Cathrine Tuivaiti (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Latu; born 25 October 1986) is a netball international who has played for

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 ...

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 ...

and

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

. She represented Samoa at the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

and the

2007 World Netball Championships The 2007 World Netball Championships was the 12th edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball co-ordinated by the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA). Sixteen nations contested t ...

, New Zealand at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

and Tonga at the 2023 Netball World Cup. During the

National Bank Cup The National Bank Cup, originally known as the Coca-Cola Cup, was the top level national Netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball league between 1998 in New Zealand, 1998 and 2007 in New Zealand, 2007. The league was organised by Netball Ne ...

era, she played for Northern Force. During the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

era, she played for

Northern Mystics Northern Mystics are a New Zealand netball team based in Auckland. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Northern in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Northern is the governing body t ...

. She subsequently played for

Central Pulse Central Pulse are a New Zealand netball team based in Wellington. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Central in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Central is the governing body that ...

Adelaide Thunderbirds Adelaide Thunderbirds are an netball in Australia, Australian professional netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Since 2017 Suncorp Super Netball season, 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 ANZ Championship s ...

, Strathclyde Sirens and

Severn Stars Severn Stars are an netball in England, English netball team based at the University of Worcester. The team is named after the River Severn, which runs through Worcester, England, Worcester and Gloucester, the original home cities of the two un ...

. In 2022, she was included on a list of the 25 best players to feature in

netball leagues in New Zealand 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 ...

since 1998.

Early life, family and education

Latu is the daughter of Mary-Anne Huxtable and David Latu. Her mother is Pālagi with some

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

ancestry. Her father is mostly Tongan with some Samoan ancestry. His family is originally from

Nukuʻalofa Nukualofa ( , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British ...

. Cathrine is the sixth of ten children. She has five sisters and four brothers. She was born in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. However the family subsequently moved to Kawakawa in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...

area. Cathrine attended Kawakawa Primary School and Bay of Islands College. Between 2001 and 2004, Latu attended

Massey High School Massey High School is a co-educational state secondary school in West Auckland, New Zealand established in 1969. The school is located on the western edge of the city, thus obtaining students from both suburban and rural backgrounds. In 2017 i ...

on a scholarship. While attending Massey High, she met and started dating, Jimmy Tuivaiti. She subsequently attended

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology ( AUT; ) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT is New Zealand's third largest university i ...

. In 2016 Latu and Tuivaiti married. Together they have two children. Tuivaiti is an Italy rugby union international. Her cousin, Tevita Leo-Latu played rugby league for

and

Playing career

Club career

Northern Force

Between 2005 and 2007, Latu made 21 senior appearances for Northern Force in the

league. She was a member of the Force team that played in the 2007 grand final, which they lost to

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 ...

Northern Mystics

Between

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, Latu made 122 senior appearances for

in the

. She was a member of the inaugural Mystics team. Ahead of the

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

season, Latu was given special dispensation by the league to play for Mystics due to complications resulting from her decision to switch her international allegiances from

. Latu was a member of the 2011 Northern Mystics team that finished as grand finalists in the

. During the same season, Latu made her 50th ANZ Championship/Mystics appearance in a Round 11 match against Canterbury Tactix. Throughout her time with Mystics, Latu was known for her shooting accuracy. She was the most accurate shooter in the 2012 ANZ Championship, averaging 97.5%. On 13 April 2015, during a Round 7 match against

, Latu made her 100th ANZ Championship/Mystics appearance. She subsequently helped Mystics finish as

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

New Zealand Conference minor premiers. She also finished the 2015 ANZ Championship as the league's most-accurate goal shooter, averaging 93.8%. When Latu left Mystics at the end of the 2015 season, she was the last remaining original member of the franchise.

