HISTORY
Basketball was played in Ashburton as early as 1920 by Primary School teams then Secondary school teams, at the Ashburton Domain on grass courts.
This was a 9 aside game with a larger court about 2 feet either side. The courts were often muddy & the girls laid pine needles so they didn't slip. At the half time break they did repairs with the pine needles again.
In 1921 Tournaments were held for Primary and Secondary schools against Christchurch teams with Representative teams also competing against Christchurch and Timaru. 1922 saw Ashburton Borough School play Summerfield School at Lancaster Park as a "curtain raiser" for the Rugby, a report in the paper stated …' was notably one of the fastest games witnessed in Christchurch. The last 6 points scored were penalties against Ashburton who play, according to the official rules, whereas Summerfield School team play under what are known as the Auckland rules.' The game showed that one set of rules were needed.
1923 - the Ashburton Basketball Association was formed. Teams were mainly Church teams and High and Technical Secondary school teams. Mr R J Thomson, (Principle Technical School) and Mr S G McFarlane, (Headmaster Hampstead Primary School) played a major role in the early years.
1924 - the first Annual General Meeting was held. Officers were - President R J Thomson, Secretary Miss E P Thompson. Mr Thomson was President 1924-1932. In 1927 Ashburton became affiliated to New Zealand Basketball Association - they had 10 teams.
1930 - Ashburton Basketball Referees Association was formed by Messrs McFarlane and Thomson. Mr McFarlane was the President of this Association until 1952.
On 4 August the pavilion was opened in the domain and the new grounds were nicely sheltered and had been rolled.
1932 - The 1932 Representative team was strong enough to win the Presidents Shield for 2nd Grade, at the New Zealand Tournament in Invercargill. This was followed by a string of successes at NZ Tournaments - 1935 Hayhurst Cup - runner up 2nd grade, 1936 Winner Section 2, Christchurch, 1937 Hayhurst - runner up 2nd grade.
1933 - by this time Ashburton Basketball had a total of 31 teams, (over 300 girls), taking part on Saturdays.
1935 - S G McFarlane was appointed President of the New Zealand Basketball Referees’ Association and to the board of Examiners, R J Thomson was appointed secretary.
1948 - It was decided to Asphalt the Domain Courts, each court was to cost £150. (Six years later the costs were £400 each.) Fundraising was started with a Queen Carnival, Marie Martin was crowned Queen. No representative teams were sent to NZ Tournament in 1948, 1949 and 1950 as funds were channelled into the ashphalt court fund. Frustration was setting in with the District Council over costing for the courts and a suggestion was made to purchase their own land - this did not happen. Further fundraising was done in the form of drama groups putting on one act plays and a photo competition - 'Popular Girl Competition'. By 1952 Mr JB Cullen and Mr Lane were preparing a tender for the courts.
1950 - the Mayoress of Timaru, Christine Hanan, donated a shield to be played for between Timaru, Ashburton, Oamaru and Temuka. This is still played for annually.
1951- Myra Porter qualified for her NZBRA badge.
At this time subscriptions were 7/-(shillings) Senior, 5/6 (5 shillings & 6 pence) Junior. Contributions to the courts 3d (pence) those not receiving wages, and 6d for all other players, later to be known as Court Fees. That year a combined Ashburton/ Timaru team played two games against an Australian team, in a 9-aside (Basketball) game which the Ashburton/Timaru team won but the tables were turned in the 7- aside (Netball) game. Each country then, played the two slightly different games.
Wednesday afternoon was 'Sports Afternoon' for the towns Primary Schools, each school sent teams to the Domain grounds for their respective sport. Basketball grading was done by height - Senior, Junior, and Midget. If you were short, you were a Midget all your Primary school days. Representative teams were chosen from the Senior grade and teams went to Christchurch for tournaments, being billetted over one or two nights with the other teams families- very stressful for 10-12 year olds who had never slept away from home before!
