Anna Galvan admits she’s not great on details.
The former Silver Fern struggles to pinpoint a specific match that stands out to her, despite a career spanning 17 years in the elite game and 13 tests for her country.
But ask the proud Cantabrian a strategic question on what a vision for the future looks like and her eyes light up.
“I can help paint that picture for you,” the vibrant 45-year-old says.
When it comes to foresight, the picture didn’t come any bigger than the sparkling new indoor netball facilities nestled into Ngā Puna Wai’s sports hub, ready to pack a punch in a region that’s been starved of suitable sporting venues.
Walking through those doors last week, Galvan soaked up the buzz as the general public got their first look at the centre – which boasts 10 multi-purpose indoor courts and will be home to community netball, futsal, korfball and volleyball.
Silver Fern #124, Galvan (nee Veronese) has played her part in bringing a team together to ensure the massive project was not only completed but is set to change the netball landscape in Canterbury.
“If we can do things right then this is going to transform the way netball is played in our region,” she says.
The former Canterbury Flames, Southern Sting and Tactix defender wants the new indoor centre to do for the next generation of Canterbury netballers what the courts at Hagley Park did for her as a youngster.
As a 10-year-old, Galvan and her St Joseph’s Primary School teammates got the opportunity to play a curtain-raiser for an exhibition match between the Silver Ferns and Trinidad and Tobago on the outdoor courts in the heart of the Garden City.
It was her first in-person glimpse of imposing defender and Ferns great Waimarama Taumaunu and that 1988 friendly was also the spark that fuelled a career and a passion for the sport, which shows no signs of flickering.
“I can still recall going into the old white pavilion that used to be there and having that feeling I belonged,” she says. “I have such strong memories associated with Hagley Park and with my want to go further with netball.
“To know that our new facility could do something similar for our next generation would be incredibly special.”
The seed sown at Hagley Park bloomed when she was first selected for the Silver Ferns for their historic tour to South Africa in 2000.
Galvan played her part in an era that produced a raft of quality defenders including Belinda Charteris, Sheryl Scanlan, Linda Vagana and Bernice Mene.
Her ability to cover all three defensive positions for the Canterbury Flames caught the attention of Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering. And while the details of that initial phone call informing her she’d been selected to wear the black dress are a little fuzzy, it’s the reaction from others that stands out.
“I remember our dining room table being completely covered in bunches of flowers that people had sent. It was humbling and overwhelming as a 22-year-old, but also something so special,” she says.
Galvan went on to play 13 tests, including a heartbreaking double-time thriller against Australia for the gold medal at the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games. The two-goal loss still hurts.
“I feel for people who just don’t quite get that gold medal or that first place because it hurts for a very long time. I don’t even know if you ever get over it because you’re still thinking ‘what if?’. I just remember a sense of both immense pride and disappointment all in one. That will always be fresh,” she says.
But as far as memorable games go, Galvan’s career is more about memorable people and the “kinship” of belonging to a team and the culture of netball.
That was driven home when the born-and-bred Cantabrian made the difficult decision to leave her beloved Flames and head to Invercargill to join the Southern Sting in 2003 in the old domestic league.
It was an experience like no other for Galvan, both on and off the court.
“I remember discussing the move with [husband] Hugh and we literally had the whiteboard out in the lounge with the pros and cons written up. I’d walk by the whiteboard every day and eventually went with the decision to move,” she said.
“I’ve thought about that move a lot recently with the passing of [coach] Robbie Broughton. Those days in Invercargill with the Sting were amazing. The support that we got as netballers from the region was simply outstanding. The camaraderie and the sense of family that belonging to the Sting brought was something that I’d never experienced and I’m so thankful for that.”
Those bonds remain strong and are now wrapped tightly around her eldest daughter, Isabella, now in her second year at Otago University and also playing netball for the Southern team in the National Netball League.
“Bells has the likes of Belinda Colling, Jo Morrison and Janine Southby – the people who I grew up playing with – guiding her down there. It’s amazing and if any of their daughters end up here, I would do exactly the same for them,” Galvan says.
The mum of three – to Isabella now 20, Harry, 17, and Charlotte, 15 – loves that her children are heavily involved in sport. But both she and Hugh ensure there’s no pressure to follow in anyone’s footsteps.
Galvan’s only concern is that they enjoy what they do and learn as much as they can from the team environments they find themselves in. Both Isabella and Charlotte have found their way onto a netball court but are also playing touch rugby and volleyball, while Harry’s passion is rowing.
That team environment, at varying levels, is where she’s gleaned the knowledge that she’s carried over to both her professional career and governance roles.
“When my playing days were over, I kind of wondered what skills I had to take into the next phase of my career and I think that ability to work as a team has been key,” she says. “Everyone needed to be travelling in the same direction, know their job, execute it well, and keep their head in the game. When you get these things right, the magic happens. I believe that’s the same in sport.”
Galvan now works as executive director at Te Hono – a partnership between the leaders of New Zealand’s food and fibre sector companies, iwi, and government agencies.
Those same skills were needed to help bring together a team to tackle a community netball project that had long been on the radar in Christchurch, but often only as a blip fading in and out of reach.
Made possible by funding from an anonymous benefactor, there was still a funding gap that needed to be bridged to fulfil the good intentions of many.
It was a challenge that never fazed Galvan.
Her professional career, post netball retirement in 2014, started in marketing and she worked with Farmlands and Ronald McDonald’s House South Island. Her GM fundraising and marketing role at Māia Health set her up for the governance position she was elected into at Christchurch Netball Centre, and then as board chair in 2020.
Hot on the heels of raising $ 11 million with the team at Māia Health, she knew the $5 million shortfall for the netball centre was achievable.
“I knew the board was nervous about that, but I wasn’t. I knew it could be done. It was about ensuring we had the right team, the right vision, and a powerful story of what was possible,” she says.
That vision is to be the best netball centre in New Zealand – and with the indoor centre already attracting the national secondary school championships in 2024, it’s off to a positive start.
And as Galvan comes to the end of her term with the Christchurch Netball Centre board, she knows she’s put her best foot forward for the sport in her hometown.
“Everyone knows I’ve got a lot of energy and I do go and go and go, and whenever I’m passionate about something, I just put all of my energy into it. I was passionate about this facility and what it means to our community,” she said.
“I feel really privileged to have been able to serve Christchurch netball at a time when they really needed a new way of thinking, a new school of thought, or just the new wave to come through.
“I’m very much anchored in the past, but I also have a vision for the future, and I think with those two hats I’ve been able to respect what Christchurch netball has built and created over 100 years. And then look to the future and how we could be and help facilitate that pull-through.”
It’s also served Galvan well, cherishing a sense of belonging and of family that’s come with her netball career.
“This facility is a testament to the team behind who made this happen, and along the way, I’ve been lucky enough to form friendships that will last a lifetime,” she says.
“I don’t think you can underestimate what a facility like this can do for the sport in our city. I always have two stories I tell when asked why I wanted to be a Silver Fern and one of them was about seeing my idols up close, which is something I hope this indoor centre can do for others.
“I was about eight and watching the Commonwealth Games on TV, when I wrote down in my diary that I wanted to go to the Commonwealth Games and that I wanted to be a Silver Fern.”
The second story was the opportunity to see the Silver Ferns in person at the Hagley courts.
“That moment I saw Wai Taumaunu I thought, I want to be like her. Participating in that curtain-raiser gave me a vision,” she says.
“I hope that the Christchurch Netball facility here at Ngā Puna Wai reflects the vibrant and inspiring vision that we aimed to create.”
