Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton. Between 1999 and 2007, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

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, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, Magic have represented Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty is the governing body that represents the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

regions of Waikato and Bay of Plenty. During the National Bank Cup era, Magic were premiers in 2005 and 2006. During the ANZ Championship era, Magic were the most successful New Zealand team. In

they were minor premiers and they were grand finalists in 2008 and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

before winning the overall title in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. They were the only New Zealand team to win the ANZ Championship.

History

Formation

In 1998 Waikato Wildcats, featuring

Jenny-May Coffin Jenny-May Clarkson (born Jenny-May Coffin; 9 April 1974) is a New Zealand netball player, sports commentator and television presenter. Clarkson previously played for the Silver Ferns, New Zealand's national netball team, for which she was the ...

, and Bay of Plenty Magic, with Lyn Gunson as head coach, became founder members of the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. In 1999 these two teams merged to become Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. Gunson became the new team's first coach. Amigene Metcalfe, Tania Nicholson and Cushla Lichtwark were all members of the team's first squad.

Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup

Between 1999 and 2007, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. During this era, they were coached by three future New Zealand national netball team head coaches – Lyn Gunson, Ruth Aitken and Noeline Taurua. In 2005 and 2006, with a team coached by Taurua and featuring Amigene Metcalfe, Irene van Dyk,

Casey Williams Casey May Kopua (née Williams; born 19 June 1985) is a retired New Zealand international netball player and former captain of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, and the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. Kopua became a member ...

, Laura Langman and Joline Henry, Magic won two successive National Bank Cup titles. On both occasions they defeated Southern Sting in the grand final. ;Statistics

ANZ Championship

Between

and

, Magic played in the ANZ Championship. Magic were the most successful New Zealand team during ANZ Championship era. With a team coached by Noeline Taurua, captained by Amigene Metcalfe and featuring Irene van Dyk, Magic finished the

season as minor premiers and overall runners-up. During the regular season Magic won 10 of their 13 matches and finished above eventual champions New South Wales Swifts. Magic subsequently lost to Swifts in the major semi–final, defeated Adelaide Thunderbirds in the preliminary final before losing the grand final to Swifts. In

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Magic were regular season runners up. In

, Magic were grand finalists once again. They finished the regular season third behind Swifts and Thunderbirds. They subsequently defeated Southern Steel in the minor semi-final and Swifts in the preliminary final but lost to Thunderbirds in the grand final. In

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

they were again regular season runners up. In

, with a team coached by Taurua, captained by Laura Langman and featuring Leana de Bruin, Irene van Dyk,

Julianna Naoupu Julianna Naoupu (born 1 March 1990) is a Samoan New Zealander who played for the Samoa national netball team and who plays in the ANZ Championship for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. She was a member of the Silver Ferns wider training squad s ...

and

, Magic eventually won the premiership. Magic lost their first four matches. However, they subsequently won 12 matches in a row to finish third during the regular season and champions overall. In the minor semi-final they defeated Thunderbirds and in the preliminary final they defeated Northern Mystics after extra time. In the grand final they defeated Melbourne Vixens 41–38. As a result, they became the first, and only, New Zealand team to win the Championship. They were also the first and only team to start the season with four defeats and win the title and the first and only team to finish third in the regular season and win the title. In July 2013, Julie Fitzgerald was appointed head coach of Magic. 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

, she guided Magic to the ANZ Championship Finals Series every season. In both

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, she guided Magic to the New Zealand Conference titles. ;Regular season statistics

ANZ Premiership

Since

, Magic have played in the ANZ Premiership. ;Regular season statistics

Grand finals

; National Bank Cup ; ANZ Championship

Home venues

Since

, Magic's main home venue has been Claudelands Arena, now known as the Globox Arena. They also play home matches at Tauranga's

ASB Baypark Stadium Trustpower Baypark Stadium (formerly known as ASB Baypark Stadium) is a multi-purpose stadium in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand. It is currently used for dirt track Speedway and jetsprints events during summer, and various other events throughou ...

and

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 ...

