But the Oamaru identity knows exactly what has kept her going in the sport for 50 consecutive seasons, a remarkable unbroken run that will come to a close today when she takes the court for Athletic Zinc in the North Otago third grade final.
"Friendship, sportsmanship, the rivalries — it’s just all been part of it."
Gibb (56), who has always been a shooter, cut her netball teeth while a pupil at St Joseph’s and St Thomas’ schools in Oamaru before joining the Athletic club in 1975.
That choice was made for one simple reason.
"I had played rep netball with a lot of the Athletic girls, and there was a goal keep who was — how shall I say this? — very fierce. I was a goal shoot, so I thought, if I play in the same team as her, I won’t have to play against her.
"That’s a teenager thinking, ooh, she’s a scary lady."
For Gibb, it proved an inspired choice.
She came under the guidance of club legend Celia Brown, the Athletic president who almost single-handedly directed 18 teams at the club’s peak.
"It was her loyalty and her morals and her love of the game that really inspired me. Celia just had a foundation of what netball was all about and what you could do for the club and for others."
Gibb (nee Sidon), who has been Athletic club president for the past 10 years, said she was asked a few weeks ago how many games of netball she had played, and the question stumped her.
She played premier netball for nearly 30 years before dropping to second grade for about five years and third grade for three years, and also played for the North Otago A team for over two decades, including a spell as player-coach, and spending 20 years on the executive committee.
The sport had changed immeasurably over the half-century of her involvement, she said.‘‘It’s the speed and the physicality. It’s certainly not a non-contact sport now.
"It’s just got faster and more aerial. It’s been a huge change. We were very slow, staid netballers back in the day."
Gibb joked her knees would thank her for retiring, but said she had been blessed to get through a long career with only two sprained ankles and the odd muscle pull, and no serious injuries.
She hopes she and her Zinc team-mates will be able to beat a sprightly St Kevin’s Junior Blue team in today’s third grade final, but win or lose, "the girls" will don their flapper dresses and enjoy a prizegiving dance with a 1920s theme.
Gibb, the food services manager at Oamaru’s Iona rest-home, is looking forward to having some free Saturdays to spend time with her supportive husband, Trevor, but she won’t be quitting netball altogether — she will join some other locals in a team for the world masters in Auckland in April, as well as staying involved in other ways.
"I’ll go out and blow a whistle, and I will always be there for the Athletic girls. I’m not going to be absent from the courts. I wouldn’t want to walk away completely.
"But it will certainly be nice to have the odd Saturday when I can go and do something else."
