Ellen Halpenny (born 25 July 1990) is a former New Zealand netball international. She was a member of the New Zealand team that were silver medalists at the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

. 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 own ...

era, Halpenny played for

Canterbury Tactix Mainland Tactix are a netball in New Zealand, New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury. Between 1998 and 2007, as Canterbury Flames, they played in the National Bank Cup, Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cu ...

and

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton. Between 1999 and 2007, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017, Magic have ...

. She subsequently played for Scottish Sirens during the

2017 Netball Superleague season The 2017 Netball Superleague season (known for sponsorship reasons as the Vitality Netball Superleague) was the twelfth season of the Netball Superleague. The league was won by Wasps. In the grand final Wasps defeated regular season winners, Loug ...

. During 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 Netball ...

era, she played for

Northern Stars Northern Stars are a New Zealand netball team based in South Auckland. Since 2017 they have competed in the ANZ Premiership. The team was named after the Matariki star cluster which is also featured on the team's logo. They were grand finalis ...

and

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

Early life, family and education

Halpenny is the daughter of Kerry and Mike Halpenny. She was born in Napier but moved to the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasma ...

with her parents and brother, Patrick, when she was 10. She attended

Villa Maria College, Christchurch Villa Maria College, Christchurch, New Zealand 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 1941 the school reverted to being a girl's ...

. In 2008, Halpenny was a prominent member of the Villa Maria team that won the South Island secondary schools netball tournament. In the final at the

Edgar Centre The Edgar Centre is a large multi-purpose indoor sports venue in South Dunedin, New Zealand, on the shore of Otago Harbour close to Andersons Bay Inlet. It is the home venue of the Otago Nuggets basketball team, and an alternate venue for the S ...

, they defeated

St Kevin's College, Oamaru ('To Do and To Teach') , established = 6 February 1927; years ago , type = Integrated co-educational secondary , affiliations = Roman Catholic, Christian Brothers, Dominican Sisters , founder ...

39–28, with Halpenny scoring 24 from 25.

Playing career

Canterbury Tactix

Between

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Halpenny played for

. At the age of 14, Halpenny, along with

Julianna Naoupu Julianna Naoupu (born 1 March 1990) is a Samoan New Zealander who played for the Samoa national netball team and who plays in the ANZ Championship for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. She was a member of the Silver Ferns wider training squad si ...

, was drafted by Margaret Foster into the

Canterbury Flames Canterbury Flames were a New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, Canterbury. Between 1998 and 2007 they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. In 2008, when the National Bank Cup was replaced by the ANZ Championship, Ca ...

training squad. She was still attending Villa Maria when she was first included in Canterbury Tactix squads. She spent much of the 2008 and

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

seasons on the Tactix bench, before establishing herself as a regular in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. While playing for Tactix, Halpenny also represented Canterbury in the national provincial netball championship, helping them win titles in 2010 and 2011.

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

Between

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment ...

and 2016, Halpenny played for

. She signed for Magic ahead of the 2013 season. She subsequently partnered

Irene van Dyk Irene van Dyk (née Viljoen; born 21 June 1972) is a South African-born New Zealand netball player. A goal-shooter, van Dyk is one of the world's best-known netballers and is the most capped international player of all time: in every game she ...

, played in her first

play off and became an established member of the team. After an impressive

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

season for Magic, Halpenny was included in the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

team for the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

and 2016, she was a member of the Magic teams that won the New Zealand Conference titles.

Scottish Sirens

Ahead of the

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

season, Halpenny signed for Scottish Sirens of the

Netball Superleague The Netball Super League is a top level netball league featuring teams from the United Kingdom. The league is organised by England Netball but features teams based in Netball in England, England, Netball in Wales, Wales and Netball in Scotland, S ...

. Together with

Carla Borrego Carla Borrego (born 11 November 1983), also known as Carla Williams and Carla Williams-Borrego, is a former Jamaica netball international. She was a member of the Jamaica team that won the bronze medal at the 2003 World Netball Championships ...

Althea Byfield Althea Latoya Byfield (born 28 November 1982 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican international basketball and netball player. Byfield has represented Jamaica in both sports, and is a current member of the Jamaican netball team.< ...

, Claire Brownie and

Caroline O'Hanlon Caroline O'Hanlon is a Northern Ireland netball international and an Armagh ladies' Gaelic footballer. She has also represented Ireland at international rules. She was a member of the Northern Ireland teams at the 2003, 2011 and 2019 Netball ...

, she became a member of the inaugural Sirens squad.

