Shadine van der Merwe (born 25 November 1992) is a South Africa netball international. She has represented South Africa at the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

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 ...

and at the

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2023 Netball World Cup The 2023 Netball World Cup (formerly known as the Vitality Netball World Cup 2023) was the sixteenth staging of the Netball World Cup, the premier competition in international netball, contested every four years. The tournament was held from 28 J ...

s. In South Africa, she played for UP-Tuks in Varsity Netball and for

Gauteng Jaguars Gauteng Jaguars are a netball in South Africa, South African netball team based at the University of Pretoria. Since 2014 in South Africa, 2014, together with Gauteng Golden Fireballs, they have represented Gauteng in the Telkom Netball League. ...

in the

Brutal Fruit Netball Cup The Premier Netball League is the top level netball league featuring teams from South Africa. It was formed in 2014 and is organised by Netball South Africa. Between 2014 and 2018, due to sponsorship and naming rights arrangements, the league w ...

. In 2017 she captained both teams to national titles. She has since played for

Surrey Storm Surrey Storm was an English netball team based at the University of Surrey. Their senior team played in the Netball Super League between 2005 and 2024. Between 2001 and 2005 they played in the Super Cup as London Hurricanes. After forming a p ...

Manchester Thunder Manchester Thunder are an English netball team based in Manchester. Their senior team plays in the Netball Super League. In 2005–06, Thunder were founding members of the league. They were Super League champions in 2012, 2014, 2019 and 2022 ...

and

Loughborough Lightning Loughborough Lightning may refer to one of three women's sports teams based at Loughborough University: * Loughborough Lightning (netball) * Loughborough Lightning (cricket) * Loughborough Lightning (rugby union) {{disambiguation ...

in the

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. ...

and for

Adelaide Thunderbirds Adelaide Thunderbirds are an netball in Australia, Australian professional netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Since 2017 Suncorp Super Netball season, 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 ANZ Championship s ...

Suncorp Super Netball The Super Netball League (known predominantly by its sponsored name Suncorp Group, Suncorp Super Netball (SSN)) is a professional netball league in Netball in Australia, Australia. It superseded the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship, which also inc ...

Early life and education

Shadine van der Merwe was born and raised in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. As well as playing

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 ...

, in her youth, she played for the junior South Africa women's national softball team. She also won a bronze medal in the

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

at the 2010 Junior SA Track and Field Championship. After being spotted by netball head coach, Jenny van Dyk, she was offered a scholarship at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

and subsequently earned a Masters in Education. Van der Merwe is an

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

speaker.

Playing career

UP Tuks

Between 2014 and 2017, van der Merwe played for UP-Tuks in Varsity Netball. In 2014, she was a member of the Tuks team that finished as runners-up to Kovsies. She was also named the Players’ Player of the Varsity Series and named in the Team of the Tournament. Ahead of the 2015 season, she was named Tuks captain. However, in her first match during the season, she suffered a season-ending

ACL injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during in ...

. In 2016, she captained Tuks when they again finished as runners up, this time to Pukke. She was also named the 2016 Player of the Tournament. In 2017, she captained Tuks when they won their first title after defeating Pukke 43–41 in the final.

Gauteng Jaguars

Between 2014 and 2018, van der Merwe played for

, playing in five successive

finals. In 2017 and 2018 she captained Jaguars when they won their first two titles. In 2015, 2016 and 2017 she was named Defender of the Tournament. She also played for Jaguars in the

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and

2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club The 2018 Netball New Zealand Super Club was the second edition of Netball New Zealand's invitational tournament. With a team coached by Yvette McCausland-Durie, captained by Katrina Grant and featuring Karin Burger, Aliyah Dunn, Ameliaranne E ...

tournaments.

Surrey Storm

Between 2018 and

, van der Merwe played for

. Her team mates at Storm included fellow South Africa netball international,

Sigrid Burger Sigrid Burger also simply known as Sigi Burger (born 23 February 1996) is a South African netball player who plays in the positions of goal shooter. UK She was also part of the South African squad which finished at fourth position at the 2019 Ne ...

. She received Storm's 2019 Best and Fairest Award.

Adelaide Thunderbirds

Between

and

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 ...

