Bernice Papasina Mene (born 18 January 1975) is a former New Zealand netball international. Between 1992 and 2001, Mene made 76 senior appearances for

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. She represented New Zealand at the

1993 World Games The 1993 World Games (), the fourth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in The Hague, Netherlands. Titles 155 titles were awarded in 23 sports (not including invitational sports — aikido, equestrian vaulting, indoor tug o ...

, the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ( Malay: ), officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games (Malay: ), were a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 1998 games were the first held in Asia and the last Commonwealth Games of the 20th cen ...

and the

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

1999 World Netball Championships The 1999 World Netball Championships (also known as the Vodafone World Netball Championships for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Christchu ...

. She captained New Zealand during 2000 and 2001 seasons. Between

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, during the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup era, she captained

Southern Sting Southern Sting are a former New Zealand netball team that were based in Invercargill. Between 1998 and 2007, Sting played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. They were the league's most successful team. They played in all ten grand ...

as they won four premierships. In

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

, Mene was appointed a Member of the

New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Monarchy of New Zealand, Queen of New Zealand, "for th ...

, for services to netball. In 2022, she was included on a list of the 25 best players to feature in netball leagues in New Zealand since 1998.

Early life, family and education

Mene is the daughter of Iafeta Sua'Mene and Sally Mene. She is of Samoan descent. Her father, also known as Mene Mene, migrated from

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

. Her parents were both athletes and they both represented New Zealand at the 1974 Commonwealth Games. Her father competed in the

decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

while her mother competed in both the

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

and discus. She has two brothers who are also athletes. Chris Sua'mene represented

in the discus at the 1996 Summer Olympics, and Nathan Sua'Mene represented

in the high jump at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. Between 1988 and 1992, Mene attended

Villa Maria College, Christchurch Villa Maria College () is a single-sex secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was opened on 18 February 1918 with 14 pupils. It was founded by the Sisters of Mercy and served as a parish school when boys were admitted in 1921. From 1 ...

. Between 1995 and 1996 she attended the

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington (), also known by its shorter names "VUW" or "Vic", is a public university, public research university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of New Zealand Parliament, Parliament, and w ...

where she gained a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics. In 2009 she received the university's Distinguished Alumni Award. Between 1999 and 2000 she attended the Dunedin College of Education where she gained a Diploma in Secondary Education and Teaching. In March 2003, she married Dion Nash, a former New Zealand cricket international. Together they have three children. In 2010 Mene posed topless while heavily pregnant,

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...

-style for ''

New Zealand Woman's Weekly The ''New Zealand Woman's Weekly'' is a weekly New Zealand women's magazine published by Are Media. , it had a circulation of 82,040, third by paid sales after ''TV Guide'' and Are Media's ''New Zealand Woman's Day''. History On 8 December 1932 ...

''.

Playing career

National Provincial Championships

In 1992, aged just 16, Mene made her senior debut for Canterbury in the National Provincial Championships. She played for Canterbury between 1992 and 1994, Wellington in 1995 and 1996 and Southland in 2000.

Southern Sting

Between

and

, Mene played for

in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. She captained Sting as they won four premierships, winning titles in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

and 2002. Mene was one of the first professional netball players in

. She retired from senior netball at the end of the 2002 season. On 23 July 2018, Mene, together with Donna Wilkins, Belinda Colling and Natalie Avellino, played for Sting in a charity match against Netball South of the National Netball League. The match marked Sting's 20th anniversary. In April 2022, she was included on a list of the 25 best players to feature in netball leagues in New Zealand since 1998.

New Zealand

Between 1992 and 2001, Mene made 76 senior appearances for

. On 7 November 1992, aged just 17, she made her senior debut against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

during an away tour. At the time she was still attending Villa Maria College. She had previously represented New Zealand at the 1992 World Youth Netball Championships. She subsequently represented New Zealand at the

, the

and the

and

. She captained New Zealand at the 1996 World Youth Netball Championships. In 1997, aged just 22, she captained the senior New Zealand team for the first time. During her playing career Mene, regularly suffered with a degenerative knee condition. Shortly after being first appointed captain, she had an injury-enforced break. She again captained New Zealand during 2000 and 2001 seasons. In 2001 she captained New Zealand as they won a Tri Nations Series that also featured

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. In February 2002, she announced her retirement from international netball.

Teacher

During the early 2000s, Mene worked as a teacher at

Mount Albert Grammar School Mount Albert Grammar School, commonly known as MAGS, is a co-educational state secondary school in Mount Albert in Auckland, New Zealand. It teaches students in year levels 9 to 13. , Mount Albert Grammar School is the second largest school in N ...

. Her subjects included French, German and English. In 2000 she established the MAGS Netball Academy. Subsequent graduates of the academy have included

Maria Tutaia Solonaima Maria Folau (née Tuta'ia; born 18 February 1987 in Tokoroa, New Zealand) is a retired New Zealand netball player. She played regularly for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns. Early life Folau was born Solonaima ...

, Maia Wilson, Jamie-Lee Price and Erikana Pedersen.

Television

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, Mene was a contestant on '' New Zealand's Dancing with the Stars''. She has also worked as a netball commentator for

Sky Sport (New Zealand) Sky Sport is a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by New Zealand's satellite pay-TV company, Sky. History Sky Sport 1 is the original Sky Television sport channel in New Zealand. It was first introduced in 1990 as Sky Spo ...

. Together with Tania Dalton, Anna Stanley, Natalie Avellino and

Kathryn Harby-Williams Kathryn Harby-Williams (born 16 July 1969) is an Australian netball player and television presenter, who captained the Australian netball team. She is the Chief Executive Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of the Australian Netball Players’ As ...

, she was part of their commentary team for the

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2011 World Netball Championships The 2011 World Netball Championships () was the 13th edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Singapore from 3–10 July. All 48 matches were played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. ...

Constitutional Advisory Panel

Between

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, Mene served on the New Zealand Constitutional Advisory Panel.

Honours

;

World Netball Championships The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and the New ...

**''Runners Up'':

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

**''Runners Up'':

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

**''Runners up'':

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

* World Youth Netball Championships **''Winners'': 1992 ;

* Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup **''Winners'':

**''Runners Up'':

;Individual Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mene, Bernice 1975 births Living people New Zealand netball players New Zealand international netball players Netball players from Christchurch Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games silver medallists in netball Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 1993 World Games 1995 World Netball Championships players 1999 World Netball Championships players Southern Sting players New Zealand netball commentators New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand schoolteachers Bernice People educated at Villa Maria College, Christchurch Dunedin College of Education alumni Victoria University of Wellington alumni Participants in New Zealand reality television series World Games silver medalists for New Zealand World Games medalists in netball Medalists at the 1993 World Games