A TRAILBLAZING netball coach and official from Newtownards who has given her life to the sport has been honoured by the governing body in Northern Ireland.
Maureen Mawhinney, 88, was the deserving recipient of Netball Northern Ireland’s Moya McVeigh Hall of Fame accolade in recognition of her sterling service to netball over a 30-year period.
Maureen’s involvement in the game first began as a player at Stranmillis College and during her student years she attended coaching and umpiring courses in England, receiving her qualifications. She produced the first Netball NI constitution and went the extra mile to prepare for international matches including marking out the court and bringing seating from schools to the venue in hired vans.
While working at Movilla High School as a PE teacher in the late 1950s, Maureen wrote to over 100 schools inviting them to participate in the NI Schoolgirls Leagues.
Having been responsible for setting up Movilla Netball Club in 1975, she went on to establish a club in the Ards Arena centre and then became the first coach of Bangor Netball Club, where she coached for many years.
As a club coach and umpire, Maureen encouraged many of her players to also become involved in similar roles and many of her protégées are still coaching and umpiring today, with a number going on to achieve international acclaim.
On the international front, Maureen served for many years as the Northern Ireland coach, looking after players at all levels and taking squads around the UK and Ireland to international matches and tournaments.
As coach, she took the Northern Ireland team to three World Championship events: Kingston, Jamaica in 1971, Auckland, New Zealand in 1975 and Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago in 1979 – organising a range of fundraising events to make the trips possible.
Maureen also hosted international events at home which saw visiting teams like Sri Lanka and New Zealand come to Northern Ireland.
The Ards woman served on the governing body’s council for many years, fulfilling a variety of roles. She also headed up coaching and umpiring courses throughout Northern Ireland for many years.
In 1983, Maureen became president of the NI Netball Association and represented the country as a delegate at the 1983 World Championships, as well as at council meetings and rules forums.
Maureen’s 12 years plus on the international scene saw her become a well known, popular and highly respected figure in world netball.
She has inspired many players, coaches, umpires, officials and volunteers throughout her career and has been a great role model for all.
Although Maureen’s health prevented her from continuing her work in netball, she has continued to be an enthusiastic supporter of the sport and now at the age of 88 can often be seen at International matches offering her views on how the players are performing.
