Samantha Winders (born 5 June 1995), previously known as Samantha Sinclair, is a New Zealand netball international. She represented

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 ...

at the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

and was a prominent member of the New Zealand team that won the 2021 Constellation Cup. She captained New Zealand for the third test 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

2021 Taini Jamison Trophy Series The 2021 Taini Jamison Trophy Series, also known as the 2021 Cadbury Netball Series, was the 12th Taini Jamison Trophy series. It featured New Zealand playing England in three netball test matches, played in September 2021. All three tests we ...

. She was subsequently named the 2021 Silver Fern Player of the Year. Between

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 ...

and

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 ...

, she played for

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 ...

, initially in 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 ...

and later 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 ...

. Between 2020 and 2022, she served as Magic captain.

Early life, family and education

Sinclair was born and raised in

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

. She is the daughter of Jamie and Justine Sinclair. Between 2007 and 2013 she attended John Paul College, Rotorua, where she was deputy head girl. Between 2014 and 2017 she attended 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 ...

on a scholarship and subsequently became a Bachelor of Management Studies. In 2019, Sinclair married Josef Winders, a fellow University of Waikato alumni and a BMX rider who has represented New Zealand.

Playing career

Early years

Sinclair represented John Paul College in national secondary schools tournaments. Her school coaches included

Coral Palmer Coral Palmer was a New Zealand netball player who represented her country on seven occasions, including in the 1971 world championships. She later became a netball coach. Playing career Coral Palmer was born on 13 July 1942. She played netball ...

, a former a New Zealand netball international. She also represented Bay of Plenty in the Lois Muir Challenge tournament.

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

Between

and

, Winders made 123 senior appearances for

, initially in the

and later in the

. As Samantha Sinclair, she first attracted the attention of Magic while still attending John Paul College. She began training with Magic in 2011. She attended trials for the

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 ...

season but was not offered a contract until the 2014 season. In both 2013 and 2014, she was a member of the Waikato Bay of Plenty teams that won

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 ...

's national under-23 tournament. She made her senior debut for Magic on 1 March 2014 in a

Round 1 Round 1 may refer to: * ''Round 1'' (EP), a 2011 EP by C-REAL * "Round 1" (song), a 2010 song by Dalmatian * ''Round 1'', an album by Eraser vs Yöjalka * Round One Corporation, a Japan-based amusement store chain. See also * '' Round One: The ...

70–46 win against

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 ...

, coming on at centre to replace

Courtney Tairi Courtney Tairi (born 15 July 1988) is a former New Zealand netball international. She also represented Australia at under-21 level. She was a member of the Australia team that won the 2009 World Youth Netball Championships. During the ANZ Cha ...

for the fourth quarter. In

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 ...

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 ...

, she was a member of the Magic teams that won the New Zealand Conference. Between 2020 and 2022, Winders served as Magic captain. On 30 May

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 ...

, Winders made her 100th senior league appearance in a match against

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 ...

Southern Steel

In July 2022, it was announced that Winders would be joining

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 ...

for the 2023 ANZ Premiership season.

New Zealand

Between 2011 and 2013, Sinclair represented New Zealand at schoolgirl level, playing in three Trans-Tasman Secondary Schools Netball Tournaments. In 2013, together with Jamie-Lee Price, she co-captained the New Zealand team that won the tournament. In June 2015, Sinclair was called up for trials for the senior

team. She was a member of the New Zealand team that won the

2016 Fast5 Netball World Series The 2016 Fast5 Netball World Series was the 7th Fast5 Netball World Series. Australia hosted England, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand and South Africa in a series, played in October 2016, at Melbourne's Hisense Arena. With a team coached by Kiri Wil ...

. In November 2016 she was included in the senior New Zealand for the first time. Sinclair made her senior debut for New Zealand on 28 January 2017 against

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 ...

during a 2017 Netball Quad Series match. She went on to represent New Zealand at the

. After missing out on several tournaments, including 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 ...

, Sinclair, now Winders, was recalled for the 2020 Taini Jamison Trophy Series. She was a prominent member of the New Zealand team that won the 2021 Constellation Cup. On 24 September 2021, Winders captained New Zealand for the third test against

during the

. She was subsequently named the 2021 Silver Fern Player of the Year. However, she was left out of the team for the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

Honours

;

Constellation Cup The Constellation Cup is an international netball competition contested by Australia and New Zealand. The competition features a series of test matches. The two teams have competed for the trophy since 2010. Australia won the inaugural series a ...

**''Winners'':

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'':

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

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'':

;

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

;Individual Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winders, Samantha 1995 births Living people New Zealand netball players New Zealand international netball players New Zealand international Fast5 players Netball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic players Southern Steel players ANZ Championship players ANZ Premiership players Sportspeople from Rotorua People educated at John Paul College, Rotorua University of Waikato alumni 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen