Caitlyn Forrest - Volunteer Youth of the Year

Netball volunteers from across Aotearoa have been recognised at the 2024 Cadbury Volunteer of the Year Awards held last night.

There are thousands of wonderful volunteers that help run the game each week at Netball Centres, clubs and schools. But last night’s celebration put the spotlight on a special few, who were nominated by their peers for going that extra mile.

“We know volunteers don’t do it for recognition, however, nominating a volunteer can be a great way of acknowledging the amazing mahi they contribute,” said Netball New Zealand’s National Programme Manager Jenna Murie.

“It’s inspiring when you learn what each individual has done to improve the netball experience in their community – when you have positive volunteers that know how to contribute, the impact across the game is huge.”

CAITLYN FORREST (Hamilton, Waikato-Bay of Plenty)
Volunteer Youth of the Year - Winner
Caitlyn is a University of Waikato student and works part-time – she also has six roles related to umpiring at Hamilton Netball Centre! As a course facilitator, she delivers the Introduction to Umpiring course and the feedback is always positive and speaks of her openness to share her extensive knowledge of umpiring.  Caitlyn is an ITU and Centre Award Umpire Coach and Assessor, and recently took on the role of Assistant to the Award Assessment Lead. She also umpires at the Premier level and for Rototuna High School teams.  Caitlyn created instructional videos and contributed to the update of training materials when the rule changes came into effect. Her data analysis and recommendations for the 2025 season aims to improve umpire coaching, awards, and communication across the community. She does this all with a smile and a level of maturity beyond her years!

SOPHIE MACINTYRE (Hamilton, Waikato-Bay of Plenty)
Volunteer Official of the Year – Highly Commended

Sophie is a Zone Award umpire and a valuable member of the Umpire Leadership Team at Hamilton Netball Centre. Through this involvement Sophie has become the Duty Umpire Lead and has co-ordinated the Duty Umpire and Umpire Coach Draw for the last two seasons – no small task! She is also a Netball New Zealand Youth Board Member. And in her first year of teaching. In 2023 Sophie recognised the benefit in offering centre neutral umpires for all 1v2 finals games at all levels in Intermediate, Secondary and Open Grade.  In 2024 this meant she found umpires to fill 104 spots on finals day, as well as ensuring there were reserves.  It wasn’t just a case of finding umpires but also matching umpires so that a senior umpire was with a more junior umpire for each final.  This greatly aided the learning of the junior umpires. She is constantly seeking ways to improve – proposing ideas and then delivering. As a Duty Umpire herself, Sophie holds high standards in how to approach situations, support umpires and educate those involved and where necessary de-escalate. This high standard she sets herself is a role model for others and provides consistency and trust for the community.