1953 - Mr McFarlane was made a Life Member of the Ashburton Basketball Assoc when he gave up his long term as President in 1953. Also in 1953 Miss M Feron obtained a bar to her Referee Badge and she and Mrs Myra Porter refereed at New Zealand Basketball Tournament in Invercargill. The following year saw Mrs Eileen Penman and Miss Margaret O'Grady pass the N.Z.Referees badge.
1954 - The four new asphalt courts were finally opened in 1954 where official guests watched NZ Dominion President Mrs R Lane declare them open. With two courts still only with grass, it was decided these had to be asphalted. Borrowing the money from the Borough Council, these were done and the £769-15-6d was repaid in 1956.
1955 - Mrs E.D.Mabin the then President of the Ashburton Basketball Association was chosen as a South Island team selector in 1955. Eileen Hoglund (Penman) was appointed to referee the North V South game at the 2nd Grade NZ Tournament and Mrs Mabin was SI Selector.
1956 - Primary School Grade was started on Saturday mornings with eight teams.
1957 - Olive Husband was Selector/Coach for the South Island. A proposal put to the committee by Mr Connelly, the President of the R.S.A. and Mr.Nicoll President of the Centennial Sports Hall Association were asked to combine with them in running a Queen Carnival in March, April, May 1957. This very successful event saw the whole town involved with concerts, potato picking, raffles, cake stalls etc. finishing with the Queen Carnival Ball and the three Associations receiving a good financial return.
1958 - Ashburton Representative team was joint winners of the 3rd grade and also the Christine Hanan Shield.
1960 - Miss Patricia Rowe was nominated for the first NZ Basketball trials, held in Wellington.
1961 the Ashburton Representative team had a very good year, they were promoted to 2nd Grade after winning the 3rd Grade Kiwi Trophy. They also won the Christine Hanan Shield and Cecillia Brown Trophy against Oamaru. Eileen Penman refereed at NZ Tournament in Dunedin and was appointed to umpire the North v South game.
1963 - After nine years of waiting in the queue, the Selwyn Toogood Show ''It's in the Bag" finally made it and it was a good fundraiser.
1964 - The 'short skirt' battle started - it was decreed that gym frocks must be no shorter than 8 inches off the ground when kneeling!!
1965 - Barbara Brown, a former Ashburton Representative player was chosen to play in the Commonwealth Basketball team against an All England team that played at Wembley Indoor Stadium. Barbara was on a two year tour/holiday and was the only player from the South Island. All England won 39-37.
1968 - by this time vandals were costing the Association a considerable amount of money with the pavilion and courts being targeted. Drastic fund raising activities were needed to send the A representative team away each year, so a fund raising committee was formed. Country Days were introduced, ie town teams travelled to the country to play.
1957 - A meeting was held in England to form an International Body. A set of playing rules was drawn up & countries asked to try them. This meant significant changes for New Zealand from a 9 a-side to a 7 a-side game, smaller court, uniform change & rules. Ashburton played the new rules in 1958 & all Associations were playing the 7 a-side game by 1959.
1970 - The name change from Basketball to Netball & Referees to Umpires came in 1970 with a number of rule changes again. A first sponsor goal day raised an unexpected $1236. And Annette Orangi was chosen as the NZ Umpire to travel with the NZ team to the World Netball Champs in Jamica. The following year, 1971, she was the first recipent of the Mid Canterbury Sports Award. It was a great honour for Netball in Ashburton.
1972 - By this time our team numbers had increased to 59 afternoon teams and 32 primary and intermediate morning teams. Coaching seminars were commenced for coaches and umpires. 30 netballers waitressed at the charity fundraiser - Bavarian Beer Festival (lots of fun was had) and our payment for this was presented to the IHC in Ashburton.
1973 - The Association held a weekend of celebrations for the 50th Jubilee in 1973. This also 'kicked off' fundraising with 'Buy a Block' for the new pavilion. Former Ashburton player and committee member, Pat Cullen was appointed Secretary to NZ Netball Association. Mavis Smith was appointed SI Selector at NZ Tournament. Introduction of Ashburton Midweek Netball for married women and shift workers - this was a forerunner to Presidents Grade.
