Four new members have been appointed to the High Performance Sport NZ board - and it includes former leading athletes and coaches.
World champion Silver Ferns coach Dame Noeline Taurua (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Whātua) was named one of the new directors, alongside decorated shot put champion Dame Valerie Adams, multi-time former Paralympic swimmer Duane Kale and former Black Sox coach Don Tricker.
The former Silver Fern says she is honoured for the opportunity to contribute at a strategic level for the good of all sports, having gone through sport from grassroots levels through to the international stage as both a player and coach.
Dame Noeline has been involved in netball for over 40 years, a career that saw her coach for New Zealand teams in the ANZ Premiership and across the Tasman for franchise Sunshine Coast Lightning in the Suncorp Netball competition.
Taurua's accomplishments have been met with accolades, including winning coach of the year and supreme awards in the Aotearoa Māori Sports Awards for 2019, and winning the 2020 Halberg coach of the year and leadership awards. In the 2020 New Year honours list, Noeline was made a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to netball.
