netball New Zealand’s National Programme Manager Jenna Murie.
“It’s inspiring when you learn what each individual has done to improve the netball experience in their community – when you have positive volunteers that know how to contribute, the impact across the game is huge.”
There were nominees for five different awards with a winner of each category.
Wellington’s Natasha Tawhara and Martha Taru took out the Volunteer Coach of the Year and Community Champion of the Year award, respectively. Manurewa Netball Centre took home two awards - Matthew Chambers won Volunteer Official of the Year and Lee Manaia was announced Volunteer Administrator of the Year. And Caitlyn Forest from Hamilton won the Youth Volunteer Award.
Highly commended awards went to Mary Thompson (Rotorua, Administrator), Vickie Bond (North Canterbury, Community Champion) and Sophie MacIntyre (Hamilton, Official).
“Although last night we honoured only a few, there are so many volunteers in netball that we want to thank – every little bit counts, we acknowledge the huge contribution that everyone makes to help their netball community thrive,” said Murie.
With planning underway for a 2025 season, Murie encourages people to give volunteering a go and highlights there’s a role for everyone!
“Many volunteers choose to coach, manage or umpire. But other volunteers choose administrative or governance roles within Centres. Or you can be part of specific projects and help with one-off events or tournaments – or drive players to games, feed the volunteers – the list continues!
“We encourage these roles to be flexible so you can volunteer in your own way, at a time that suits you.”
If you want to be connected with your local Netball Centre and volunteer in your own way - click here.
See below for a bio on each of the 2024 Volunteer of the Year Award winners.
LEE MANAIA (Manurewa, Northern)
Volunteer Administrator of the Year - Winner
Lee has been the Manurewa Netball President since 2018. Her nomination describes her as the ‘go-to’ person for anything, an advocate for the organisation and someone who leads by example. As well as taking on the President role, Lee is also a Netball Manurewa Umpire Development and Games Committee Member and on the Board’s finance sub-committee. She is an active Umpire Coach/Coach Developer at the Centre and aspires to progress in this role to New Zealand badge Umpire Coach level. Lee single-handedly delivers the Centre’s annual Key Stakeholders Function, preparing and cooking all the catering for this event. She’s an advocate for Netball Manurewa’s Te Ao Māori strategy and is often called on for karakia at Centre events and hui. She is described as ‘the epitome of what a Netball Centre President should be – exuding passion and dedication to the role and leading by example.’
NATASHA TAWHARA (Wellington, Central)
Volunteer Coach of the Year - Winner
Tash Tawhara had a highly successful and busy year coaching across various levels, from secondary school to premier and New Zealand teams. Tash is one of six coaches in Wellington to have completed Netball New Zealand’s Performance Coach Award. In 2023 she was accepted into High Performance New Zealand’s Core Knowledge series designed to upskill coaches. Her nomination says ‘when you look at the coaching roles that Tash has done over the past 12-18 months, she has touched so many of our Secondary School players as well as more mature players at premier or NZ level’. Tash is genuinely dedicated to the development of players across all levels. She gives her time selflessly so that others become better versions of themselves. She has an incredible ethos when it comes to giving as a volunteer. It’s no surprise that Tash was a finalist and winner at the Wellington Regional Sports Awards for coach of the year!
MARTHA TARU (Wellington, Central)
Community Champ of the Year - Winner
A true Community Champion and known by many – Martha’s long list is too much to list here. But includes coaching three teams, Life and Service Award Panel Member, PIC Club President, Netball Wellington Centre and PIC Selector, Year 7&8 Player Development Programme coach, PIC Development Programme coach, Pulse game day liaison…
Martha gives to the game at all levels. Front of house or behind the scenes she is the go-to lady for all things. Martha has helped grow netball at Wellington East Girls College and is building a solid foundation for the school going forward. She does the same for the PIC club – both coaching and managing teams and being their supporter at the courts and administratively behind the scenes. If there is an issue Martha is first to pick up the phone to try and resolve it.
She shares her knowledge and skills with whoever needs it – while making them feel valued and worthy. Martha has followed in her mother's footsteps over the years - where giving is part of their way of life. Her daughter and husband also give their time to netball. She is a cornerstone of netball in Wellington, and her recognition as a finalist at the Wellington Regional Sports Awards as the Volunteer of the Year is a well-deserved honour.
