Sheryl Scanlan (born 8 September 1977), originally known as Sheryl Clarke, is a former netball international who has played for

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

and

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 ...

. She captained Samoa at the

1999 World Netball Championships The 1999 World Netball Championships (also known as the Vodafone World Netball Championships for sponsorship reasons) was the tenth edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Christchu ...

. She was subsequently a member of the

teams that were gold medallists at the

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 ...

and silver medallists at 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

2007 World Netball Championships The 2007 World Netball Championships was the 12th edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball co-ordinated by the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA). Sixteen nations contested t ...

. During the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup era, she played for Northern Force. During 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 ...

era, she played for

Northern Mystics Northern Mystics are a New Zealand netball team based in Auckland. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Northern in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Northern is the governing body t ...

and

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 ...

. In 2022, she was included on a list of the 25 best players to feature in

netball leagues in New Zealand 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 ...

since 1998.

Early life, family and education

Sheryl Melevahoi Clarke was born and raised in West Auckland. She is the daughter of Iafeta and Tueipi Clarke. Her family are Samoan. She was the youngest of five children. Her father was a member of the

Samoa national rugby union team The Samoa national rugby union team represents Samoa in men's international rugby union competitions. They are governed by Samoa Rugby Union and also known as "Manu Samoa", which is thought to derive from the name of a Samoan warrior. They perf ...

that won the gold medal at the

1963 South Pacific Games The 1st South Pacific Games (), also known as Suva 1963, held from 29 August to 9 September 1963 in Suva, Fiji, was the first edition of the South Pacific Games. The multisport games were established to engender bonds of friendship amongst peopl ...

. He also played club rugby for Suburbs and was a member of their first

Gallaher Shield The Gallaher Shield is awarded to the winner of the Auckland Rugby Union senior premier competition, and was first awarded in 1922. The shield is named in honour of Dave Gallaher, an early stalwart of Ponsonby, Auckland and New Zealand ...

winning team. Her brother,

Eroni Clarke Eroni Clarke (born 31 March 1969) is a New Zealand rugby union international who played for Auckland, the Blues and the Highlanders. Clarke made 155 appearances for Auckland, making him the fifth (equal with Sean Fitzpatrick) most capped play ...

is a former New Zealand rugby union international. His son and Sheryl's nephew, Caleb Clarke has also played rugby union for New Zealand. Sheryl attended

Auckland Girls' Grammar School Auckland Girls' Grammar School (AGGS) is a New Zealand secondary school for girls located in Newton, New Zealand, Newton, Auckland. Established in 1878 as Auckland Girls' High School, it is one of the oldest secondary institutions in the countr ...

. She is married to Malcolm Scanlan. Together they have a son. After retiring from netball, Sheryl and her family moved to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Playing career

National Provincial Championships

In 1995, Clarke was a member of the Auckland team that won a National Provincial Championships title. In the same year she also won titles with

and with Collegiate in the Auckland premier club competition. At NPC level, she later represented Wellington in 1999, Auckland in 2000, Waikato between 2001 and 2002 and North between 2003 and 2005. While playing for

, she played for Southland in the NPC.

Club career

Northern Force

Between 1998 and 2007, Clarke played for Northern Force in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. She represented both

and

while playing for Force. In 2003, she was a member of the Force team that were grand finalists. She missed the 2006 season due to pregnancy. However she returned in 2007.

Northern Mystics

During the

2008 ANZ Championship season The 2008 ANZ Championship season was the inaugural season of the ANZ Championship. The 2008 season began on 5 April and concluded on 28 July. Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic were minor premiers after finishing top of the table following the regula ...

, Scanlan played for

. She was a member of the inaugural Mystics team.

Southern Steel

Between

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, Scanlan played for

in the

. During the 2009 and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

season, she suffered from calf injuries, limiting her court time. After rupturing a tendon during the 2012 season, Scanlan subsequently announced she was retiring from elite netball.

International career

Samoa

Clarke captained

at the

Team Pasifika

In June 2000, Clarke was vice captain of the Team Pasifika selection that played

in a two match series. The team was coached by

Te Aroha Keenan Te Aroha Keenan is a New Zealand former netball coach and member of the Silver Ferns in the 1980s. She later coached the Cook Islands national team at the 1999 Netball World Championships, as well as a multinational Team Pasifika in a test seri ...

and also featured Teresa Tairi, Jenny-May Coffin,

Frances Solia Frances Solia (born 20 September 1976) is a Samoan netball player in the ANZ Championship, playing for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic in New Zealand. She previously played for the Central Pulse Central Pulse are a New Zealand netball tea ...

and

Vilimaina Davu Vilimaina Davu (born 15 January 1977) is a former netball international who represented both Fiji and New Zealand. She was a prominent member of the New Zealand teams that were silver medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and gold medallists ...

New Zealand

In December 1997, Clarke was included in a touring

team that played away matches 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 ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. On 17 December 1997, she made her debut for New Zealand, when they stopped off to play

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

on their way home. Clarke missed out on selection for the next two years before being recalled in 2000. In the meantime she played for

. On 25 November 2000, she returned to play for New Zealand in an away match against

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 ...

. She was subsequently a member of the New Zealand team that were silver medalists at the

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

. In the final she made a crucial intercept that proved a deciding factor in the match. She missed the

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

due to pregnancy. However, in January 2007 she was recalled by

Ruth Aitken Dame Ruth Ellina Aitken (née Fathers; born 31 July 1956) is a New Zealand former international-level netball player and former head coach of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns. Biography Aitken was born in 1956 in Paeroa ...

. and was included in the squad for the

. Scanlan continued to be included in New Zealand squads until 2009. She finished her New Zealand career win 60 plus senior appearances. In April 2022, she was one of 25 New Zealand internationals included on a list of the best players to feature in

since 1998.

Honours

;

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 ...

**''Winners'':

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

**''Runners Up'':

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

**''Runners Up'':

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

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'':

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

; Northern Force * Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup **''Runners Up'': 2003, 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scanlan, Sheryl 1977 births Living people 1999 World Netball Championships players 2003 World Netball Championships players 2007 World Netball Championships players 21st-century New Zealand sportswomen ANZ Championship players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for New Zealand Commonwealth Games gold medallists in netball Commonwealth Games silver medallists in netball Commonwealth Games silver medallists for New Zealand Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Netball players from Auckland New Zealand international netball players New Zealand netball players New Zealand sportspeople of Samoan descent Northern Force players Northern Mystics players People educated at Auckland Girls' Grammar School Samoan netball players Southern Steel players