, van der Merwe played for

, making 36

appearances. She initially signed for Thunderbirds as a replacement player for the injured

Beth Cobden Beth Cobden (born 3 February 1993) is an England netball international. She was a member of the England teams that won gold medals at the 2017 Fast5 Netball World Series and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. At club level, she was a member of the ...

. She made her Thunderbirds debut in a 2019 Round 6 match against

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) * Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'g ...

. She subsequently became a permanent player in

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 ...

and a member of the leadership team in 2021. Her team mates at Thunderbirds included fellow South Africa netball international,

Lenize Potgieter Lenize Potgieter (born 2 May 1994) is a South African professional netball player who currently plays for Manchester Thunder and the South African national team. Early life Potgieter was born in Polokwane, Limpopo before moving to Pretori ...

Manchester Thunder

Between 2021 and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, van der Merwe played for

, making 38

appearances. She was a member of the Thunder team that won the

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 ...

title. In 2024, van der Merwe was a member of the Thunder team that finished as runners-up, losing 70–54 to

in the grand final.

Loughborough Lightning

In September 2024, van der Merwe was named as a member the

squad for the 2025 Netball Superleague season.

South Africa

In 2013, van der Merwe was a member of a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Invitational team that won the

2013 Diamond Challenge The 2013 Diamond Challenge was the second Diamond Challenge netball series. It featured South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The series was played in October 2013 at the NMMU Indoor Sports Centre at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth. Sou ...

. In 2015, she made her senior debut for South Africa against

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 ...

during the 2015 Netball Europe Open Championships. She had previously represented South Africa at under-21 level. However, she missed out on selection for the

2015 Netball World Cup The Netball World Cup Sydney 2015 (NWC2015) was the 14th edition of the INF Netball World Cup, the premier competition in international netball. It was held from 7–16 August, in Sydney, Australia, which secured hosting rights after defeating a ...

and, after suffering an

, she struggled to regain her place in the national team. In 2018 she made a comeback and was called up for the January 2018 Netball Quad Series. She subsequently represented South Africa at the

and

and at the

and

s. She captained South Africa at the

2018 Fast5 Netball World Series The 2018 Fast5 Netball World Series was the 9th Fast5 Netball World Series. Australia hosted England, Jamaica, Malawi, New Zealand and South Africa in a series, played in October 2018, at the Melbourne Arena. With a team coached by Debbie Fulle ...

. She was named MVP/Player of the Series for both the 2019 series against England and the 2020 series against Malawi. Ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games,

Netball South Africa Netball South Africa is the main governing body for netball in South Africa. It is affiliated to World Netball and Africa Netball. It is responsible for organising and administering the South Africa national netball team, the South Africa me ...

awarded players professional contracts for the first time. Van der Merwe was one of 24 players to receive a contract. At the same tournament, van der Merwe earned her 50th test cap for South Africa in a match against

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Coaching career

In 2024, van der Merwe served as an assistant coach to

Erin Burger Erin Burger (born 10 February 1987) is a former South Africa netball international. Between 2007 and 2019, Burger made 120 senior appearances for South Africa. She was the first South Africa netball international to make 100 test appearances. W ...

for UP-Tuks.

Honours

;

* Africa Netball Cup **''Winners'':

* Diamond Challenge **''Winners'':

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 ...

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 ...

* World University Netball Championship **''Winners'':

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 ...

* Netball Europe Open Championships **''Runners Up'':

;

**''Winners'':

**''Runners up'':

;

**''Winners'': 2017, 2018 **''Runners up'': 2014, 2015, 2016 ; UP-Tuks * Varsity Netball **''Winners'': 2017 **''Runners up'': 2014, 2016

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:van der Merwe, Shadine 1992 births Living people South African netball players South Africa international Fast5 players South African netball coaches UP-Tuks Netball players Gauteng Jaguars players Surrey Storm players Adelaide Thunderbirds players Manchester Thunder players Loughborough Lightning netball players Premier Netball League (South Africa) players Varsity Netball players Suncorp Super Netball players Netball Superleague players Netball players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games netball players for South Africa 2019 Netball World Cup players 2023 Netball World Cup players South African expatriate netball people in Australia South African expatriate netball people in England Netball players from Pretoria University of Pretoria alumni Afrikaans-speaking people 21st-century South African sportswomen