Maitland Netball Association's longest serving member Noeline Boyce reflects on a lifetime in the sport

The association is celebrating its 75^th year in 2022, and Mrs Boyce is celebrating her 70^th as a member.

While she didn't start playing until 1952, she was there at the first association meeting 75 years ago.

Mrs Boyce has held just about every position at the association, from president to secretary "you name it, I've done it," she said.

In the news:

Mrs Boyce and her late husband Colin are the only married couple to have life membership status at Maitland Netball Association.

Mr Boyce always supported his wife's passion for the sport, doing a lot of work on the old club house and painting the courts.

"He was involved in netball for 25 to 30 years," Mrs Boyce said.

"He did that to support me because he knew I'd never give the sport away."

These days, Mrs Boyce is still a member of Maitland RSL Netball Club, and still attends the games every Saturday after retiring from coaching last year.

"I coached up until last year and I'm just enjoying going around talking to people and watching people this year," she said.

"I coached a little 12 year old team - I like the little ones, they're eager to learn."

Mrs Boyce starting playing for Bradford Cotton Mills in 1952 and played on representative teams for Maitland for a decade.

She kept playing until 1982, umpired until 2019 and coached until 2021.

In her playing days, Mrs Boyce played either goal keeper or goal shooter, and said the sport is so special because it takes a team.

"It's a team sport, it's not individual, it takes seven people to win the game," she said. "I love the sport."

Mrs Boyce has seen netball in Maitland change a lot over the years - when she started playing there were only 12 teams, and now there are over 250.

"The sport today is a faster game and a tighter game than when it first started off," she said.

"Some of the rules over the years have changed; now you can only hold the ball for three seconds, when I started out you could hold the ball to shoot for goal for six seconds.

"It's a more physical game than what it was when I started out, it was a bit more ladylike. It's very close contact now." Mrs Boyce has two sons, Darren and Jaimie, and six grandchildren.

"One lives in Newcastle and one lives just around the corner," she said.

Darren and Jaimie inherited their mother's sporting bug, and played rugby league from five-years-old until their twenties, and in the summer they played cricket.

One of Mrs Boyce's grandsons plays rugby league, one plays union and one of her granddaughters plays netball for Maitland Blacks. "I love watching her play," she said.

Mrs Boyce is getting ready to celebrate her 91^st birthday on August 21, and said in all her years she has only left Maitland to go on holiday.

"My favourite thing to do around Maitland is go and watch my grandson play rugby, go to the netball every Saturday, and other than that I like to knit and I like to crochet, and I like being out in the yard in my garden," she said.

"My main thing with Maitland netball is I have worked with and met some marvelous people, some beautiful ladies."