Our office is closed from Thursday 18th December at 4pm and re-opens on Monday 12th January 2026. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

NNZ & NORTHERN ZONE UPDATES


1.  ANZ Premiership Draw Announced

The 2026 ANZ Premiership draw is officially locked in, with the first game between Northern rivals – Go Media Stars v Northern Mystics at Pulman Arena, Sunday 12 April 5pm.

See attached thumbnails for dates or head to the following websites for more information:

https://anzpremiership.co.nz/

https://www.northernmystics.co.nz/

https://starsnetball.co.nz/

2.  Mental Skills Online Coach Workshop

Coaches in the Northern Zone have been invited to attend Waikato Bay of Plenty Netball’s Mental Skills Online Workshop.

The workshop wil cover growth v fixed mindset, mental skills techniques, and integrating mental skills into trainings.

Facilitated by specialist Coach Developer Trudi Kemp.

Tuesday 11 November

6.30pm-8pm

Online

Please see attached information for more information, and register direction with Kim Hunt, via kim.hunt@netballwbop.co.nz

Contact: Tania aucklandcoach@netballnorthern.co.nz  

3. Netball New Zealand 2026 Domestic Events

NNZ is pleased to confirm the venues and dates for Netball New Zealand’s key domestic tournaments in 2026:

Under 18 Championships
Christchurch Netball Centre, Ngā Puna Wai
Monday 13 July – Thursday 16 July 2026

Netball NZ Open Championships
Hawke’s Bay Netball Centre, Rodney Green Arena
Thursday 10 September – Sunday 13 September 2026

New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships
Auckland Netball Centre, St Johns
Tuesday 29 September – Friday 2 October 2026

NNZ will be releasing the 2027 domestic event dates prior to Christmas this year.

4. 2026 National Development Camp Observer Coach Programme

13-15 January

St Kentigern College

We are excited to be working alongside Netball New Zealand for the 2026 Observer Coach Programme, an invitation-only opportunity for development coaches to immerse themselves in a high-performance environment alongside some of the best in the game.

Over three days, they’ll observe athlete development in action, connect with other coaches, and take away practical tools and ideas to strengthen their own coaching.

This is a valuable step in developing our future performance coaches and supporting pathways across the Zone.

Tania and BJ will be reaching out with developing coaches in the coach squad to ensure strong Zone representation.

Contact: Tania auckland.coach@netballnorthern.co.nz; BJ Brian.Keepa@netballnorthern.co.nz

5. Reminder: Centre Connect Information

All Centres will have received the same information in regards to information shared at our Centre Connects across Auckland and Northland.

If you were unable to make the Auckland or Northland Connects, you are welcome to view the Northland hui online here Recap: Northland Centre Connect Sunday, 2 November | Meeting | Microsoft Teams

Agenda item timestamps:

  • Netball NZ Update – 3:30
  • Centre reflection tool – 24:11
  • Netball Northern Update – 29:30
  • Community Team Planning – 43:50
  • Centre Updates – 1:03:43

Presentation slides are attached.

Key information, with actions highlighted in red for all Centres, with a friendly reminder that feedback on the Netball Northern Community Operations Plan is due 8am, Monday 10 November:

  1. Supplementary information from NNZ updates include the following links:

Centre Management Hub – one stop shop for resources to support Centre management including essential documents,  governance support,     planning templates.

NetballShare (found under ‘helpful resources’ in Centre Management Hub) - 27 editable netball documents aimed to assist club and school netball coordinators.

  1. Centre Self Reflection Tool – We will be using this to identify key themes across Centres and identify additional support/resource areas in 2026-2027. We will also use this in developing individual Centre Value/Impact plans.
  1. Print off Centre Self Reflection Tool (A3 size) attached.
  2. Go through line by line and tick/highlight where your Centre across the continuum. If you are halfway between options, mark a tick halfway. Recommendation to complete at an Exec. Committee or staff meeting.
  3. Scan and send to Claire.beuvink@netballnorthern.co.nz

If you want help, we can meet with you to go through it together - let me know.

No hard due date – I will follow up with Centres.

  1. 2026 Community Team Operations Plan – Priorities feedback

Please find attached Centre feedback documents (x5 – capability, coaching, netballsmart, participation, tech officials) to review and feedback to ensure our plans meet your Centre needs in 2026.

Feedback due 8am Monday 10 November. A quick turnaround but we would like to send a final draft for consultation by mid-November.

If you have any questions or prefer to feedback verbally, please give me a call.

  1. FundingHQ Review – you received an email on Thursday last week about this. As a reminder, please fill out the quick survey here.

Whether you have or haven’t used FundingHQ this year, your feedback makes a big impact on how we shape the programme to meet your needs in 2026.

