Anna Catherine Stanley (
née Rowberry, born 31 March 1976 in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
, New Zealand) is a
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
netball
Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...
er, who captained the national team (the
Silver Ferns
The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern ('' Cyathea dealbata''), which is an emblem for many New Zealand ...
), to win the
2003 Netball World Championships in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
.
She led the Silver Ferns to a drought-breaking series win over
Australia (the first since 1989) in the winter of 2004, and played for the
Auckland Diamonds
The Auckland Diamonds were a regional netball team which represented Auckland- Waitakere and Counties Manukau Netball in New Zealand's National Bank Cup. For the 2008 ANZ Championship the Diamonds merged with the Northern Force to create the Northe ...
in the
National Bank Cup
The National Bank Cup was the pre-eminent national netball competition in New Zealand between 1998 and 2007. From 2008, it was replaced by the ANZ Championship.
Format
In the rounds, each team played every other team once, then the top four teams ...
national league in 2004 and 2005.
Early life
The daughter of a former New Zealand player, Stanley had not played senior provincial netball when she was sent to her international debut against Jamaica in 1994. Her career dipped to its lowest point when sidelined by selectors for 18 months, but she was recalled in 2002.
Stanley is renowned in netball circles as an outstanding athlete and for her speed through court and trademark bullet pass.
Career
Stanley represented Otago, Canterbury and Auckland in New Zealand's top netball league.
In 2004, she suffered a knee injury during the Silver Ferns' clean sweep series win over arch-rivals Australia. In 2005, after several months of rehabilitation, she returned to the court for the Auckland Diamonds. She returned to the Silver Ferns in October of that year, and was a member of the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
gold medal-winning team of March 2006.
Only a few weeks into the 2006 National Bank Cup season, she announced that she was pregnant and would be retiring from netball to concentrate on her family life, thus ending a fluctuating but successful career on the court. Stanley was named in the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic squad in New Zealand's top netball league in 2007, however she did not play this season for the team in the league.
Instead Stanley devoted time to motherhood, and in 2007 became an Ambassador for Rett New Zealand, an organisation to assist children and their families that suffer from
Rett syndrome
Rett syndrome (RTT) is a genetic disorder that typically becomes apparent after 6–18 months of age and almost exclusively in females. Symptoms include impairments in language and coordination, and repetitive movements. Those affected often h ...
. In 2008 with the start of the
ANZ Championship
The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...
, Stanley has been a television presenter and netball commentator with Sky Sports. She also co-hosts the weekly netball magazine style show ''On Court'' with
Kathryn Harby-Williams
Kathryn Harby-Williams (born 16 July 1969) is an Australian netball player and television presenter. She captained the Australian netball team.
Harby-Williams currently works with Radio Sport New Zealand and is a Sky TV commentator for Sky S ...
and
Tania Dalton
Tania Mary Dalton (née Nicholson; 26 November 1971 – 1 March 2017) was a New Zealand international netball player. After retiring from playing professionally, she worked as a netball commentator on SKY Sports for international tests, the ANZ ...
. She finished her international career with 91 caps.
Personal life
Stanley is married to medical surgeon and former Auckland and
All Black
The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
player,
Jeremy Stanley. They have a daughter, Jaya and a son, Nico and on 20 January 2011, eight days after their baby's due date, they became parents to Zac, who weighed in at .
While pregnant with their first child, Jaya, Stanley and her husband relocated from her
Mount Maunganui
Mount Maunganui (, ) is a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of the Tauranga metropolitan area, located on a peninsula to the north-east of Tauranga's city centre. It was an independent town from Tauranga until the completio ...
base to Whangarei.
Honours
Anna Stanley was appointed a
Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...
for services to netball in the
2004 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 2004 were appointments by some of the Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...
.
New Year Honours List 2004
Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
References
External links
on xtramsn.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Anna
1976 births
Living people
New Zealand netball players
New Zealand international netball players
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand
Netball players from Christchurch
Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit
Commonwealth Games medallists in netball
Netball players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
Netball players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
Netball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
New Zealand netball commentators
Anna
Anna may refer to:
People Surname and given name
* Anna (name)
Mononym
* Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke
* Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773)
* Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century)
* Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...
1995 World Netball Championships players
1999 World Netball Championships players
2003 World Netball Championships players
Auckland Diamonds players
Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic players