Salter to be honoured by memorial trophy

The Southern Steel will look to honour one of the region's most beloved netball figures on Sunday.

It will play the Northern Mystics for the newly established Georgie Salter Memorial Trophy in Invercargill.

Salter, who died in November last year, was one of Otago's greatest coaches and also coached the Auckland Diamonds in 2001 and 2002.

She represented the Silver Ferns as a player and, as a coach, guided the Otago Rebels - which merged with the Southern Sting to become the Steel in 2008 - to glory in 1998.

Her memorial trophy will be played for once a year when the Steel and Mystics meet in the South.

Steel head coach and Salter's niece, Reinga Bloxham, is thrilled to honour her in that way.

''I feel like it's an awesome way to celebrate the competitiveness, the passion, the love of the game that Georgie had for netball, her players and all the people she has been involved with in the netball world,'' Bloxham said.

''To have the two franchises that she coached battling it out on the court is a great way to honour and remember the input she had to netball in our franchises.

''I think Georgie would love the fact that we are playing for this trophy and that it will be an annual game.''

The match will be one of three hosted in Invercargill on the day - part of the third Super Sunday of the season in which all teams will be in action.

A large contingent of Salter's family were set to travel for the day. Daughter Rihi Salter said it was a fitting memorial.

''It's a beautiful way to remember her.

''We as a whanau are always going to remember her, obviously, but it's nice for her wider netball whanau to have this as well.

''But, at the same time, she wouldn't want all the fuss.''

Given Salter's Otago connections, the Steel is putting a bus on from Dunedin to Invercargill and return.

The game begins at 4.10pm.

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