Contact: Claire.beuvink@netballnorthern.co.nz

6. NZ Secondary Schools Teams Announcement

Congratulations to the following players and support team from the Northern Zone, selected for the NZ Secondary Schools Team, and NZ Secondary Schools ‘A’ Team:

NZ Secondary Schools Team

Anika Pihema - Orewa College

Avah Sila - Howick College

Charlie Lindsay - Howick College

Imani Rasmussen - Westlake Girls High School

Romi Ropati - Mt Albert Grammar

Sierra Lau’ese - Howick College

Tayla-Rose Mose - Mt Albert Grammar

Zermahnia Manu - Howick College

Manager: Nikola Kemp

NZ Secondary Schools ‘A’ Team 2025

Aria Gardiner - Mt Albert Grammar

Talia Chatfield - Westlake Girls Grammar


Manager: Bobby-Jo Buchanan

Physio: Rebecca Fanning


7. Coaching for Impact – PD Opportunity for Coaches of Rangatahi

Coaching for Impact is a Sport NZ–designed development programme that brings together coaches who are passionate about creating positive experiences for rangatahi. Grounded in the Balance is Better philosophy, it’s delivered by facilitators from NZ Cricket and other national bodies.

The programme includes four in-person learning camps (North Island – Wellington | South Island – Christchurch), a virtual intro session, and self-paced webinars. Programme delivery is covered, with travel and accommodation self-funded.

This is a fantastic opportunity for coaches wanting to grow their impact and leadership in youth sport.

Applications are open 3–21 November (5pm), with 50 spaces available nationwide. Coaches will need endorsement from their school, club, regional, or national organisation.

Full details and registration link, check out the website here: Coaching for Impact | NZC Community Cricket Hub

Contact: coachsupport@nzc.nz

8. Reminder: Year 5 & 6 futureFERNS Feeback

A friendly reminder that NNZ are currently conducting an ongoing futureFERNS review, and are seeking we’re seeking Centre input on the Year 5 & 6 game format and how it might evolve moving forward.

Centres are asked to submit one consolidated response after completing your internal consultation processes. This will help ensure we capture a collective view from across your teams.

Please note that no final decisions have been made at this stage, the Year 5 & 6 format may or may not change. The attached background document outlines the review process and indicative timelines.

Attached to this email, you’ll find:

  1. Background reading on the review process and research
  2. A summary of our most recent research
  3. A copy of the survey questions (for internal sharing if needed before completing your survey)

Once you’ve reviewed the materials above, please submit your Centre’s response via the following link here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FFformatconsultation.

NNZ request this back by Mon, 10 Nov.

Contact: Irene (irenevd@netballnz.co.nz).

Reminder: Behind the Whistle Campaign

The  Behind the Whistle campaign with Netball NZ and NETFIT NZ is in full swing.

The purpose of the campaign is to celebrate, educate, recruit, and retain our netball umpires — because we all know the game doesn’t happen without them!

There are three key aspects to the campaign:

  1. Umpiring and Rules Resources
    • All resources have been compiled into one, easy-to-access LinkTree, including a sign-up form for new umpires.
    • Responses will be sent to zone umpire leads and passed onto centres.

      👉 Check it out here
  2. Assets for Centres
    • Includes:
      • Social media tiles
      • Posters (with QR code to the LinkTree)
      • Email/newsletter images
      • Asset guidelines (how to use them)
    • If you’d like your centre’s umpire lead details included on the posters, please contact your Zone Umpire Lead.
    • For questions about how to use the assets, reach out to Josh – JoshB@netballnz.co.nz.

👉 Access the assets here

  1. Social Media Campaign
    • We’ll be telling the stories of umpires from around Aotearoa, celebrating the incredible people who pick up the whistle every week!

You can engage with the campaign however you like — for example, printing and displaying posters on notice boards or aligning it with an umpire or volunteer appreciation round.

You can also share NNZ’s and NetFit’s social media posts and stories through your own social media channels.

Sport NZ - Let’s celebrate our Everyday Heros

Sport NZ have launched their Everyday Heroes campaign which aims to make coaches feel thanked and valued.

The campaign directs people to thankscoach.co.nz where anyone can create a personalised digital thank you message and have it sent to their coach.

Action: Check this out on Facebook and feel free to share with your clubs and schools.   https://fb.watch/uvpQP5Pm2u/

Sideline Supporters video 

With the end of the season nearing and finals coming up, we’ve created a short video with the MG Mystics with some messaging for sideline supporters.

Contact: michelle.spooner@netballnorthern.co.nz

Action: You can find the video on our Facebook page.  If you’d like to share it in your socials, please do.

Netball Northern Monthly Newsletter - subscribe now

We are excited to let you know that our monthly Netball Northern newsletter has been reinstated, now being sent out to all registered participants who indicated they would like to hear from the Zone.

Sent on the first Wednesday of every month, the newsletter is a great opportunity to share key updates, celebrate Centre successes, and highlight initiatives happening across our netball community.

If you have any stories, achievements, events, or opportunities you'd like featured, please send them through to communications@netballnorthern.co.nz

Action: If you’d like to receive ‘Northern Zone News’, the official e-newsletter of Netball Northern Zone, sign-up here