FROM THE EDITOR
Anyone who knows me knows how much I love sport. Union, league, cricket, lawn bowls – I’m a fan of it all (though soccer will always elude me) and my love for it has even earnt me an office nickname − ‘Yay Sports’.
But since I was eight years old, netball has been my biggest love, and like a lot of little girls, I dreamt of being a Silver Fern. Unfortunately, my body didn’t get the memo; it turns out there’s not much space for a 5ft4 Fern with very average skill!
But this week, I almost had my chance to finally wear the fern. I was asked to join a special team, the Media Ferns, to take on the Parliament Ferns in a charity match to raise funds for the
Tania Dalton Foundation, which was set up in memory of the late, great Silver Fern.
The catch? The game was at Spark Arena, in front of 6000 people, and before the Silver
Ferns took on England. Oh dear. Nevertheless, I agreed, figuring that if I got a ball to the face at least I’d be the entertainment.
I was all ready to join the likes of Wendy Petrie, Bernadine Oliver-Kerby and Stacey Morrison, in the team coached by Jenny-May Clarkson, when cruel irony hit − I dislocated my knee in the last game of the season for my club team.
But as I sat on the bench in my new role as Chief Hydration Officer,I was delighted to watch my teammates storm to a win – and raise money for Tania’s foundation at the same time.
Yay sports, indeed.
Have a great week!