A new partnership between the New Zealand Police and Netball New Zealand was marked by an exhibition match between the New Zealand Police national netball team and a Northern Zone invitational side on Sunday.

The three year deal is aimed at educating young players on career opportunities with the Police and with the launch taking place at the Auckland Under-19 representative tournament at Auckland Netball Centre.

“The partnership was a natural fit for Police as we are actively wanting to increase the number of women applying to work for us.

We are encouraging netballers to ‘Look Ahead’ to their future career,” New Zealand Police Deputy Chief Executive, People and Capability Kaye Ryan said.

“In recruiting great cops we are looking for fit women from all ethnicities and ages who value working in a team, are good communicators, have a passion for what they do and who want to be able to contribute, so working with Netball New Zealand and enabling conversations with their players is a fantastic opportunity for us.”

The partnership initially covers naming rights for the Auckland Netball Under 19 representative competition, Netball NZ U19 Champs and supporting partner for the Netball NZ U17 Champs and University Tertiary Games.

The partnership will extend to other events and netball initiatives over the next three years.

Netball New Zealand CEO Jennie Wyllie says Netball New Zealand is delighted to be able to partner with the NZ Police.

“It’s a great message to ‘Look Ahead’ and think about your future career, and a career with the NZ Police certainly utilises all the skills and values learned as netballers, and provides a career which provides a huge contribution back to the community.

Most importantly there’s no reason to stop playing netball if you become a Police officer, and you can play at all levels” she said.

The New Zealand Police national netball team was made up of Beko Netball League player Eseta Autagvaia and premier players.

Playing is actively encouraged and Police sport hold a winter sports tournament attended by all 12 Districts with over 1200 athletes from all different sports disciplines.

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