Casey Kopua facts for kids
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Kopua in 2011
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Casey May Kopua (née Williams) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 19 June 1985 Hamilton, New Zealand |
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| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Matamata College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Waikato | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Terry Kopua | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Married | 1 December 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Netball career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position(s): GK, GD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Club team(s) | Apps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2015, 2018–2019 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Correct as of 30 July 2019) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | National team(s) | Caps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2015, 2019 | New Zealand | 112 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Correct as of 30 July 2019) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Casey May Kopua (born 19 June 1985) is a famous retired New Zealand netball player. She was the captain of the Silver Ferns, which is New Zealand's national netball team. She also led the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic team.
Contents
Netball Career Highlights
Casey Kopua joined the Silver Ferns in 2004. She played her first game in 2005 against Barbados. Before that, she helped the New Zealand Under 21 team win a gold medal. This was at the 2005 World Youth Netball Championships in Florida.
Winning Medals
Casey won many important medals during her career. She earned gold medals at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games. She also won gold at the 2009 World Netball Series. Casey won silver medals at the 2007 and 2011 World Netball Championships.
Becoming Captain
In 2008, Casey was a co-captain for the Silver Ferns. Later that year, she became the acting captain. In July 2009, Casey Kopua officially became the 23rd captain of the Silver Ferns. She took over after Julie Seymour retired.
Playing for the Magic
Casey played her entire club career with the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic team. She started playing for them in 2003. In 2008, she was named the best player in the ANZ Championship. She even won a new car for this award!
Special Recognition
In 2011, Casey Kopua received a special award. She was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. This award was for her great contributions to netball in New Zealand.
Injury and Comeback
On 11 October 2014, Casey made history. She played her 63rd game as captain of the Silver Ferns. This made her the most capped New Zealand netball captain ever. During that game, she suffered a serious knee injury. She had surgery a few days later to fix it.
In 2017, Casey announced she was retiring from the Silver Ferns. She said she would still play for the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic. But she would not play for the national team anymore. However, she was convinced to return for the 2019 Netball World Cup. New Zealand went on to win the World Cup! Casey was named the best player in the final game. She retired from netball for good after this amazing win.
Personal Life
In December 2012, Casey married Terry Kopua, a lawyer from Hamilton. They have three children. Their first child, a daughter, was born in May 2016. Casey had a second child, a boy, in 2020. Their third child, another son, was born on Christmas Eve 2021.
