Netball Central Zone in the Black

Netball Central Zone in the Black

Media Release
27 March 2015
Netball Central Zone has announced a surplus of $92,000 for the year ending 30 November 2014, in its second year of operation.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting held at Hataitai’s Netball Wellington Centre, Chair Sue Gordon described the result as “heartening”, but stresses that the Zone will continue to face financial challenges.

“The Zone is starting to make a difference,” she explained. “Our surplus was primarily due to sponsorship revenues and good fiscal management, but we remain cautious about the future.

“The Zone as an entity is still quite young, but the sport isn’t. Netball has strong traditions and real history in what we are able to do as a community, so I want to thank all the centres and their volunteers for their ongoing contribution to the running of our sport in the lower north island. It feels like we are having a better dialogue about the things that are important at grassroots and starting to show the value of some of the programmes we have put in place. However, I do need to acknowledge that we are only two years old and there is more work for us to do.”

Having said that, Gordon highlighted several areas where real progress had been made during the year, from the youngest players through to the Central Pulse.

“We have enjoyed great success with the new Junior Netball Programme (known as Future Ferns), which has seen 1,738 children taking part and 253 new coaches trained” she said. “This is compelling for me as it starts as a base and helps us build for the future. From a high performance viewpoint, we’re very proud of the achievements of our U23 team, who only lost one game at national tournament and finished third overall. They represented us really well and ran a strong campaign. We also acknowledge the work of Central Pulse coach Robyn Broughton and her management team and hope they can build on their strong home performances in 2014.

“In terms of governance, we have a high calibre board. The three appointed board members have strong commercial backgrounds and bring a range of skills including assisting with fundraising. Our elected board members are the people on the ground, they are involved in the sport on a day to day basis. They bring the Zone’s community voice to the table.

“I would also like to thank Ian Collier as the previous chair for all his hard work in setting up the Zone, along with the sponsors and funders who are our partners, and particularly Haier who have sponsored the Pulse for last five years. They have been invaluable in their support of the team and we want to acknowledge their considerable contribution.”

Chair Sue Gordon talks to representatives from across the Netball Central Zone
at the recent AGM held at Haitaitai Netball Wellington Centre.

A copy of the Netball Central Zone Annual Report for 2014 can be downloaded here:

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