Waikato Tainui Men's and Mixed Netball Association with their new training and playing gear from ANZ. Photo / Supplied
Waikato Tainui Men's and Mixed Netball Association with their new training and playing gear from ANZ. Photo / Supplied
Waikato Tainui Men's and Mixed Netball Association can take their netball game to the next level after being awarded an ANZ Netball Grant.
The ANZ grants give netballers across Aotearoa an opportunity to apply for anything they need to continue playing the game they love – from uniforms and training gear to resurfaced courts and money-can't-buy experiences.
After another difficult year for community netball, where Covid-19 cancelled games and shortened seasons, ANZ is helping to ease the fundraising effort for clubs and teams.
Board member Karen Head applied for an ANZ Netball Grant because the club didn't own any of their own balls or bibs.
Coach and champion of men's and mixed netball Tania Anderson said: "Just having the gear would be a huge deal for us. All the netballs that arrive at training are borrowed. We have to count our sets of bibs and sometimes borrow from other clubs for tournaments."
The club was awarded new training gear including training and match balls, bibs, spot markers and carry bags to help ease the financial commitment the players face in order to play.
Coach Tania Anderson is grateful for the grant as she wants to continue to normalise men's netball. Photo / Supplied
Each year, the club has two big competitions to work towards; NZ Men's and Mixed Nationals, and NZ Men's Nationals. Attending is a big cost that the players must bear.
Tania said it highlights the commitment men make to play netball.
"Fundraising is always difficult because players come and go. But the commitment is if they want to play they have to pay.
"We have two tournaments a year on the NZ Men's and Mixed Association calendar. We are all volunteers, and we have our own lives. When we aren't preparing to go to nationals, we're working."
Tania has been involved in men's and mixed netball for 25 years and was awarded a service award for her commitment in 2021. Tania was grateful to have received this ANZ Netball Grant because she wants to continue to normalise men's netball.
"Thank you ANZ for supporting men's netball in the Waikato. It's almost more about the support that ANZ is giving men's netball than the gear."
Tania was an assistant coach for the NZ Mixed Team at the 2022 Cadbury Netball Series where they went head-to-head in a series of games against the Silver Ferns.
"It was a fantastic opportunity for the men and mixed players to showcase their ability and skill.
"We were very fortunate to have eight players from Waikato Tainui representing the NZ Men's and Mixed Netball Association at the Cadbury Series. It's a very proud achievement for our region."
When Tania isn't coaching she leads a busy life as a deputy principal, fulltime teacher, and grandparent. Despite the long days, time away from her family, and the huge commitment of her personal time, she is driven by her hopes to see men's and mixed netball normalised at all levels and her love for the game.
"I want to see a continuous pathway for men's netball. Especially at primary and college age, those are the tough years.
"In 2024, it will be the 40th anniversary of the first NZ men's nationals in Rotorua. I've been involved in men's netball since I was 16 years old. I fell in love with the flair and unique way of playing. I gravitated toward this style of netball. It's about the friendships, the journey, and watching the skilled men play, and they are just as talented as the Silver Ferns.
"People still think netball is a female sport but for 40 years - not for us. It has been a wonderful 38 years of representing our regions and families."
ANZ general manager marketing Matt Pickering says: "We're proud to support netball from the grassroots clubs and schools in Waikato to the elite players in the ANZ Premiership and the Silver Ferns.
"Community netball has had it tough over the last two years so we hope ANZ's support makes it easier for players to continue playing the game they love. We know it's the clubs and schools across the country that help to nurture the next generation of players and we hope these grants give teams a boost and fill them with the confidence to play their best game."