During the 50th jubilee year fundraising started for the new pavilion with a Buy a Block fundraiser. More space was needed at the domain, but the Domain Board said no to 100 year old trees being removed to build a bigger pavilion and extend the courts. After much deliberation it was decided to build at Ashburton College under a new lease system which also gave nine netball courts. Ironically, in 1975, about six of the 100 year old trees at the domain blew down in the ‘big wind’, and thoughts again turned to staying at the domain, but not for long. It was decided to build for the future, but a loan to a women’s organisation proved hard to come by. Fortunately thanks to the wife of a bank manager being on the committee, and a small group of trustees, they got under way. A hard working fundraising committee was formed and in 1975 and funds were raised from various fundraisers such as sponsor goal days, craft days, cake stalls, potato picking, housie, pickling onions, second hand clothing sales and a recipe book. The two-storey pavilion cost $65,000 and was fully repaid within five years.
1977 – The new executive system was adopted for meetings instead of the delegate system. The executive system was a group of 16 voted members, as opposed to sometimes 25 people under the delegate system. In the same year work on the new pavilion also got under way, the Ashburton A team won the Kiwi Trophy for Third Grade, and a Coaching Awards School was held in Ashburton, and coaching schools for players were being made more available for players.
1978 – In September 1978 the new pavilion at Ashburton College was opened by Ashburton Netball Association patroness Mrs Olive Husband, and Ashburton College board chairperson Miss Naomi Rickard. In the same year, afternoon housie started, and the Ashburton Netball Association joined in the 100 year celebrations for the town and a float was entered. Jane Watson, netball’s princess, was crowned Queen. The canteen also opened with the new pavilion, and town versus country was held from primary through to senior A grades, proving popular with both players and spectators. South Island coaching schools were also held, as was a South Island squad tournament.
1979 – Flood lights were installed at the Ashburton College courts.
1980 – Player of the Day was introduced. Ashburton regularly held the South Island tournament and Squad Tournament Teams from all over the South Island attended. It was always at Queen’s Birthday Weekend and every association in the South Island attended, arriving Friday night and playing all day Saturday and Sunday, two games each day. The local association catered the lunches and morning teas and made a lot of money off doing so, with the clubs then picking the catering up further down the track.
1981 – Two sets of tiered seating were made by college pupils with supplied materials from the Ashburton Netball Association. The Ashburton A rep team also won Fourth Grade, plus the Violet Gilmour Trophy, and Lady June Blundell – the first team to ever win both trophies.
1982 – First time Ashburton hosted an all Australian netball team which played NZ at the college courts, and coaches were able to observe the training session. At this point Housie accounted for half of the income – this was the year that afternoon housie first started.
1983 – Sheena Tyrrell, Barbara McIntosh and Anne Marie Leech umpired in Gisborne at the NZ tournament.
1984 – Team numbers climbed to 81 senior and 56 primary teams, and Annette Orangi was made a life member of the Ashburton Netball Umpires Association.
1985 – Mrs Sheena Tyrrell umpired at the South Pacific Games in the Cook Islands, and the Ashburton Netball Association was the first recipient of a new award at the National Netball Championships in Wellington – the NZ Netball Trustbank Savings Bank Association of the Year, for administration, coaching, umpiring, hosting tournaments, and teams. Sponsorship with the association and teams also came in at this time, as did the introduction of all senior grade players being required to umpire. An U18 coaching school was held with Yvonne Willering, the old pavilion in the domain was sold, and an Ashburton Licensing Trust grant of $500 was obtained to go towards uniform equipment etc for school age groups.
1988 – The Ashburton Netball Association’s first service awards were presented to Mrs Audrey Leath and Mrs Barbara McIntosh. Twilight Kiwi Netball also started as a fundraiser and for fun, and Anne Marie Leech was a top 10 NZ umpire.
1989 – Life membership was awarded to Mrs Barbara McIntosh, and an Ashburton Netball Association service award was presented to Mrs Dianne McTigue and Mrs Myra Porter. Anne Marie Leech was also awarded the Mid Canterbury Sports Personality of the Year award.
