Lyn Gunson (born 31 December 1953), also known as Lyn Parker, is a former New Zealand netball international and a former head coach of both the

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

England national netball team The England national netball team, also known as the Vitality Roses, represent England Netball in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Netball Quad Series, the Taini Jamison Trophy, the ...

s. She captained New Zealand when they won the

1985 World Games The 1985 World Games were the second edition of the World Games, an international multi-sport event held in London. Three main venues were used, the main one being the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. The opening ceremony was held at the ...

title and coached them when they retained the same title in 1989. In 1989 she was named New Zealand Coach of the Year. Between 1999 and 2008 Gunson also served as head coach and/or director of netball for

Team Bath Team Bath is the University of Bath's sporting organisation. In addition to entering teams in BUCS intervarsity competitions, Team Bath has also entered teams in national leagues and competitions. Team Bath F.C. reached the first round proper o ...

, guiding them to

Netball Superleague The Netball Super League is an elite netball league in the United Kingdom. The league is organised by England Netball but features teams based in Netball in England, England, Netball in Wales, Wales and previously Netball in Scotland, Scotland. ...

titles in 2005–06 and 2006–07.

Early life and education

Gunson is originally from Northland,

. In 1974 she graduated from 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 ...

with a Diploma in

Physical Education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

. She also gained a Masters in Business Administration from the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

. Between 1995 and 1999 she also worked as a lecturer at Waikato. She has also worked as a secondary teacher and as director of the Waikato Institute for Leisure and Sport.

Playing career

New Zealand

Between 1974 and 1985 Gunson made 70 senior appearances for

. She made her senior debut on 15 October 1974 against

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

. She first captained New Zealand in 1974 during a tour of

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 ...

while still aged 21. She became the permanent captain in 1978 at the age of 24. She subsequently captained New Zealand at the 1979 World Netball Championships, when New Zealand shared the title 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 at the

1983 World Netball Championships The 1983 World Netball Championships was the sixth edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It took place from 11 to 24 June and was held in Singapore. This edition of the tournament featured 14 te ...

when New Zealand finished as runners-up to Australia. She continued to captain New Zealand until she retired as a player. She made her final appearance for New Zealand in the

final as New Zealand defeated Australia 39–37 to win the inaugural title. Her teammates while playing for New Zealand included, among others, Rita Fatialofa,

Margaret Forsyth Margaret Hine Forsyth (28 December 1961 – 4 May 2021) was a New Zealand netball player and coach, and politician. Born in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, she was selected for the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, in 1979 at ...

, Yvonne Willering and

Waimarama Taumaunu Waimarama Taumaunu (born 18 October 1962), often known as Wai Taumaunu, is a New Zealand netball coach and former international netball player. Biography Taumaunu was born in Waipawa, New Zealand. She was a member of New Zealand's national ne ...

Coaching career

New Zealand

Between 1989 and 1993 Gunson served as head coach of

. During her three years as head coach she guided New Zealand to 45 wins in 49 tests. In her debut year as coach she guided New Zealand to eight wins out of eight. This included New Zealand winning the

1989 World Games The 1989 World Games (), commonly known as Karlsruhe 1989, were the third edition of the World Games, an international multi-sport event. This edition was held in Karlsruhe, West Germany. Titles 112 titles were awarded in 19 sports (5 invitatio ...

title and defeating Australia 3–0 in a home series of matches. She was subsequently named New Zealand Coach of the Year for 1989 while 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 ...

where named

Team of the Year Team of the Year may refer to: * BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award * Canadian Press Team of the Year Award *GPA Gaelic Team of the Year * IRB International Sevens Team of the Year * IRB International Team of the Year * J.League Team of ...

. She also served as head coach of New Zealand at the 1991 World Netball Championships. Her last tournament as head coach was the

1993 World Games The 1993 World Games (), the fourth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in The Hague, Netherlands. Titles 155 titles were awarded in 23 sports (not including invitational sports — aikido, equestrian vaulting, indoor tug o ...

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

Between 1999 and 2000 Gunson coached

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton. The team were formed in 1998, following the merger of Waikato Wildcats and Bay of Plenty Magic. In 1997, Wildcats and Magic had been founder members of the Coca-Col ...

's Coco-Cola Cup.

Team Bath

Between 1999 and 2008 Gunson served as head coach and/or director of netball for

. She initially arrived at the

University of Bath The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...

to study for a doctorate. During the

Super Cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

era, she guided Team Bath to the 2004 title. As director of netball she subsequently oversaw Team Bath as they won the inaugural

title in 2005–06 and then retain it in 2006–07. During her time with Team Bath she helped mentor the next generation of English netball coaches, including Tamsin Greenway and Jess Thirlby. In 2015 Gunson was inducted into the University of Bath/Team Bath Hall of Fame for Sport. In 2019 Team Bath renamed the trophy awarded to the winners of their pre-season tournament after Gunson. Saracens Mavericks subsequently won the inaugural Lyn Gunson Trophy.

England

Between 2002 and 2003 Gunson served as head coach of

. She had previously served as an assistant coach. She was the England head coach at both the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

and

2003 World Netball Championships The 2003 World Netball Championships were the eleventh edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica from 10 to 20 July. After 100 matches, New Zeala ...

Later years

In 2008 Gunson returned to

where she remained involved with netball. Between 2008 and 2011 she served as director of netball for Netball North Harbour. She later worked as a Coaching Consultant at the New Zealand Academy of Sport North Island.

Honours

Player

;

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 ...

**''Shared'':

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 ...

**''Runners Up'':

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

**''Winners'': 1985

Head coach

;

**''Winners'': 1989 **''Runners Up'': 1993 * New Zealand Team of the Year **''Winners'': 1989 *

**''Runners Up'':

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

;Individual * New Zealand Coach of the Year **''Winner'': 1989 ;

**''Winners'': 2005–06, 2006–07 *

**''Winners'': 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunson, Lyn Living people 1953 births New Zealand international netball players New Zealand national netball team coaches New Zealand netball players New Zealand netball coaches Netball players at the 1985 World Games England national netball team coaches Team Bath (netball) coaches Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic coaches Netball Superleague coaches New Zealand expatriate netball people in England University of Otago alumni University of Waikato alumni Academic staff of the University of Waikato Alumni of the University of Bath New Zealand schoolteachers 1975 World Netball Championships players 1979 World Netball Championships players 1983 World Netball Championships players National Bank Cup coaches World Games gold medalists for New Zealand World Games medalists in netball Medalists at the 1985 World Games 20th-century New Zealand sportswomen