's Energy Events Centre. Between 1998 and

, Mystery Creek Events Centre served as Magic's main Hamilton home venue. During this era they also played their Tauranga matches at the

Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre (QEYC) is a multi-purpose indoor sporting events and entertainment centre in Tauranga, New Zealand. The centre has a maximum capacity of 2,580, having completed renovations in 2006. It hosts basketball and volleyball e ...

Notable players

2023 squad

Internationals

; ; *

Grace Rasmussen Grace Kara ( née Rasmussen; born 18 March 1988 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player of Samoan descent. Kara played in the National Bank Cup for the Auckland Diamonds from 2005 to 2007. She continued playing in Auckland fo ...

Hayley Saunders Hayley Saunders (born 2 July 1989 in Gore, New Zealand, Gore, New Zealand) is a New Zealand netball player and member of the Southern Steel team in the ANZ Championship. Saunders first represented Southland in the National Championships from 200 ...

; * Caitlin Bassett *

Kristiana Manu'a Kristiana Manu'a (born 3 September 1995) is a New Zealand-born Australian netball player in the ANZ Premiership, playing for the Central Pulse. Manu'a was born in Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, though moved with family to Liverpo ...

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 ...

* Peta Scholz ; * Jade Clarke * Joanne Harten ; *

* Frances Solia ; * Leana de Bruin *

Lenize Potgieter Lenize Potgieter (born 2 May 1994) is a South African professional netball player who currently plays for Manchester Thunder and the South Africa national netball team, South African national team. Early life Potgieter was born in Polokwane, L ...

* Irene van Dyk * Liezel Wium

Captains

Award winners

ANZ Championship awards

; ANZ Championship MVP ;Notes * Laura Langman and

Temepara George Temepara Anne Bailey (formerly Clark, née George; born 23 October 1975 in Auckland) is a New Zealand international netball player of Samoan and Māori descent. She was a member of the Silver Ferns national squad in 1996, and from 2000–2011 ...

shared the 2013 award. * Joanne Harten and Kimberlee Green shared the 2014 award. ;

ANZ Championship Grand Final MVP The following is a list of netball players who played in the ANZ Championship between 2008 and 2016. ANZ Championship award winners There were four official ANZ Championship Awards. ANZ Championship Most Valuable Player ;Notes * Romelda Aik ...

;

ANZ Championship Best New Talent The following is a list of netball players who played in the ANZ Championship between 2008 and 2016. ANZ Championship award winners There were four official ANZ Championship Awards. ANZ Championship Most Valuable Player ;Notes * Romelda Aike ...

Coaches

Head coaches

Assistant coaches

Main sponsors

Reserve teams

;National Bank Cup era During the National Bank Cup era, Magic also had a development team. Its head coaches included Hikitia Gallagher and

Rhonda Wilcox Rhonda Earlene Wilcox (née Meads; born 3 November 1961) is a former New Zealand netballer who played for the New Zealand national team, the Silver Ferns, on 20 occasions. Early life and family Wilcox was born Rhonda Earlene Meads on 3 Novembe ...

while

Hayley Stockman Hayley Stockman (born 15 December 1985) is a New Zealand netball player in the ANZ Championship who played for the Canterbury Tactix Mainland Tactix are a New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, Canterbury. Between 1998 and 2007, ...

was a former player. ;National Netball League Since 2016, Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty have entered a team in the National Netball League. In 2018 and 2019 Waikato Bay of Plenty were NNL grand finalists. However, on both occasions they lost to Central Zone/Central Manawa.

Honours

* National Bank Cup **''Winners'': 2005, 2006 * ANZ Championship **''Winners'':

**''Runners Up'':

**''Minor premiers'':

* ANZ Championship – New Zealand Conference **''Winners'':

References

External links

Official website

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic on Facebook
{{Netball in New Zealand Netball teams in New Zealand ANZ Premiership teams ANZ Championship teams National Bank Cup teams Sports clubs established in 1998 1998 establishments in New Zealand