Betty Marian Steffensen (née Pratt; born 27 April 1936) is a former New Zealand

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 ...

player, coach, umpire and administrator. She played one Test match for the New Zealand team on their 1960 tour to Australia. She later served as president of Manawatu Netball for 21 years and was vice-president of

Netball New Zealand Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns. In 2019, 137,713 players were registered with Netball New Zealand, the governing body for organised netball in the co ...

for 12 years. Steffensen has been the patron of Netball Manawatu since 2016.

Early life

Steffensen was born Betty Marian Pratt on 27 April 1936, the daughter of Jack and Ivy Pratt (née Davey), who farmed at Kairanga, west of

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. She studied at

Christchurch Teachers' College The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...

and became a schoolteacher specialising in physical education.

Netball career

Player

While she was a student at Christchurch Teachers' College, Pratt played netball for the Canterbury provincial representative team. She was a member of the Canterbury team that won the national championships at

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

in 1954, going through the tournament unbeaten. By 1959, she had married and was known by her married name. That year, Steffensen was part of the Manawatu team that won the second-grade championship at the national netball championships in Nelson. At the conclusion of the tournament, she was named captain of the North Island Minor team to play South Island Minor. In 1960, Steffensen was selected as vice-captain of the New Zealand team to tour Australia. She appeared in one of the three Test matches, playing at goal attack in the second Test in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, which was won by , 44–39. In the match, Steffensen made 12 goals from 27 attempts, in trying, windy conditions. Steffensen retired from playing in 1962.

Coach, umpire and administrator

Following her playing career, Steffensen continued her involvement in netball as a coach, umpire and administrator. She was the first former New Zealand player to qualify as an international umpire, and she also became an examiner. She served as president of Netball Manawatu for 12 years, and for 12 years was the vice-president of Netball New Zealand. In 2016, she succeeded Vern Chettleburgh as patron of Netball Manawatu. Steffensen was the manager of the New Zealand netball team from 1980 to 1984, including at the

1983 World Netball Championships The 1983 World Netball Championships was the sixth edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It took place from 11 to 24 June and was held in Singapore. This edition of the tournament featured 14 t ...

Other sports

Steffensen also played

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

and

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

to provincial representative level.

Honours and awards

In the

1990 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1990 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, Steffensen was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for community service. In 1993, she received the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal. In 1991, Steffensen was made a life member of Netball Manawatu and Netball New Zealand. She was named as a Manawatu legend of sport at the 2007 Manawatu Sportsperson of the Year awards. in 2010, a new pavilion at Vautier Park in Palmerston North was named the Steffensen Lounge in her honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steffensen, Betty 1936 births Living people People from Manawatū-Whanganui New Zealand international netball players New Zealand netball players New Zealand netball coaches New Zealand netball umpires Recipients of the Queen's Service Medal Recipients of the New Zealand Suffrage Centennial Medal 1993 New Zealand netball administrators