Leigh Gibbs
Gisborne born and bred netballer Leigh Gibbs has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year Honours list.
The 66-year-old former Silver Fern player and coach was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2001.
“I am very honoured and proudly humbled to receive this award,” she said.
“It represents to me a wonderful and fulfilling lifelong involvement in netball that has given me so much.”
Gibbs has spent more than 50 years of her life involved in netball as a player, coach, umpire and administrator.
“It connects me to the tremendous support and guidance I have received from my whānau, friends, colleagues and teammates.
“They have all contributed greatly to my development and growth and I am especially thankful for and appreciative of that.
“I have been very privileged to have had great female role models in my life.”
She played for the national team 61 times and was captain for the 1987 World Netball Championships when New Zealand won the gold medal.
Her coaching career started with the Canterbury Flames in 1988.
She went on to coach the New Zealand Under-21 team that won the Under-21 World Championship in the early 1990s, and became the sixth coach of the Ferns in 1994.
After that she was high performance manager for Welsh Netball for a year before returning to New Zealand to take up the talent development coordinator role for Netball NZ from 2002.
She was an assistant coach to Ruth Aitken for the Silver Ferns when the team won a gold medal at the 2003 Netball World Championships and at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
From 2012 to 2014 she coached the Mainland Tactix.
In 2021 she joined the Nelson Netball Centre in New Zealand as the centre manager, after having spent the previous five years working for Netball Queensland as general manager community netball and director of coaching and officiating.
In April 2022, Gibbs returned to work for Netball New Zealand as the community coaching manager.
She received a place on the “Wall of Fame” of the School of Physical Education at the University of Otago in 2006 and was made the 32nd honorary life member of Netball New Zealand in 2017.
In late October 2022, Leigh received the Sir Eion and Jan, Lady Edgar Lifetime Achievement Award from Sport NZ.
She was born in Gisborne in 1956, and was educated at Lytton High School.
“Netball has changed immensely from the winter Saturdays I enjoyed playing down at Victoria Domain Courts,” she said.
“Live television coverage, professional leagues, sponsorship, international tours, inclusion in the Commonwealth Games and men playing netball, to name a few.
“What hasn't changed and has contributed to my lifelong love of netball is the camaraderie, friendships, fun and the leadership opportunities, especially for girls and women.
“I am enjoying living in Nelson and being back working at Netball New Zealand.
“The years have gone by very quickly, and Gisborne will always hold a special place in my heart.
“It was a wonderful place for me and my two sons to learn and grow up in.
“I would like to sincerely thank all the people who have contributed to me being awarded this honour.”