For their selfless dedication to enhancing and ensuring netball continue to prosper across all areas of the game, 12 special individuals have been honoured with Netball New Zealand (NNZ) Service Awards for 2025.

Showcasing an exceptional and diverse range of personnel, Claire Lewis (Selwyn Netball Centre), Dianne Lasenby (Netball Northern), Elizabeth Freeman (South Otago Netball Centre), Janice Cochrane (Mid Canterbury Netball), Jean Rowley (Dunedin Netball Centre), Jill Clapcott (Netball Central), Karen Eliason (Netball Taranaki), Lana Morrison (Dunedin Netball Centre), Pelesa Semu (Netball Wellington), Sue Bruce (Matamata Netball Centre), Sue Gordon (Netball Wellington) and Zak Middleton (Auckland Netball Centre) have been acknowledged as the 2025 recipients.

The prestigious award recognises an individual who has made a significant contribution to netball that has enhanced the game at local level, regionally, nationally and, or, internationally.

Claire Lewis:

A cornerstone of her netball community, Claire Lewis was a constant driving force for over four decades with her involvement spanning administration, officiating, mentoring and governance at club, Centre, regional and national levels.

In 2009, Claire expanded her lengthy list of involvement when adding National Bench Official to her career, continuing to build on her repertoire as a trainer and official marker. Claire officiated at several national tournaments over many years, including the NNZ National Championships, NZ Secondary Schools Championships, U19 Championships and NNZ Open Championships.

Claire sadly passed way recently. Her Service Award presentation was bought forward to enable a presentation prior to her passing.

Dianne Lasenby:

Having worked diligently behind the scenes for over 20 years, Dianne Lasenby successfully merged her business expertise with a lifelong love of netball and the drive to produce better outcomes. Engaging in multiple and varied roles during that time, Dianne’s accumulated knowledge and hands-on experience led to her appointment as General Manager of new entity, the Northern Stars, in 2017.

With her broad skillset, deep and long working connection with the netball community, the award is a fitting recognition for Dianne’s ability and strong understanding of the sport from grassroots to high performance level. Recognised as a leader with an ability to build strong relationships, Dianne’s skills have been sought on several projects and working groups across netball while she’s never lost sight of the importance of local community impact.

Elizabeth Freeman:

South Otago Netball Centre stalwart Liz Freeman has spent a lifetime giving back to her netball community, with her contribution now stretching back 50 years. Liz’s first love has always been umpiring where she remains an integral part of the umpiring group and committee, blooding and mentoring new talent after starting out herself with the whistle in 1972.

Always happy to be involved, Liz has also been consistently available as a coach, adding her wisdom on and off for the last 27 years as well as being a South Otago committee member for 15 years and serving a term as president.

Janice Cochrane:

Involved with netball in Mid Canterbury for more than 50 years, Jan Cochrane’s prominence has predominantly been as a coach while also a member of numerous committees, her impact being wide-reaching.

Still sought out for coaching advice, Janices’s own coaching achievements include leading Ashburton College to the NZSS tournament on multiple occasions and coaching several Mid Canterbury representative teams across the decades, both age group and senior. She has selected and coached at both South Island and national talent ID programmes, including coaching the South Island Secondary Schools’ Talented Players’ team at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Development Camp.

Jean Rowley: 

Involved for over 50 years, Jean Rowley has made a wide-ranging contribution to netball on many fronts after moving from player to umpire. While umpiring she simultaneously trained as a Bench Official which meant her netball days were very busy, as she moved between the two disciplines.

Over the past 15 years Jean has been appointed to many national games in her technical capacity, including two internationals. Continually developing her own skill set has not stopped Jean from unselfishly supporting and training the next group of Technical Officials, helping grow the depth of quality in Dunedin. She was also instrumental in ensuring the safe running of community netball during the Covid-disrupted seasons.

Jill Clapcott:

Jill Clapcott’s contribution to netball has been wide-ranging and impactful, where for over 20 years she has supported and led at community, Zone and national levels. Over that time, she has balanced multiple roles as a coach, manager, event organiser and volunteer.

Being involved in multiple roles at all levels, Jill’s most enduring legacy has been as a team manager. Beginning with age group teams in Auckland, Jill moved into NPC management, NZ Secondary Schools and the NZU21 programme. She was manager of the 2017 NZU21 Netball World Youth Cup-winning team and has remained in the role since. Jill has been a key contributor as manager of the successful Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse team since 2019.

Karen Eliason: 

Karen Eliason has given more than 45 years of dedicated service to netball, including over two decades at an elite umpiring level. Officiating at local, regional and national fixtures, Karen has been a constant and committed presence across the Netball Central Zone, and her impact extends well beyond the court.

