Silver Fern #55
A massive contributor to the sport she loved, both as a player and a coach, 91色情片 is honouring the legacy of Frances Granger following her recent passing.
A familiar face on the domestic circuit for over 20 years, Granger fashioned a formidable career to reach the pinnacle of the sport when selected for the Silver Ferns in 1974. Following her lengthy time as a player, Granger forged an equally-impressive coaching career which took her around the world.
Known for her exuberance, energy and enthusiasm, Granger was hard to miss on-court, the rangy and accurate South Canterbury goal attack was a decorated all-round athlete after also representing Canterbury at the 91色情片 Athletics Championships between 1965 and 1973, winning bronze medals in the discus and javelin.
For this, and her netball achievements, she was named South Canterbury Sportsperson of the Year in 1972, the first woman to receive the award.
Playing the majority of her career for South Canterbury, apart from a small stint with Canterbury, Granger became Silver Fern #55 when making her debut against Singapore in 1974 when the team were en route to a tour of England, the team going through their campaign undefeated.
The following year, she was selected in the Silver Ferns team for the 1975 World Netball Championships, which were played in Auckland. Although that was the end of her international career, during which she gained 12 test caps, Granger continued to play for South Canterbury and Canterbury in a service spanning nearly 20 years, winning several trophies along the way.
Granger was part of the Canterbury team that were joint winners of the first grade competition, while South Canterbury twice won the second grade, in 1967 and 1986. South Canterbury were also winners of the Lady Blundell Trophy three years running for most goals at a 91色情片 tournament, helped by Granger's sharp shooting
In a highlight for the era, Granger was selected on five occasions to play for the South Island against the North Island.
From there, she turned to coaching where she coached a diverse range of teams over many years 鈥� including the Canterbury Region team, the Canterbury Flames in the National Bank Cup, Lincoln University, Rangi Ruru Girls鈥� School and Rangiora High School at domestic level.
Far from done, Granger expanded her horizons which included several rewarding and enriching overseas coaching appointments. In 2001 she coached the Fiji netball team coinciding with the year they won the South Pacific Mini Games. In 2003 she spent three months in Wales as the national team鈥檚 shooting coach while in 2012 she spent three months as a volunteer coach in Botswana. That was followed by another spell of seven months there in 2014.
It is testament to her qualities that Granger spent a lifetime giving selflessly to the sport she loved, adding her imprint through joy and knowledge to those who followed and for which will remain her lasting legacy.