MATHEW CHAMBERS (Manurewa, Northern)
Volunteer Official of the Year – Winner
Matt is a dedicated volunteer at Netball Manurewa, having given 18 years of service focused on umpiring and umpire development. He is the Umpire Convenor, an Umpire Development Committee Member and a Games Committee Member. His infectious personality, sense of humour, innovation and kanohi ki kanohi (face to face) approach has meant he can bring people together from all walks of life. His ability to connect authentically with young people has ensured tamariki and rangatahi feel empowered and have a sense of belonging. Over the last four years Matt has been pivotal to the umpire development programme at Mangere/Otahuhu Netball Centre. He has worked hard to ensure the teams have a good understanding of the calls being made – the result means better on-court and side-line behaviour and therefore a better competition all-round. Matt has built a team of volunteers and demonstrates value in other’s input. Over the years, Matt has consistently grown as a leader and mentor to many.
CAITLYN FORREST (Hamilton, Waikato-Bay of Plenty)
Volunteer Youth of the Year - Winner
Caitlyn is a University of Waikato student and works part-time – she also has six roles related to umpiring at Hamilton Netball Centre! As a course facilitator, she delivers the Introduction to Umpiring course and the feedback is always positive and speaks of her openness to share her extensive knowledge of umpiring. Caitlyn is an ITU and Centre Award Umpire Coach and Assessor, and recently took on the role of Assistant to the Award Assessment Lead. She also umpires at the Premier level and for Rototuna High School teams. Caitlyn created instructional videos and contributed to the update of training materials when the rule changes came into effect. Her data analysis and recommendations for the 2025 season aims to improve umpire coaching, awards, and communication across the community. She does this all with a smile and a level of maturity beyond her years!
SOPHIE MACINTYRE (Hamilton, Waikato-Bay of Plenty)
Volunteer Official of the Year – Highly Commended
Sophie is a Zone Award umpire and a valuable member of the Umpire Leadership Team at Hamilton Netball Centre. Through this involvement Sophie has become the Duty Umpire Lead and has co-ordinated the Duty Umpire and Umpire Coach Draw for the last two seasons – no small task! She is also a Netball New Zealand Youth Board Member. And in her first year of teaching. In 2023 Sophie recognised the benefit in offering centre neutral umpires for all 1v2 finals games at all levels in Intermediate, Secondary and Open Grade. In 2024 this meant she found umpires to fill 104 spots on finals day, as well as ensuring there were reserves. It wasn’t just a case of finding umpires but also matching umpires so that a senior umpire was with a more junior umpire for each final. This greatly aided the learning of the junior umpires. She is constantly seeking ways to improve – proposing ideas and then delivering. As a Duty Umpire herself, Sophie holds high standards in how to approach situations, support umpires and educate those involved and where necessary de-escalate. This high standard she sets herself is a role model for others and provides consistency and trust for the community.
VICKIE BOND (North Canterbury, Mainland)
Community Champ - Highly Commended
Vickie Bond is the driving force behind junior netball at North Canterbury Netball Centre. She is the Junior Umpire Coordinator and a North Canterbury Netball Committee Member. She works to ensure there’s a balance of skill development and fun – and is the initiator of wonderful events like the Jellybean Tournament and the Rainbow Games, where there were 100 teams in 2024. She oversees the Saturday winter competition which has 500 players. It starts for her in February with junior twilight social netball. This is followed by ‘Have a Go Day’ for all keen netballers, where she advocates inclusivity. Her organisation and delivery of workshops ensure tamariki and their whānau are well prepared for the age and stage of junior netball. Vickie then mentors players throughout the winter season, building their confidence and fostering a love for the game. Vickie’s great attention to detail, passion, experience, and patience is obvious in everything she does. She really lives the mantra ‘life-long love of netball’!
MARY THOMPSON (Rotorua, Waikato-Bay of Plenty)
Volunteer Administrator of the Year - Highly Commended
Mary is the Secretary of Netball Rotorua – and so much more! From handling maintenance tasks like letting in the plumber so a leak can be fixed, mopping the floors, to organising meetings, answering emails, and serving as the secretary on the executive, she’s constantly involved. She’s present at so many games throughout each week! From Woolworths futureFERNS through to senior games. She is instrumental in running and organising entries, draws, results and correspondence for three Kurangaituku tournaments, as well as extra tournaments run at Netball Rotorua like the Pink Tournament, Pita Pit Tournament and Representative Tournament. Whether it's washing bibs, repairing uniforms, or polishing trophies, Mary is always there, doing whatever is needed. Her dedication and tireless work make her ‘irreplaceable and invaluable to our organisation.’