Dame Lois Joan Muir (née Osborne; born 16 April 1935) is a 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 ...

coach and administrator, and a former representative netball and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. Muir represented New Zealand in two sports, playing with the Tall Ferns from 1952 to 1962 and the

Silver Ferns 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 Commonwealth Games, the Taini Jamison Trophy, the Constell ...

, player #27, from 1960 to 1963. She later became head coach (#4) of the

for 15 years from 1974 to 1988. During this time she coached the Silver Ferns to World Championships gold in 1979 (jointly with

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

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...

) and in 1987. Born in Mataura on 16 April 1935, Muir was educated at Gore High School. In 1949, at the age of 14, she played her first National game when her Southland Center Netball team won their regional tournament and then went on to the National competition. She later attended

Otago Girls' High School Otago Girls' High School (OGHS) is a secondary school in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. It was opened 6 February 1871, after a long campaign by Learmonth Whyte Dalrymple. It is one of the oldest girls state-run secondary school in the Southern Hem ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

. In 1955, she married Murray Muir, and the couple went on to have three children. Muir was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

, for services to netball, in the

1984 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1984 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countri ...

, and was inducted into the

New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame The New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame is an organisation commemorating New Zealand's greatest sporting triumphs. It was inaugurated as part of the New Zealand sesquicentenary celebrations in 1990. Some 160 members have been inducted into the hall ...

in 1993. With the start of the Coca-Cola Cup (later 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 ...

) in 1998, she became coach of the Capital Shakers team. In August 1998, Muir was diagnosed with breast cancer. She continued to coach the Shakers until the end of the 2000 season. She also took up a coaching position with the Otago Rebels until the end of 2005. In the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours, Muir was appointed as a

Distinguished 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 r ...

in recognition of services to sports administration and netball. She accepted redesignation as a

Dame 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 ...

in 2009, following the restoration of titular honours by the New Zealand government. In 2024, in celebration of the centennial of

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 ...

, Muir was named as one of the inaugural 12 inductees to the

Netball New Zealand Hall of Fame The Netball New Zealand Hall of Fame is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to New Zealanders who have been influential in netball and have dedicated their lives to the betterment of the game. Inductees may come from all areas of netball, and may ...

, and was one of three who were elevated to Icon status.

References

External links

Lois Muir profile
nzhalloffame.co.nz; retrieved 13 March 2017. {{DEFAULTSORT:Muir, Lois 1935 births Living people New Zealand women's basketball players New Zealand netball players New Zealand netball coaches New Zealand netball administrators New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Dames Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit People educated at Otago Girls' High School People from Mataura Sportspeople awarded damehoods New Zealand national netball team coaches People educated at Gore High School 1963 World Netball Championships players National Bank Cup coaches Capital Shakers coaches 20th-century New Zealand sportswomen