Samantha Winders (born 5 June 1995), previously known as Samantha Sinclair, is a New Zealand netball international. She represented

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 ...

at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

and was a prominent member of the New Zealand team that won the

2021 Constellation Cup The 2021 Constellation Cup, also known as the Cadbury Netball Series, was the 11th Constellation Cup series between New Zealand and Australia. The series featured four netball test matches, played in March 2021. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic ...

. She captained New Zealand for the third test against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

during the

2021 Taini Jamison Trophy Series The 2021 Taini Jamison Trophy Series, also known as the 2021 Cadbury Netball Series, was the 12th Taini Jamison Trophy series. It featured New Zealand playing England in three netball test matches, played in September 2021. All three tests we ...

. She was subsequently named the 2021 Silver Fern Player of the Year. Between

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and

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, she played for Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, initially in the ANZ Championship and later in the ANZ Premiership. Between 2020 and 2022, she served as Magic captain.

Early life, family and education

Sinclair was born and raised in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

. She is the daughter of Jamie and Justine Sinclair. Between 2007 and 2013 she attended

John Paul College, Rotorua John Paul College is a Catholic secondary school in Rotorua, New Zealand. The co-educational school caters for students in years 7 to 13. It was opened in 1987 and combined two existing schools, Edmund Rice College (for boys) and MacKillop College ...

, where she was deputy head girl. Between 2014 and 2017 she attended the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato), is a Public university, public research university in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand established in 1964. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university perfo ...

on a scholarship and subsequently became a Bachelor of Management Studies. In 2019, Sinclair married Josef Winders, a fellow University of Waikato alumni and a

BMX rider BMX, an abbreviation for bicycle motocross or bike motocross, is a cycle sport performed on BMX bikes, either in competitive BMX racing or freestyle BMX, or else in general street or off-road recreation. History BMX began during the earl ...

who has represented New Zealand.

Playing career

Early years

Sinclair represented John Paul College in national secondary schools tournaments. Her school coaches included

Coral Palmer Coral Palmer was a New Zealand netball player who represented her country on seven occasions, including in the 1971 world championships. She later became a netball coach. Playing career Coral Palmer was born on 13 July 1942. She played netball ...

, a former a New Zealand netball international. She also represented Bay of Plenty in the Lois Muir Challenge tournament.

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

Between

and

, Winders made 123 senior appearances for Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, initially in the ANZ Championship and later in the ANZ Premiership. As Samantha Sinclair, she first attracted the attention of Magic while still attending John Paul College. She began training with Magic in 2011. She attended trials for the

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season but was not offered a contract until the 2014 season. In both 2013 and 2014, she was a member of the Waikato Bay of Plenty teams that won

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 ...

's national under-23 tournament. She made her senior debut for Magic on 1 March 2014 in a

Round 1 Round 1 may refer to: * ''Round 1'' (EP), a 2011 EP by C-REAL * "Round 1" (song), a 2010 song by Dalmatian * ''Round 1'', an album by Eraser vs Yöjalka * Round One Entertainment , stylized as ROUND1, is a Japan-based amusement store chain. ...

70–46 win against

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

, coming on at centre to replace

Courtney Tairi Courtney Tairi (born 15 July 1988) is a former New Zealand netball international. She also represented Australia at under-21 level. She was a member of the Australia team that won the 2009 World Youth Netball Championships. During the ANZ Ch ...

for the fourth quarter. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

and

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, she was a member of the Magic teams that won the New Zealand Conference. Between 2020 and 2022, Winders served as Magic captain. On 30 May

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, Winders made her 100th senior league appearance in a match against

Central Pulse Central Pulse are a New Zealand netball team based in Wellington. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Central in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Central is the governing body that r ...

Southern Steel

In July 2022, it was announced that Winders would be joining

Southern Steel Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball South in the ANZ Premiership. Netball South is the governing body that re ...

for the

2023 ANZ Premiership season The 2023 ANZ Premiership season will be the seventh season of Netball New Zealand's ANZ Premiership. Transfers Regular season Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Round 8 Round 9 ...

New Zealand

Between 2011 and 2013, Sinclair represented New Zealand at schoolgirl level, playing in three Trans-Tasman Secondary Schools Netball Tournaments. In 2013, together with

Jamie-Lee Price Jamie-Lee Price (born 10 January 1996) is an Australian netball player who has played for Giants Netball in the Suncorp Super Netball league since 2017. Prior to that, Price was with the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in the ANZ Championship. She ...

, she co-captained the New Zealand team that won the tournament. In June 2015, Sinclair was called up for trials for the senior

team. She was a member of the New Zealand team that won the

2016 Fast5 Netball World Series The 2016 Fast5 Netball World Series is the seventh staging of the annual Fast5 Netball World Series, and the fourth to be played under the new Fast5 rules, which replaced the older fastnet rules introduced in 2009. The tournament was held in Austra ...

. In November 2016 she was included in the senior New Zealand for the first time. Sinclair made her senior debut for New Zealand on 28 January 2017 against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

during a 2017 Netball Quad Series match. She went on to represent New Zealand at the

. After missing out on several tournaments, including the

2019 Netball World Cup The 2019 Netball World Cup (also known as the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the INF Netball World Cup. It was held from 12–21 July 2019 at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool, England with matche ...

, Sinclair, now Winders, was recalled for the

2020 Taini Jamison Trophy Series The 2020 Taini Jamison Trophy Series, also known as the 2020 Cadbury Netball Series saw England play New Zealand in October and November 2020 in a three-match series. It was the first international netball test series to be staged since the onset ...

. She was a prominent member of the New Zealand team that won the

. On 24 September 2021, Winders captained New Zealand for the third test against

during the

. She was subsequently named the 2021 Silver Fern Player of the Year. However, she was left out of the team for the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

Honours

;

Constellation Cup The Constellation Cup is an international netball competition contested by Australia and New Zealand. The competition features a series of test matches. The two teams have competed for the trophy since 2010. Australia won the inaugural series ...

**''Winners'':

* Taini Jamison Trophy **''Winners'':

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

* Fast5 Netball World Series **''Winners'':

; Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic * ANZ Championship – New Zealand Conference **''Winners'':

;Individual Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winders, Samantha 1995 births Living people New Zealand netball players New Zealand international netball players New Zealand international Fast5 players Netball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic players Southern Steel players ANZ Championship players ANZ Premiership players Sportspeople from Rotorua People educated at John Paul College, Rotorua University of Waikato alumni