Colleen Natalie Falloon (née McMaster; born 10 July 1943) is a former New Zealand

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own. It is one of a ...

player. She played 11 international matches for the New Zealand team between 1960 and 1963, including at the

1963 World Netball Championships The 1963 World Netball Championships was the first edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial international netball competition. It was held from 2 August to 14 August and in Eastbourne, England. It featured eleven teams. In a round ro ...

. More recently she has been active in

Masters athletics Masters Athletics managed by World Masters Athletics is a class of the sport of athletics (sport), athletics for athletes of 35 years of age and over organized by World Masters Athletics. The events include track and field, road running and cross ...

, winning multiple national

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

titles, in the W60, W65, W70 and W75 categories.

Early life

Falloon was born Colleen Natalie McMaster on 10 July 1943. She was educated at Christchurch West High School, and went on to study at Christchurch Teachers' College.

Netball career

McMaster began playing representative netball for Canterbury in 1959, and was described as "one of the outstanding players" at that year's national netball championships, where she gained South Island honours. In 1960, McMaster was selected for the New Zealand team that toured Australia, and was the youngest member of the touring party. She played in 12 of the 16 games on tour, mostly at goal attack, including in two of the three Test matches. In the first Test match in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, New Zealand achieved their first ever victory over , winning 49–40. McMaster was omitted from the second Test team, with Betty Steffensen being preferred at goal attack. The game was won by Australia, 44–39, and McMaster returned for the third Test, won 46–45 by Australia. McMaster was a member of the New Zealand team at the inaugural World Netball Championships at

Eastbourne Eastbourne () is a town and seaside resort in East Sussex, on the south coast of England, east of Brighton and south of London. It is also a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, bor ...

, England, in 1963. At the tournament, New Zealand recorded nine wins and one loss, 36–37 against Australia, to finish as runners-up. In the game against , won by New Zealand 56–29, McMaster played at goal shooter and was reported as "working accurately and in perfect unison" with goal attack Judy Blair. Across her international career, McMaster played in 11 Test matches.

Later life

McMaster was a schoolteacher. In 1971, she married Neil Francis Falloon, a mechanical engineer, and the couple went on to have two children. They lived at

Muriwai Muriwai, also called Muriwai Beach, is a coastal community on the west coast of the Auckland Region in the North Island of New Zealand. The black-sand surf beach and surrounding area is a popular recreational area for Aucklanders. The Muriwai ...

, where Neil Falloon was active in

surf lifesaving Surf lifesaving is a multifaceted social movement that comprises key aspects of voluntary lifeguard services and competitive surf sport. Originating in early 20th century Australia, the movement has expanded globally to other countries, in ...

, as a competitor who won national titles, a referee, and manager of representative teams. He served as district president and district president for

Surf Life Saving Northern Region Surf Life Saving Northern Region is the largest of four regions that make up Surf Life Saving New Zealand. As of the 2021/2022 season, it is made up of 18 clubs that look after 22 patrol locations from Ahipara to Raglan on the West Coast and fr ...

, and was president of the Muriwai Surf Life Saving Club at the time of his death on 7 March 2006. Colleen Falloon took up distance running, and by 2012 had run 82 marathons. She was second in the W60 category of the New Zealand national marathon championships in 2004, and won the event in 2006 and 2008. In 2013, she won the W65 category, and in 2014 and 2015 she finished second in the W70 division. She then won the W70 national marathon title in 2016, 2017 and 2018. In 2021, she won the W75 national marathon championship.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falloon, Colleen 1943 births Living people People educated at Christchurch West High School Netball players from Christchurch New Zealand international netball players New Zealand netball players New Zealand masters athletes New Zealand female marathon runners 1963 World Netball Championships players 20th-century New Zealand sportswomen