Courting a netball tourney win

Courting a netball tourney win

From making a splash in the pool to making an impact on court, AUT’s Jamie Johns is a seasoned dual sport competitor who really rates her Uni Games netball team.

It’s a confidence that initially appears well justified. After the first day of pool play games at Wellington’s ASB Sports Centre under their belt, her AUT Titans had despatched Otago University 55-31, then dealt to Invercargill’s SIT 104 -18, before beating Victoria 66-25, with Johns running a highly effective centre court.

A former U-17 New Zealand swim team rep, for eight years Johns held the national title for 50m breast stroke. She still has a swimmer’s back and shoulders, although the 20-year-old has pulled the plug on the pool to concentrate on her passion, netball.

“I’ve been swimming since I was eight-years-old, but I’ve been playing netball since I was five; and before that I used to watch my mum play from my pram on the side-lines. So, I’ve been with netball pretty much my whole life, I guess.”

Johns juggles game and training time between her third year conjoint Bachelor of Business and Bachelor of Sport & Recreation at AUT, a social life, and a part-time job as a member of the Red Bull sampling team.

“Sport is a passion that helps keep me motivated and interested in my studies,” she says. “I’m looking to be involved in sports marketing or management, that kind of thing.”

A member of the top of the table Auckland-Waitakere rep squad, the 1.70m tall Johns is developing as a mid-court specialist.

“I’m too short to play anywhere else,” she grins, “but I’d like to play for a franchise team, either in Auckland…or anywhere.“

Her other physical ‘defect’, those wide back and shoulders, sometimes make a netball top a restrictive fit, but hasn’t hampered Johns’ on-court bustle.

As for the Uni Games tournament, the centre says her 12-strong squad have high expectations of themselves.

“We have a couple of rep players and a former New Zealand secondary school player, and although we don’t know anything about the other teams we’re facing, we think we’ll do pretty well.”

The Uni Games netball finals are at the ASB Sports Centre on Friday 13 with the minor final at 10am, and the grand final at 1pm.

The Uni Games:

The premier sporting tournament for New Zealand universities, the Uni Games was first contested between tennis, athletics and debating in 1902. Now the event attracts more than 1000 participants competing in badminton, basketball, bowls, cricket, football, netball, touch, ultimate and volleyball.

One of the largest annual multi-sport events in New Zealand, this year’s ‘Wellywood Games’ sees nine teams competing for The Shield, first awarded in 1923. Headquarters for the games are at Kilbirnie’s ASB Sports Centre, with other venues around the city.

Uni Games 2012 teams: Auckland University, AUT, University of Canterbury, Lincoln University, Massey Albany, Otago University, Southern Institute of Technology, Victoria University of Wellington, Waikato University.

Otago University has the distinction of winning the historic Shield 35 times.
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