He kainetipōro, he kaiako, he kaiwawao, waihoki, he pirihimana a Tāriana Michelle Stagg ki Te Waipounamu. Nā tōna ara mahi kua kitea ia ki wāhi kē, mahi ai, tākaro ai puta noa i te motu.
He hononga karioi tā Ngā Pirihimana o Aotearoa ki Netipōro Aotearoa, he aronga ki ngā mahi whakatairanga whakahoia, ā, koia kei a Michelle, he kahurangi ki te kōti i tērā tau toa ai i te Kaiwawao Netipōro o te tau mō Te Tau Ihu.
Heoi, kua toa a Michelle i tēnei whakawhiwhinga mō te hia nei tau.
Hei tāna, “kua whai wāhi au ki te rōpū kaiwawao Netipōro Ā-motu mō Aotearoa mō ngā tau e rua, he pai ki a au ngā wero o te mahi kaiwawao, ā, e whakawhetai ana mō ngā tini whiwhinga kua horahia mōku.”
Kua whakawhiwhia hoki a Michelle ki te whakawhiwhinga Ratonga Netipōro mō Te Tau Ihu mō tana takoha ki te tāone, ā, i tērā tau i tīpakohia ia hei kaiwawao mō te kēmu whakakapinga o te Rōpū Netipōro Ā-motu.
“I tēnei tau, kua kaiwawao au i taku kēmu ANZ tuatahi, ā, he hōnore nui mōku.”
Hei tā Michelle, i noho tangata whenua ngā mahi kaiwawao ki a ia, ā, ka mihia e ia tōna mōhiotanga ā-pirihimana kua whakamana i a ia hei aumangea, hei tangata mau, hei tangata matatika hoki, kua ārahi i a ia kia whakawhanake i tōna anō mana ki ngā kaitākaro me ngā kaiako.
“I tīmata au ki te tākaro i te netipōro ki te kura tuatahi, ā, i haere tonu ki roto i ngā tau me ngā tīma māngai tuākana mō Te Tau Ihu me Tahīmana. Kua whai wāhi hoki au ki te whakaako i te netipōro, ā, i tīmata ēnei mahi i te kura tuarua.”
I uru atu a Michelle ki Ngā Pirihimana i te Noema i te tau 1999, ā, tīmata tōna ara Pirihimana ki Te Awakairangi, i mua i tana hokinga atu ki tōna kāinga, ki Ōpawa. I āna mahi ki Ngā Pirihimana, kua pirihimana aroākapa, kua kaitātari, kua kairapuhara ia, ā, i tēnei wā tonu he Tāriana ia mō tētahi Tīma Ārai Marea (PST). Kua whēuaua nā ngā mahi tīpako, mahi tākaro, mahi kaiako me te mahi kaiwawao hoki, heoi, nā te raungāwari o ngā rārangi pirihimana, ka taea.
Hei tā Michelle, “i haere au ki Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha, ā, nōku i reira i tākaro netipōro. Koinei hoki te wā i aro tuatahi au ki ngā mahi kaiwawao, engari, kāore au i aro mārika tae rā anō ki te tau 2009.”
“Nō ēnei tau e rua kua hipa, kāore au e taea te whakaako nōku i piri ki aku mahi kaiwawao, engari, ka hoki au ki ēnei mahi i te wā ka taea.”
Hei tāna, “nā aku mahi hei pirihimana, he mea nui te hapori ki a au, kua roa nei au e matenui ana ki te whakahoki ki tōku hapori. He pai ki a au te noho hei tauira mō ngā taitamariki.
Hei tāna, “inā noa atu ngā uara pirihimana e hāngai ana ki aku mahi kaiwawao netipōro pērā i te ngaio, te whakaute, te aroha, te ngākau pono me te whaipainga i te kanorautanga - he whanonga pai.”
Lofty goals courting great results
Sergeant Michelle Stagg was named Marlborough Netball Umpire of the Year last year.
Sergeant Michelle Stagg is a netballer, coach, umpire and a South Island-based police officer. Her long career has seen her work and play in a few different places around the motu.
New Zealand Police has a long-term partnership with Netball New Zealand with a focus on recruitment marketing so it’s particularly good that Michelle, who’s a high achiever on the court, last year won the Marlborough Netball Umpire of the Year.
But in saying that, Michelle has won this award for several years in a row.
“I have been part of the Netball New Zealand National Umpire squad for the last couple of years," she says. "I love the challenge of umpiring and feel grateful for the opportunities that it has given me."
Michelle’s also been awarded a Marlborough Netball Service Award for her contribution to Marlborough, and last season she was selected to umpire the final of the National Netball League.
“This year, I have umpired my first ANZ premiership game which was a real privilege.”
Michelle says umpiring came quite naturally to her and credits her policing background with giving her the resilience and a firm but fair manner that has led her to develop a good rapport with players and coaches.
“I started playing netball at primary school and went through playing in age-group and senior rep teams for Marlborough and Tasman. I’ve also been involved in coaching netball and first started when I was still at high school,” she says.
Michelle joined Police in November 1999 and began her policing career in Lower Hutt before moving back to her hometown, Blenheim. Within Police she’s been a frontline officer, an intel analyst, a detective and is currently a sergeant on a Public Safety Team (PST). It’s been a juggle with shifts, to fit in playing, coaching and being an umpire but thanks to the flexibility of the police rosters, it works.
“I attended Canterbury University and played premier netball while I was there," says Michelle. "This was also when I first became interested in umpiring. However, I did not take this up seriously until around 2009.
“Unfortunately, over the last two years I have not been able to coach due to my umpiring commitments, but this is something I’ll return to when time allows.
“Being a police officer means community is important to me and I have always felt a desire to give back to my community. I especially like trying to be a good role model for teenagers.
“So many of the police values cross over into my netball umpiring, such as professionalism, respect, empathy, integrity and valuing diversity. It’s a good mix."