Leigh Helen Gibbs (, born 1956) is a New Zealand retired

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 who played for the national team on 61 occasions and was captain for the

1987 World Netball Championships The 1987 World Netball Championships was the seventh edition of the INF Netball World Cup held in Glasgow, Scotland. This quadrennial premier event in international netball featured 17 teams, and included the debut of Cook Islands. The format of ...

when New Zealand won the gold medal. She was made an Officer 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 ...

(ONZM) in 2001.

Early life

Leigh Helen Gibbs (née Mills) was born in

Gisborne, New Zealand Gisborne is a List of cities in New Zealand, city in northeastern New Zealand and the largest settlement in the Gisborne District (or Gisborne Region). It has a population of Gisborne District Council has its headquarters in the central city. ...

on 17 July 1956. She was educated at

Lytton High School Lytton High School is a co-educational state secondary school in Gisborne, New Zealand for students in Years 9 to 13. History Gisborne High School was the first and only state secondary school in Gisborne between 1909 and 1955. It was a co-edu ...

in Gisborne. She obtained a diploma in physical education at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, following this with a one-year course to obtain an education diploma at the

Christchurch College of Education The Faculty of Education is a faculty of the University of Canterbury. Formerly the Christchurch College of Education, It was founded in 1877, and in 2007 it was merged with the university and became a fully fledged faculty. The educationalist ...

Netball career

Gibbs represented

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

in netball from 1974 to 1976 and

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

from 1977 to 1986. She was called up to play for the

New Zealand national netball team The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns ( or ), represent Netball New Zealand in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Netball at the Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth Games, the ...

, later called the ''Silver Ferns'', in 1978 and played for them until 1987. She was captain in 1986 and 1987, being in that role when New Zealand dominated the

1987 Netball World Championships The 1987 World Netball Championships was the seventh edition of the INF Netball World Cup held in Glasgow, Scotland. This quadrennial premier event in international netball featured 17 teams, and included the debut of Cook Islands. The format of ...

, which were held in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. She also played in the

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

and 1983 world championships.

Coaching

Gibbs was a New Zealand netball umpire from 1987 to 1993. She started coaching the Canterbury Flames in 1988 and coached the New Zealand Under-21 team in 1991 and 1992 when the team won the Under-21 World Championship. She became the ''Silver Ferns sixth coach, when she was appointed to lead the team in 1994. She coached the team in the

1995 Netball World Championships The 1995 World Netball Championships was the ninth edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Birmingham, England and featured a record 27 teams. South Africa returned to competitio ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England, when New Zealand finished in a disappointing third place. She left the role in mid-1997. Having spent a season coaching in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, Gibbs was the Talent Development Coordinator for Netball New Zealand from 2002 and was an assistant coach to

Ruth Aitken Dame Ruth Ellina Aitken (née Fathers; born 31 July 1956) is a New Zealand former international-level netball player and former head coach of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns. Biography Aitken was born in 1956 in Paeroa ...

for the ''Silver Ferns'' when the team won a gold medal at the 2003 Netball World Championships and 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 ...

. From 2012 to 2014 she coached the

Mainland Tactix Mainland Tactix are a New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, Canterbury. Between 1998 and 2007, as Canterbury Flames, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Champions ...

. In 2021 she joined the

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

Netball Centre in New Zealand as the manager, after having spent the previous five years working in Australia at the

Queensland State Netball Centre The Queensland State Netball Centre, also known commercially as Nissan Arena, is a multi-purpose facility located in the southern Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The centre features a 5,000 seat indoor arena that is the home court of Super Netball ...

Honours and awards

Gibbs was appointed an

Officer 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 on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have r ...

, for services to netball, in the

2001 New Year Honours The 2001 New Year Honours List is one of the annual New Year Honours, a part of the British honours system, where New Year's Day, 1 January, is marked in several Commonwealth countries by appointing new members of orders of chivalry and recipie ...

. She received a place on the "Wall of Fame" of the School of Physical Education at the University of Otago in 2006. She was made the 32nd honorary life member of Netball New Zealand in 2017. In the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

, Gibbs was promoted to

Companion 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 on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

, for services to netball.

Personal life

She married Steve Gibbs and they have two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Leigh 1956 births Living people New Zealand international netball players 1979 World Netball Championships players 1983 World Netball Championships players 1987 World Netball Championships players New Zealand netball umpires New Zealand netball coaches New Zealand national netball team coaches ANZ Championship coaches National Bank Cup coaches Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit Sportspeople from Gisborne, New Zealand Netball players at the 1985 World Games 20th-century New Zealand sportswomen