As an umpire, coach, assessor and developer, Karen has dedicated herself not only to the game but to the people who officiate it. She has invested countless hours into coaching and mentoring umpires, developing umpire coaches, and supporting the growth of officiating across the Zone.

Karen's inclusive approach has created environments where umpires at all levels feel supported, valued and able to grow. Many officials across the Central Zone have benefited directly from her guidance, and the culture she has helped build, one that encourages both participation and development, will continue to shape officiating in Taranaki and beyond for years to come.

Her contribution has been recognised more widely through the New Plymouth District Council’s Local Legends Citizens Award.

Lana Morrison:

Lana Morrison became a key component in the Dunedin and Otago representative coaching ranks after first getting started as an apprentice coach in 2005. She has since gone on to coach regional representative teams for two decades while strengthening their foundations for future success.

Leaving her mark at Centre, regional, club and school level, Lana was Coach Lead with Netball South from 2019 – 2024 where her leadership was instrumental in fostering a culture of coaching excellence. She led the development of a strong Coach Developer network while implementing initiatives to grow the number and capability of coaches. Lana’s support of coaches at all levels and engagement with the National Coach Development Framework helped immeasurably to lift the overall quality and enjoyment of netball coaching.

Pelesa Semu:

Pelesa Semu has made a prolific contribution to netball, both as a player and a coach. In a playing career spanning over 30 years, Pelesa was a Wellington age group representative across all levels, part of the NZU21 programme and a member of the Capital Shakers. She was also a Samoa international at U21 and senior level.

Moving seamlessly into coaching 15 years ago, Pelesa has built an outstanding resume across school, club, provincial, age group and national league teams. In a lengthy list, Pelesa has been the head coach of the successful St Mary’s College team – a nursery for budding talent – for 14 years, lead coach of the Wellington senior team and Wellington age group teams at various stages before being appointed head coach of Netball Central’s successful Manawa team in the NNL in 2018.

She was named NNL Coach of the Year in 2019 and in 2020 became the Pulse’s assistant coach, the NZ Secondary Schools’ assistant coach while also being awarded a Te Hāpaitanga Wahine Coach Scholarship. Pelesa became the NZ Secondary Schools’ lead coach in 2023 and the Tonga Junior Tala U21 head coach in 2025. She continues to wear many different coaching hats.

Sue Bruce:

Sue Bruce has made an exceptional contribution to netball across the Waikato Bay of Plenty Zone while dedicating over two decades to umpire development, governance and community leadership. At the Matamata Netball Centre, Sue has been a driving force since 1999, serving on the committee, mentoring and assessing umpires, leading theory classes, and contributing to policy and fundraising.

At a Regional/Zone level, Sue was a member of the Netball Waikato Region Board (2005–2009) and co-ordinated the Netball Waikato Region Umpire Panel (2005–2012), where she played a pivotal role in umpire talent identification, assessment, and mentoring. As part of the Netball WBOP Community Advisory Group, Sue has also played a key role in shaping the future of Waikato Bay of Plenty Zone community netball support and communication across 23 Netball Centres.

Sue Gordon:

Moving to Victoria University from the small rural environs of Tapanui in west Otago, Sue Gordon has spent the ensuing 40 years deeply immersed in netball, where the impact of her umpiring prowess and administrative qualities have stretched far beyond the bounds of Wellington.

Joining the St Mary’s Old Girls Club in Wellington, initially as a player, Sue extended her resume when joining the committee while also taking up umpiring. Sue has since left a considerable mark in the administrative field after becoming the first Chair of the Netball Central Board when netball transitioned into the Zone initiative. From there she progressed to the Netball NZ Board where she has been a member since 2018. With the whistle in hand, Sue received NZ Umpire accreditation, has been a Regional Umpire Panel member and an umpire mentor and assessor.

Zak Middleton:

Since beginning his umpiring journey in 2011, Zak Middleton has demonstrated dedication to developing excellence, and his contribution has gone far beyond officiating matches. Zak has played a key role in coaching, assessing, facilitating workshops and fitness testing. His commitment to nurturing the next generation of umpires reflects a genuine passion for the sport and its community.

Zak’s impact is not confined to Auckland Netball. He has been actively involved in Netball NZ’s High Performance and international umpiring programmes, representing New Zealand on the world stage at prestigious events including the Fast5 World Series, Pacific Games, World Youth Cup Regional Qualifiers and the World Youth Cup. He has officiated at numerous finals and elite competitions, including the Trans-Tasman Cup, the International Schoolgirls Netball Challenge, Netball NZ Super Club, National Netball League, ANZ Premiership, and Australian Men’s and Mixed Netball Association National Championships.