1990 – A NZ Netball service award was presented to Mrs Barbara McIntosh, and in that same year Ashburton Netball Umpires had five NZ graded umpires, with Sheena Tyrrell and Anne Marie Leech both in the top 10 NZ umpires.
1991 – Robilliard Trophy for outstanding contribution to Mid Canterbury Sports administration was presented to Mrs Barbara McIntosh, while Mrs Elsie Adlam and Mrs Jean Flaherty received Ashburton Netball Association service awards, and Mrs Sheena Tyrrell became a NZ Netball Theory examiner. Twilight netball was also introduced – this was fun games with up to three men allowed per team.
1992 – Sheena Tyrrell was named a top five NZ umpire, while Ashburton Netball Association service awards were presented to Mrs Donalda Mitchell, Mrs Elizabeth Reddecliffe, Mrs Ngaire MacKenzie and Mrs Anne Marie Leech.
1993 – Netball NZ service awards were presented to Mrs Audrey Leath and Mrs Lorraine Stowell. Mrs Lorraine Stowell was also presented with an Ashburton Netball Association life membership, and Mrs Pat Moylan received an Ashburton Netball Association service award. At this point the Ashburton Netball Association also had seven NZ umpires – the most they ever had. Netball NZ also dissolved the Umpires’ Associations and they became umpire committees within the associations. Mrs Margaret Reynolds and Mrs Kathy Bryant (mother and daughter) were also awarded service awards.
1995 – Mrs Eileen Hoglund (Penman) was awarded the Robilliard Trophy for contribution to Sport in Mid canterbury, and Angela Evans was awarded the junior sports personality award at the Mid Canterbury Sports Awards.
1997 – Life membership was awarded to Mrs Sheena Tyrrell, Mrs Anne Marie Leech and Mrs Dianne McTigue, and service awards were presented to Miss Rosemary Adlam and Mrs Brenda King.
2000 – Netties won the Sport and Leisure section of the Trustpower Awards and received $500. At this time Mid Canterbury Netball also employed its first administrator, and a court levy was charged to meet a contribution to resurface the courts of $10 per player. Future Ferns replaced Friday Kiwi and Indoors. Fun Ferns was introduced, and a Netball Fest was held for 11 and 12 year olds with over 200 children enjoying this along with Silver Ferns Anna Rowberry and Anna Veronese. There were also skills sessions with Yvonne Willering in Ashburton and an Australian coach Gillian Lee in Christchurch. Ashburton College shared the title in Christchurch’s secondary schools’ SuperNet competition, and played a curtain raiser for a Flames game.
2001 – Sheena Tyrrell came in for her second stint as president, and the nine courts were upgraded with help from community groups and Ashburton College at a cost of $212,000. A combined competition was held with South Canterbury and four Mid Canterbury teams took part. In the July school holidays two different junior holiday programmes were held. For umpires, Wendy Hopwood gained her NZ practical – the first since 1992, and Sheena Tyrrell and Anne Marie Leech were appointed NZ Level 2 Practical examiners. Audrey Leath and Ngaire MacKenzie were reappointed as Canterbury regional practical examiners.
2002 – Sheena Tyrrell was appointed to the national panel of examiners and made convenor of the NZ Rules Board, and NZ Practical Umpires Examiners.
2003 – McDonalds sponsorship came in the form of vouchers for Player of the Day in junior netball. Holiday programmes and fun games were proving very popular with junior players and Country Day was still big on the calendar, as well as twilight netball before and after Christmas which was a good fundraiser and a very popular concrete balcony was added to the pavilion providing extra seating in the sun. NZ Practical Qualifying for Umpires saw Bev Dampney, Kaye Kennedy and Claire Corbett join Wendy Hopwood as top umpires. Our junior umpires also impressed at secondary school tournaments.
MID CANTERBURY NETBALL LIFE MEMBERS PAST AND PRESENT
MID CANTERBURY NETBALL SERVICE AWARD HOLDERS (PAST AND PRESENT)
NETBALL NEW ZEALAND SERVICE AWARD HOLDERS
Mid Canterbury Netball Centre | Erin Tasker, Centre Manager | P 027 3084688 | E info@mcnetball.co.nz
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