Irene van Dyk facts for kids
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Van Dyk in 2010
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Irene van Dyk (née Viljoen) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 June 1972 Vereeniging, Gauteng, South Africa |
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| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Primary school teacher | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | Christie van Dyk | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | Bianca van Dyk | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Netball career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position(s): GS, GA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Club team(s) | Apps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Capital Shakers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2013 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2016 | Central Pulse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Correct as of 6 March 2014) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | National team(s) | Caps | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1999 | South Africa | 72 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2014 | New Zealand | 145 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Correct as of 5 June 2014) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Irene van Dyk (born 21 June 1972) is a famous netball player. She was born in South Africa but later became a citizen of New Zealand. Irene played as a goal-shooter and is known as one of the best netballers in the world.
She has played more international games than any other netball player in history. Irene played for South Africa 72 times, starting in 1994. In 2000, she moved to Wellington, New Zealand. She quickly joined the New Zealand national team, called the Silver Ferns.
Irene was named the New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year in 2003. She became a New Zealand citizen in 2005. She played for New Zealand for 14 years before stopping international netball in 2014.
She also played for club teams like the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic and the Central Pulse. Later, she took on coaching roles.
Contents
About Irene van Dyk
Early Life and Family
Irene van Dyk was born Irene Viljoen in Vereeniging, South Africa. She married Christie van Dyk in 1994. They have one daughter named Bianca.
Irene is also a teacher. She has taught in both primary and intermediate schools. A book about her life, called Changing Colours, was written in 2002.
Playing for South Africa
Irene started playing for the South African national team in 1994. She played 72 games for them and was even the team captain.
In 1995, she helped South Africa win a silver medal at the 1995 Netball World Championships. They beat New Zealand in one game but lost to Australia in the final.
Moving to New Zealand
Irene van Dyk moved to New Zealand in 2000. This was a big step in her netball career.
Winning Medals: Commonwealth Games
In 2002, Irene won a silver medal with the New Zealand team at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England. They had a very close final game against Australia, losing by only two goals after extra time.
At the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, New Zealand faced Australia again in the final. Irene played a fantastic game. New Zealand won the gold medal, beating Australia 60–55. Irene scored 300 goals in that tournament, which was the highest total.
In 2010, Irene was chosen to lead the New Zealand team at the Opening Ceremony in Delhi. This was a huge honor. She also became the player with the most games played for the Silver Ferns, passing 110 games. New Zealand won gold again, beating Australia 66–64 in another exciting final. Irene scored 25 goals in that final game.
World Championship Wins
In 2003, the Silver Ferns won the Netball World Championships in Kingston, Jamaica. They beat Australia 49–47 in the final. Irene was amazing, scoring 41 goals out of 43 attempts. This was a huge win because the Silver Ferns had not won a major event since 1987.
Amazing Achievements and Records
Irene continued to play incredibly well for New Zealand. In 2004, she helped turn a game around against Australia by scoring 24 goals without missing.
In 2005, the Silver Ferns beat Australia 50–43 in a special game. Irene was a key player in this win. She also helped her club team, Waikato Magic, win their first National Bank Cup title in 2005. This ended a six-year winning streak by another team.
On 23 September 2009, Irene played her 100th game for New Zealand. This was a big milestone in her career.
In June 2012, Irene celebrated her 40th birthday. She said she had no plans to stop playing netball. In the 2012 ANZ Championship season, she scored 501 goals, the most in the tournament. She also led her team, the Magic, to win the Grand Final. They became the first New Zealand team to win the ANZ Championship.
Retiring from International Netball
In 2014, Irene van Dyk joined the Central Pulse team. Her scoring average was a bit lower than in previous years.
On 5 June 2014, Irene announced that she was retiring from international netball. She felt her performance was not quite at the international level anymore.
Her international career lasted 20 years. She played a total of 217 games: 72 for South Africa and 145 for New Zealand. She scored an incredible 5917 goals out of 6572 shots, which is a 90% shooting record. For the Silver Ferns alone, she scored 4796 goals.
See also
- New Zealand national netball team
