The New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) has awarded the Silver Ferns the Lonsdale Cup for 2010.
The Lonsdale Cup is the NZOCs most prestigious award and goes to the athlete or team that has made the most outstanding contribution to an Olympic or Commonwealth Sport each year.
The Silver Ferns were named this years recipient after their double extra time win against arch-rivals Australia in the final event of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.
New Zealand Olympic Committee President Mike Stanley was delighted to make the announcement today.
The Silver Ferns performance at Delhi brought to life all that is good about sport, he said. Their composure under pressure, their teamwork, their sheer joy and their ability to unite our nation was outstanding. The team went from a series loss against Australia earlier in the year to putting on one of the most memorable performances in New Zealand sporting history. It really struck a chord.
Outgoing Secretary General, Barry Maister, said the win for the Silver Ferns showed New Zealanders the mettle required to win a pinnacle event. The teams exhaustion was palpable and we had to admire the single-minded focus with which the team worked together to achieve the double extra time win. It was a proud moment for New Zealand.
Maister added that the calibre of sporting performances throughout 2010 had been particularly high. It was a tough choice with top performances from Nicky Hamblin, Joelle King, the Rugby Sevens team and the Bond/Murray combination at Karapiro.
Netball New Zealand Chief Executive Raelene Castle said the Silver Ferns were honoured to be awarded the esteemed Lonsdale Cup.
We are really proud of the teams gold medal winning performance and for the Ferns to have their names etched alongside the previous winners of the Lonsdale Cup certainly caps off a great year for Netball New Zealand she said.
The Silver Ferns are now preparing for a three test series in early January against England in the United Kingdom. The Silver Ferns defended their gold medal title at Delhi 2010 and have had consecutive podium finishes at the Commonwealth Games since netball first featured on the programme in 1998.
Murray Halberg was the first recipient of the Lonsdale Cup in 1961. The award has been awarded annually since, most recently to the Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell in 2008 and Mahe Drysdale in 2010.
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