Northern Stars

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, Halpenny played for

. She was a member of the Stars team that reached the 2019 ANZ Premiership grand final. However, in the grand final, they lost 52–48 to

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 ...

, finishing the season in second place overall. Together with

Leana de Bruin Leana de Bruin (née du Plooy) (born 9 July 1977) is a South African and New Zealand international netball player. De Bruin played 34 tests for South Africa before moving to New Zealand in 2000. She made her on-court debut for the Silver Ferns i ...

and

Temepara Bailey Temepara Anne Bailey (formerly Clark, née George; born 23 October 1975 in Auckland) is a New Zealand international netball player of Samoan and Māori descent. She was a member of the Silver Ferns national squad in 1996, and from 2000–2 ...

, she subsequently announced her retirement from senior netball.

Southern Steel

During the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

season, Halpenny came out of retirement and joined

as a temporary replacement player, after Steel lost two of their three attacking players to injury.

Christchurch Netball Centre

Throughout her senior netball career, Halpenny also played in local competitions organised by

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

's Netball Centre. In 2011 she was a member of the Lincoln University team that won the Premier Championship title. Her team mates included

Anna Galvan Anna Galvan (née Veronese; born 20 November 1978 in Christchurch, New Zealand) is a retired New Zealand netball player. Domestic career Galvan had a long netball career, spanning 17 years. During this time she played for two National Bank C ...

and Jane Watson. In 2013, while also playing for Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic, she played for Hearts. In 2022, Halpenny played for Saints.

International

New Zealand

In 2014 and 2015, Halpenny made 7 senior appearances for

. Between 2007 and 2011 she was a member of the New Zealand under-21 squad. She was also a member of the New Zealand team that won the gold medal at the

2010 World Netball Series The 2010 World Netball Series was the second edition of the World Netball Series, an annual international netball competition held under fastnet rules. The 2010 event was held in Liverpool, England, and was contested between the top six national n ...

. In June 2014, she was the only new cap named in the New Zealand squad for the

. She subsequently made her senior debut for New Zealand on 26 July 2014 against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

and helped the Silver Ferns claim the silver medal. In November 2014, Halpenny was a member of the New Zealand team that won the gold medal at the

2014 Fast5 Netball World Series The 2014 Fast5 Netball World Series was the sixth staging of the annual World Netball Series. The tournament was held at Vector Arena in Auckland, for the 3rd year in a row. The 2014 tournament was contested by the six top national netball teams in ...

. In the final against Australia, during the second quarter, she scored with a huge shot, worth three points, from 10 metres on the buzzer. In January 2015, Halpenny was a member of the New Zealand team that won the an Oceania Netball Series, playing in matches against Fiji and

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

Northern Ireland

Ahead of 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 match ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

attempted to draft Halpenny. Under international netball eligibility rules, Halpenny could have declared for Northern Ireland. She was willing to represent them but work commitments prevented it happening.

Police officer

In December 2019, Halpenny graduated from the

Royal New Zealand Police College The Royal New Zealand Police College (RNZPC) is the central training institution for police recruits and police officers in New Zealand. It is located at Papakowhai, approximately 2 km north of Porirua City. Recruits at the college underg ...

. While playing for

, Halpenny also served as a full-time New Zealand Police officer, based out of

Tokoroa Tokoroa ( mi, Te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere) is the fifth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the ...

Statistics

;ANZ Premiership statistics , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;",

Stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...

, , , , ?, , 6, , 58, , ?, , 1, , 3, , 22, , 27, , 11 , - style="background-color: #eaeaea" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;",

, , , , 112, , 11, , 118, , 155, , 0, , 2, , 33, , 59, , 14 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", Steel , , , 20, , 13, , 0, , 25, , 1, , 0, , 8, , 23, , 7 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=2, Career ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Honours

;

**''Runners Up'':

Fast5 Netball World Series The Fast5 Netball World Series is an international Fast5 netball competition that was contested for the first time in October 2009. The new competition features modified Fast5 rules, and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens. The ...

**''Winners'':

;

* ANZ Championship – New Zealand Conference **''Winners'':

, 2016 ;

**''Runners Up'':

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halpenny, Ellen 1990 births Living people New Zealand netball players New Zealand international netball players New Zealand international Fast5 players Netball players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games medallists in netball Mainland Tactix players Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic players Sirens Netball players Northern Stars players Southern Steel players ANZ Championship players ANZ Premiership players Netball Superleague players New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Netball players from Christchurch Sportspeople from Napier, New Zealand People educated at Villa Maria College, Christchurch People educated at Royal New Zealand Police College New Zealand police officers New Zealand people of Northern Ireland descent Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games