Samantha "Sam" Harrison (born 29 August 1991) is a New Zealand

field hockey Field hockey (or simply referred to as hockey in some countries where ice hockey is not popular) is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with 11 players in total, made up of 10 field players and a goalk ...

player. She has competed for the

New Zealand women's national field hockey team The New Zealand women's national field hockey team is also known as the Black Sticks Women. The team's best performances include a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, a third placing at the 20 ...

(''the Black Sticks Women''), including for the team at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth that was held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 201 ...

and the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Education

Born in Whangārei to Steve and Zanna Harrison, Samantha is the second of three sisters, between Charlotte and younger sister Anita. Samantha attended Whangarei Girls' High School before moving to Diocesan School for Girls in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

in Year 11 (Form 5). In the early 2010s, Harrison studied psychology at the

Auckland University of Technology Auckland University of Technology ( AUT; ) is a university in New Zealand, formed on 1 January 2000 when a former technical college (originally established in 1895) was granted university status. AUT is New Zealand's third largest university i ...

on Auckland's North Shore.

Career

Harrison was first selected for the Black Sticks Women in June 2009, along with ten other players as the Black Sticks squad was overhauled following its last-place finish at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, joining her older sister Charlotte, who had been in the team since October 2005. She played her first official match for the Black Sticks on 3 July 2009, against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

in her hometown of

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

, as part of a series of games against Argentina and China. Harrison was part of the New Zealand team that played at the

, winning a silver medal. She then participated at the 2012 Summer Olympics, where New Zealand finished fourth. In November 2012, Harrison was demoted from the Black Sticks national squad to the development squad for the 2013 year, after national coach Mark Hager felt she was suffering from

burnout Burnout or burn-out may refer to: Entertainment * ''Burnout'' (film), a 2017 Moroccan film * ''Burn Out'' (film), a 2017 French film * Burnout (ride), a Funfields amusement ride in Australia * ''Burnout'' (series), a racing game series created by ...

. At the time, Harrison spent three months in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

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 ...

, coaching hockey at

The Leys School The Leys School is a co-educational private school in Cambridge, England. It is a boarding and day school for about 565 pupils between the ages of eleven and eighteen. The head is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. ...

. 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 ...

, Harrison was part of the New Zealand team that won the women's competition. Despite Samantha being two years younger and three centimetres (1 in) taller than her sister Charlotte, once the two competed together for the Black Sticks, their similarities in appearance became apparent and they were often mistaken for each other by commentators and match officials. At club level, Harrison is a member of the Southern Districts Hockey Club, based in

Papatoetoe Papatoetoe is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest suburb in Auckland by population and is located to the northwest of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of Auckland CBD. Papatoetoe was traditionally an important area fo ...

, Auckland. In the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

, she is a member of the Auckland Fury women's team.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Samantha 1991 births Living people Field hockey players from Whangārei People educated at Whangārei Girls' High School New Zealand female field hockey players Olympic field hockey players for New Zealand Field hockey players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Field hockey players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Female field hockey midfielders Female field hockey forwards Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games field hockey players for New Zealand Commonwealth Games gold medallists in field hockey Field hockey players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Auckland University of Technology alumni Ngāpuhi people New Zealand Māori sportspeople 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen