Julie Seymour (née Dawson; born 29 March 1971) is a 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 ...

coach, former international netball player and former representative middle distance runner. Seymour played for the

New Zealand national netball team 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 s ...

, the Silver Ferns, in 92 test matches spanning 16 years. During her international career she has competed at three

Netball World Championships The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by the World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and t ...

and two

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 ...

. She also captained the Silver Ferns in 2002 and again during the last two years of her international career. After two years in the ANZ Championship, Seymour announced her retirement from competitive netball in 2009. She subsequently took on a coaching role at the

Canterbury Tactix Mainland Tactix are a New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, Canterbury. Between 1998 and 2007, as Canterbury Flames, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championsh ...

as assistant coach.

Early career

Seymour, a

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

teacher at

Heretaunga College Heretaunga College is a state coeducational secondary school located in Upper Hutt, New Zealand. The school has approximately students from Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18). The college grounds are a large area with primary access via Ward Street ...

Upper Hutt Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. Geography The Upper Hutt city cent ...

made her debut for the Silver Ferns in 1994. She was again selected for the Silver Ferns the following year to compete at the 1995 Netball World Championships in Manchester, where New Zealand finished a disappointing third place. She missed selection for the Silver Ferns in 1997 and made a return to athletics that year, finishing second in the 800 m at the national track and field championships in 1998. That year also saw the introduction of netball to the Commonwealth Games, and the start of a new domestic netball league in New Zealand. Seymour signed with the Canterbury Flames for the inaugural Coca-Cola Cup (later 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 ...

), and was also selected for the Silver Ferns team that won silver at the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by several unprecedent ...

in Kuala Lumpur. In 1999, she transferred to the

Capital Shakers Capital Shakers are a former New Zealand netball team that were based in Wellington. Between 1998 and 2007, Shakers played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2000 and 2002, Shakers were semi-finalists three years in success ...

for the Coca-Cola Cup, and joined the Silver Ferns again for the 1999 Netball World Championships in Christchurch. While her World Championships campaign finished with a silver medal, Seymour was named as the official player of the tournament.

Silver Ferns captain

Seymour returned to the Flames for the 2000 Coca-Cola Cup as captain. In 2002, she was elevated to Silver Ferns captain, after incumbent skipper

Bernice Mene Bernice Papasina Mene (born 18 January 1975) is a former New Zealand netball player. Mene represented New Zealand in netball for the Silver Ferns for 10 years, playing 78 tests. She captained the domestic team the Southern Sting from 1998 to ...

retired. That year, Seymour led New Zealand to their second Commonwealth Games netball silver in Manchester. But just ten months into her captaincy she withdrew from the national team after becoming pregnant with her second child. Seymour continued to play domestic netball with the Canterbury Flames until she announced her retirement following the 2004 season. However, she once again returned to the Flames in 2006 after the birth of her third child. She missed out on the 2006 Commonwealth Games team that won gold in Melbourne, but earned a callup to the Silver Ferns later that year following an injury to Casey Williams. Seymour was picked the following year for the 2007 Netball World Championships in Auckland, in which the Silver Ferns finished second.

ANZ Championship

The Canterbury Flames played their last match of the National Bank Cup in 2007, after which the competition was retired and replaced with a new trans-Tasman league, 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 ...

. The Canterbury Flames were one of five New Zealand teams in the new league, and were renamed the

. Seymour stayed with the Canterbury franchise and was named captain for the inaugural season in 2008. She also resumed her role as Silver Ferns captain later that year. During Seymour's two years in the ANZ Championship, the Tactix finished in 8th and 6th place, respectively. At the end of the 2009 season, Seymour announced her retirement from all levels of competitive netball, pending the birth of her fourth child. After her retirement, Seymour accepted a position as assistant coach for the Tactix from 2010, under head coach

Helen Mahon-Stroud Helen Mahon-Stroud (born 15 April 1968) is a New Zealand netball coach and former rugby union player. Biography Rugby career Mahon-Stroud began her rugby career in 1989. She was introduced to the sport by Black Ferns legend Anna Richards wh ...

Personal life

Julie Seymour is married to former

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, ...

and long-time New Zealand rugby sevens representative player Dallas Seymour. Dallas and Julie have four children, with all four pregnancies occurring during Julie Seymour's long elite netball career. In the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours, Seymour 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Julie 1971 births Living people New Zealand netball players New Zealand netball coaches New Zealand female middle-distance runners New Zealand international netball players Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in netball Netball players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games 1995 World Netball Championships players 1999 World Netball Championships players 2007 World Netball Championships players Mainland Tactix players ANZ Championship players Capital Shakers players Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Canterbury Flames players Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games