Central Pulse

Ahead of the 2017 season, Tuivaiti signed for

. She was subsequently a prominent member of the 2017 Central Pulse team that finished as grand finalists in the

ANZ Premiership The ANZ Premiership is the top level netball league featuring teams from New Zealand. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from Australia, as the top level netball league in New Zealand. It is organised by Netbal ...

and as semi-finalists in the Netball New Zealand Super Club tournament. Tuivaiti made her 150th senior league appearance in a Round 6 match against

Southern Steel Southern Steel may refer to: * Southern Steel (netball) Southern Steel are a netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill. Between 2008 ANZ Championship season, 2008 and 2016 ANZ Championship season, 2016, they played ...

. She was the 2017 ANZ Premiership's most accurate shooter, scoring 483 from 509 and finishing the season with a 95% accuracy rate.

Adelaide Thunderbirds

Ahead of the

2018 Suncorp Super Netball season The 2018 Suncorp Super Netball season was the second season of the premier netball league in Australia. The season began on 28 April and concluded with the Grand Final on 26 August 2018. The start of the season was delayed to late April due to th ...

, Tuivaiti signed for

. However in her final match for

, during the Super Club tournament, she suffered an ACL injury. In June 2018, after eleven months of rehabilitation, Tuivaiti played four games for Southern Force, the Thunderbirds reserve team, in the

Australian Netball League The Australian Netball Championships, formerly the Australian Netball League, is an Australian netball competition. Since 2008, it has served as a second-level competition, initially below the ANZ Championship and later below Suncorp Super Net ...

. On 8 July, she eventually made her senior debut for Thunderbirds in a Round 10 match against

Collingwood Magpies The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed the Magpies or colloquially the Pies, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. ...

. In total she made five appearances for Thunderbirds.

Netball Superleague

Ahead of the 2019 Netball Superleague season, Tuivaiti signed for Strathclyde Sirens. She was effectively a training partner for the

Scotland national netball team The Scotland national netball team represents Scotland in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the European Netball Championship and the Netball Singapore Nations Cup. Scotland also effectivel ...

as they prepared for the

2019 Netball World Cup The 2019 Netball World Cup (also known as the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 15th edition of the INF Netball World Cup. It was held from 12–21 July 2019 at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool, England with matches ...

. However in March 2019, it was announced that she was pregnant with her first child and would be unable to complete the season. During the

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

season, Tuivaiti was a member of

coaching team. During the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

season, she made 13 playing appearances for Stars. Ahead of the

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

season, Tuivaiti was appointed head coach of Wasps Netball. She also agreed terms to join the playing squad. However, Wasps parent company subsequently went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

, leaving the coaches and players, including Tuivaiti, without a job.

Gold Coast Titans

In 2023, after answering a call from their head coach, her former Mystics team mate Temepara Bailey, Tuivaiti played for Gold Coast Titans in the Sapphire Series.

International career

Samoa

Between 2005 and 2007, Latu made 30 senior appearances for

. She represented Samoa at the

and the

World 7

In August 2009, Latu played for a World 7 team, coached by

Julie Fitzgerald Julie Fitzgerald is a veteran Australian netball coach. Between 1997 and 2007, Fitzgerald served as head coach of Sydney Swifts in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. She guided Swifts to premierships in 2001, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Between ...

, that played

in the

2009 Taini Jamison Trophy Series The 2009 Taini Jamison Trophy Series, also referred to as the New World Series, was the second Taini Jamison Trophy series. It featured New Zealand national netball team, New Zealand playing a World Netball, World 7 in a series of three Test m ...

. Latu played in the first and third tests, helping the World 7 win the series 2–1. She was player of the match for the first test. On 3 September 2009, she played for a World 7 team, coached by Robyn Broughton, that played

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 ...

in a one-off test. Latu partnered Donna Wilkins in the shooting circle and helped the World 7 win 52–43.

New Zealand

In March 2011 it was reported that

Netball New Zealand Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns. In 2019, 137,713 players were registered with Netball New Zealand, the governing body for organised netball in th ...

were appealing to the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; , TAS) is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland, and its courts are located in New York City, Sy ...

to declare Latu eligible to represent

at the

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. ...

International Federation of Netball Associations World Netball, previously known as the International Netball Federation and the International Federation of Netball Associations, is the worldwide governing body for Netball. The INF was created in 1960 and is responsible for world rankings, main ...

rules stated a player could not represent two different countries at successive

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 ...

