REMEMBERING TANIA
THE KIWI NETBALL COMMUNITY HAS BEEN ROCKED BY HER SAD AND SUDDEN PASSING
Farewell to the Silver Fern star
On the netball court, Silver Fern Tania Dalton was fearsome. If the ball got to Tarns – or “T-Bag” as most of her netball teammates called her – you could expect it to sail through the hoop. The goal shooter was famed for her speed, nimbleness and footwork.
But it was off the court where Tania’s true magic lay.
If you were lucky enough to meet her, you couldn’t help but be instantly mesmerised by her kindness, humour and warmth – and her love of a good time. People gravitated towards Tania and she responded in kind. But her magnetic life was cut short last week with the former Silver Fern slipping away after her life support was
turned off
following an internal aneurysm she experienced the Thursday prior. She was 45.
Family spokesperson Chris Henderson confirmed Tania’s passing on Wednesday.
“It is with overwhelming sadness that we share the news that our much-loved T passed away at 10.20am with her family by her side. Tania has put up the fight of her life, but ultimately, it was a fight she couldn’t win.”
Her passing has left New Zealand’s close-knit netball community in shock, especially those who continued to work with her in her role as a netball commentator with Sky Sport, where she was noted for her candid and refreshingly off-the-cuff commentary.
Friend and former teammate Irene van Dyk says Tania was “definitely the life of the party”.
She offered a touching tribute to “T-Bag”, saying, “Life will be empty without you, you angel woman... You are and forever will be one of the most inspirational people! We are devastated for losing someone so young and so full of life. Rest easy, T-Bag! Your spirit will live on.”
While netball was her passion, her family was her life. Tania, née Nicolson, was married to the love of her life Duane Dalton and had three gorgeous young children, daughter Taylor and sons Charlie and Matty.
Speaking to the Weekly a few years ago, Tania told of her pride that her kids were sporty.
“Watching them play is an even bigger buzz than playing yourself because you’re so proud. I teared up when I saw Taylor win her cross-country!”
A member of the Silver
Fern squad from 1996 to
2004, and again from 2006 to 2007, Tania, who also played for the Northern
Force and Southern Steel, eventually gave up her little black dress in order to spend more time with her family. She and Duane went on to co-own their franchise business Pita Pit.
It was in 2003 that she achieved a feat only a select few Kiwi netballers can claim – being part of the team that won the Netball World Championships held in Kingston, Jamaica.
Though in typical Tania fashion, she managed to get up to a little mischief during the post-match celebrations, as she and fellow Fern Adine Wilson (née Harper) explained to the Weekly in 2014.
“I do remember one night after the World
Champs in 2003 when some of us got in a little bit of trouble,”
Adine later recalled, laughing. “We were celebrating the win and two of us were dancing on the tables in a bar.
We got kicked out. The story made the front page of the paper!
“We were in so much trouble and it was such a massive scandal – the paper never named the two table dancers, so there was all this speculation flying around... but it wasn’t necessarily me!”
“Yeah, my mum rang me up and said, ‘Now that wouldn’t have been you, right?’” added Tania. “I said, ‘No, no…’”
It seems Tania’s penchant for a tabletop boogie never left her – many tributes have mentioned how it was imperative to keep an eye on your glass if Tania was around because it just might get knocked over, particularly if Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline played. Irene made sure to mention “Sweet Caroline forever!” in her tribute.
But while friends, colleagues and netballers across the country mourn, none will feel her loss as keenly as her beloved family, who kept vigil at her bedside until she passed and issued a heartbreaking statement last Tuesday that confirmed her life support had been switched off.
“The family are by her side and she is peaceful. It is expected that she will slip away when she is ready,” the statement said.
Wife, mother, friend and netball legend – rest in peace, sweet Tania.