Netball Northern Zone

🏐 What a week at UNISS 2026!

Northern Zone schools turned up and showed out across every grade – huge congratulations to all the teams, coaches, managers, umpires and whānau who made it happen.

Special mention to our Zone umpires who were selected to officiate the following finals today:

⭐A Grade – Natasha Mouat & Olivia Wilson-Sharp
⭐B Grade – Ngaire Angus, Bronzson Nikora & Emma Mackrell
⭐C Grade – Amiel Dehar-Webster
⭐D Grade – Benaiah Schuster & Karizma Green

𝗔 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲
Congratulations to 𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 on taking out the A Grade title! 👏

A massive shoutout to our Northern Zone schools finishing in the top 6, earning their spot at the NZ Secondary Schools Netball Champs in October:

🔹𝗠𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗔𝗹𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
🔹𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘀 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹
🔹 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗞𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗻
🔹 𝗦𝘁. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆'𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲, 𝗔𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱

𝗕 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲
Hobsonville Point Secondary School finished as runners up, with Whangārei Girls' High School and King's School also finishing in the top 5 and earning promotion to A Grade for 2027. Well deserved! 💪

𝗖 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲
Congratulations to Bay of Islands College on the win – and to Tamaki College, Papakura High School on promotion to B Grade.

𝗗 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲
Te Kura Maori o Nga Tapuwae were crowned champions, and St Ignatius of Loyola Catholic College finished as runners up. Both schools will move up to C grade next year.

To every school that competed – the standard across the tournament was outstanding, and the future of netball in our zone is in good hands 💙

See overall final placings in the comments below 👇🏽

Eleven of ours! 🙌

Huge congratulations to the 11 umpires, reserves and umpire coaches from the Northern Zone selected for the 2026 NetballSmart Netball NZ Open Champs and NZ Secondary Schools Netball Champs.

🏐 Logan Assink
🏐 Keyle Brown
🏐 Maia Cavanagh
🏐 Matt Davis
🏐 Niamh Galligan
🏐 Kian Manilal
🏐 Fay Meiklejohn
🏐 Sharleen Morrell
🏐 Natasha Mouat
🏐 Emily Stringer
🏐 Olivia Wilson-Sharp

These appointments recognise the countless hours of mahi that goes on behind the whistle: the training, the development, the deep understanding of our game. National tournaments are a huge step in the umpiring journey, and we couldn't be prouder to see so many from our Zone earn their place on this stage.

𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: Rodney Green Arena, Napier, 10–13 September
𝗡𝗭 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗺𝗽𝘀: Auckland Netball Centre, 6–9 October

Full story from Netball New Zealand in the comments 👇

🌟 From North Harbour courts to the world stage!

Huge congratulations to Cory Nicholls, selected by World Netball as an official for the Netball World Cup Sydney 2027 Qualifier – Oceania, taking place in Tonga from 14-18 September 2026.

Cory's journey is proof of what the umpiring pathway can deliver:

🏐 First NNZ Tournament – 2014
🏐 National Development Squad – 2015
🏐 National Umpire Squad – 2018 to present
🏐 IUA badge – 2022 to present

Over ten years of hard mahi, and now he'll be in the middle when it matters most, with two Oceania spots at Sydney 2027 on the line.

Congratulations Cory – we'll be cheering you on from home! 👏

Six seasons, five Grand Finals, four Premierships - and an impact felt right across our zone. Thank you for everything, Rob! We farewell you with gratitude and aroha, and wish you all the best for your next chapter overseas. 💙

After six unforgettable seasons, five Grand Finals and four Premiership titles, Assistant Coach Rob Wright is leaving the Mystics to pursue an opportunity overseas.

Rob's impact stretches well beyond the trophy cabinet. Across six years he's shaped players, coaches and our wider organisation - and handed out a few legendary nicknames along the way.

In Rob's words: "Coming to Netball Northern and the Mystics has been the best decision I have ever made. It is the best organisation I have ever worked for. It is always the people that makes something so special."

We farewell Rob with deep respect, gratitude and aroha, and wish him every success in this next chapter. Thank you, Rob. 💙

Read the full story in the comments below 👇🏽

All the best to the 27 Netball Northern umpires from eight different netball centres who are sitting their NNZ NZ Theory exam tonight!

We're backing you all the way. You've got this!

What does the umpiring pathway actually look like? 🏐

For Charley, it was a Learn to Umpire course with her mates → club games → the centre draw → the U14 & U16 Nationals in Taranaki, where she umpired the U16A top eight.

For Elle, it was putting her hand up when no one else would, and three seasons with the same Pukekohe rep team.

Both are still climbing. Charley's chasing her NZ C badge, Elle's working towards Zone Practical and umpire coaching.

During the NNZ U18 Tournament, we were part of Courtside Kōrero - an initiative bringing coaches, captains and umpires into the same huddle to share what they were each working on straight after a game.

Coaches opened up about refining their language and making sure every player got meaningful court time. Umpires shared their own process goals, giving everyone a new appreciation for what officiating really involves.

Some coaches loved it so much they took the idea straight back to their teams, with every player setting a personal process goal before their next game.