. Netball New Zealand cited the case of Vilimaina Davu, who had represented New Zealand 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 ...

and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

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 ...

. In April 2011, Latu was named in the New Zealand squad for the 2011 World Netball Championships. However, CAS ruled that Netball New Zealand had made their appeal too late, saying they should have presented it in 2009. On 3 October 2011, Latu eventually made her senior debut for New Zealand 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 the

2011 Taini Jamison Trophy Series The 2011 Taini Jamison Trophy Series, also referred to as the New World Series, was the fourth Taini Jamison Trophy series. It featured New Zealand playing England in two netball test matches, played in October 2011. New Zealand won the openi ...

. She came on for the second half, scoring 17 from 17. In the same match,

Kayla Cullen Kayla Malvina Johnson (née Cullen, born 13 February 1992) is a New Zealand netball player. As a high school student, Cullen played representative netball and basketball, and competed at a national level in athletics. In 2008, she was selected i ...

and Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick also made their senior New Zealand debuts. She was a member of the New Zealand teams that won the 2012 Constellation Cup and the

2013 Fast5 Netball World Series The 2013 Fast5 Netball World Series was the 5th Fast5 Netball World Series. New Zealand hosted Australia, England, Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after C ...

. She was also a member of the New Zealand team that were silver medallists at the

. However, Latu subsequently fell out of favour and she was dropped for the 2015 Netball World Cup and the 2015 Constellation Cup. In April 2022, she was one of 25 New Zealand internationals included on a list of the best players to feature in

since 1998.

Tonga

In June 2023, Tuivaiti was selected to play for the

for the 2023 Netball World Cup.

Personal life

Tuivaiti has spoken openly about her weight issues, including having to deal with

cyberbullying Cyberbullying (cyberharassment or online bullying) is a form of bullying or harassment using electronic means. Since the 2000s, it has become increasingly common, especially among teenagers and adolescents, due to young people's increased u ...

Honours

;

* Constellation Cup **''Winners'':

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Fast5 Netball World Series The Fast5 Netball World Series is an annual international Fast5 netball competition. The competition, which began in October 2009, features modified Fast5 rules, and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens. The competition is co ...

**''Winners'':

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 ...

**''Runners Up'':

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 ...

Taini Jamison Trophy The Taini Jamison Trophy series is an international netball series hosted by Netball New Zealand. The series traditionally features New Zealand national netball team, New Zealand playing a series of Test match (netball), test matches against a ...

**''Winners'':

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

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'':

Netball Quad Series The Netball Quad Series, also referred to as the SANZEA Netball Quad Series, is an international netball series. The series traditionally features Australia national netball team, Australia, England national netball team, England, New Zealand nati ...

**''Runners Up'':

;

**''Runners Up'':

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

;

**''Runners Up'':

* ANZ Championship – New Zealand Conference **''Minor premiers'':

; Northern Force *

**''Runners Up'': 2007 ; World 7 *

**''Winners'':

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuivaiti, Cathrine 1986 births Living people Samoan netball players Tongan netball players New Zealand netball players New Zealand netball coaches New Zealand Māori netball players New Zealand international netball players New Zealand international Fast5 players Netball players from Auckland Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists in netball Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand 2007 World Netball Championships players 2023 Netball World Cup players Northern Force players Northern Mystics players Adelaide Thunderbirds players Sirens Netball players Severn Stars players Wasps Netball players Southern Force (netball) players Central Pulse players ANZ Championship players ANZ Premiership players Australian Netball League players Netball Superleague players Netball Superleague coaches Queensland state netball league players New Zealand expatriate netball people in Australia New Zealand expatriate netball people in England New Zealand expatriate netball people in Scotland New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent New Zealand sportspeople of Tongan descent Samoan expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Samoan expatriate sportspeople in England Samoan expatriate sportspeople in Australia Ngāpuhi people People educated at Massey High School Auckland University of Technology alumni 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen