Two of netball’s most dedicated volunteers were awarded Life Membership of the Nelson Netball Centre last week, recognising a combined total of a century of service to the sport.
Dianne Gregg and Marilyn Milne received their Life Membership at the annual general meeting of the Nelson Netball Centre last Tuesday. Another four volunteers, Andy Vincent, Priyani De Silva-Currie, Carol Cook and Vicki Reid, also received long service awards at the meeting .
Centre chairperson Julie Baxendine says Dianne and Marilyn are “most definitely worthy recipients of the Life Memberships”. Julie says Marilyn had “filled just about every possible role in netball for over 50 years” while Dianne has “worked tirelessly for our game with real dedication”.
“Dianne’s heart has been in netball forever,” Julie says. “She was the face of Nelson Netball for so many years and has been a great ambassador for netball in our centre.
“It would be fair to say Dianne is a netball treasure, who has no hesitation in contributing to the game of netball. In netball, there’s always something to do and Dianne would get it done, whether it was to lead when we hosted events here in Nelson or just to check the goal nets and sweep the courts.”
Julie says Marilyn has given “hundreds and hundreds of hours of time and energy” to netball. She says Marilyn is especially passionate about developing young netballers after working as the netball co-ordinator for Nelson College for Girls for 14 years. Marilyn has served on the South Island secondary school’s netball management committee since 1996 and in 2008 was awarded a School Sport Service Award from the NZ Secondary Schools Sports Council. Julie says Marilyn is also passionate about fostering and mentoring young Future Fern umpires.
“Thanks to her care and dedication, Nelson is fortunate to have a significant number of young umpires coming through the ranks. Marilyn spends every Saturday during the season encouraging and supporting these umpires.”
Marilyn says she has been involved in netball since she started playing as a seven-year-old in Dunedin. “I just love the game and I love the idea of people playing it and helping people get involved in it. You don’t do these things to get recognition but I feel quite proud to be recognised among my peers, especially alongside Dianne – she is an amazing lady.”
Although Dianne, 74, has been “hooked” on netball for over 60 years, first as a player then as a coach, manager and administrator, she admits she was “very surprised” to receive the Life Membership. “I never dreamed it was coming. I’ve spent a long time in the sport but I do it because I love the game and the people.
“I played my first game when I was nine or 10 in Alexandra, and I got in the Central Otago reps and I’ve been hooked ever since. As soon as that whistle goes at the start of the season, I’m into it.’
Andy and Vicki have contributed to a number of roles in Nelson netball, especially in umpiring where they have officiated at a national level. Priyani has been a long-serving and successful coach and administrator, while Carol has been a coach and manager and played a key role in the centre’s media liaison.
