.jpg) Gibbs in 2023 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leigh Helen Gibbs(née Mills) | ||
| Born | (1956-07-17)17 July 1956 (age 68) Gisborne, New Zealand | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Netball career | |||
| Playingposition(s): WD | |||
| Years | Club team(s) | Apps | |
| 1974–1976 | Otago | ||
| 1977–1987 | Canterbury | ||
| Years | National team(s) | Caps | |
| 1978–1987 | New Zealand | 61 | |
Leigh Helen GibbsCNZM (née Mills, born 1956) is a New Zealand retirednetball player who played for the national team on 61 occasions and was captain for the1987 World Netball Championships when New Zealand won the gold medal. She was made an Officer of theNew Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2001.
Leigh Helen Gibbs (née Mills) was born inGisborne, New Zealand on 17 July 1956. She was educated atLytton High School in Gisborne. She obtained a diploma in physical education at theUniversity of Otago, following this with a one-year course to obtain an education diploma at theChristchurch College of Education.[1][2]
Gibbs representedOtago in netball from 1974 to 1976 andCanterbury from 1977 to 1986. She was called up to play for theNew Zealand national netball team, later called theSilver Ferns, in 1978 and played for them until 1987. She was captain in 1986 and 1987, being in that role when New Zealand dominated the1987 Netball World Championships, which were held inGlasgow,Scotland. She also played in the1979 and1983 world championships.[1][2][3]
Gibbs was a New Zealand netball umpire from 1987 to 1993. She started coaching theCanterbury Flames in 1988 and coached the New Zealand Under-21 team in 1991 and 1992 when the team won the Under-21 World Championship. She became theSilver Ferns' sixth coach, when she was appointed to lead the team in 1994. She coached the team in the1995 Netball World Championships inBirmingham, England, when New Zealand finished in a disappointing third place. She left the role in mid-1997. Having spent a season coaching inWales, Gibbs was the Talent Development Coordinator for Netball New Zealand from 2002 and was an assistant coach toRuth Aitken for theSilver Ferns when the team won a gold medal at the2003 Netball World Championships and at the2006 Commonwealth Games. From 2012 to 2014 she coached theMainland Tactix. In 2021 she joined theNelson Netball Centre in New Zealand as the manager, after having spent the previous five years working in Australia at theQueensland State Netball Centre.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
Gibbs was appointed anOfficer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to netball, in the2001 New Year Honours.[6] She received a place on the "Wall of Fame" of the School of Physical Education at the University of Otago in 2006.[6] She was made the 32nd honorary life member of Netball New Zealand in 2017.[3] In the2023 New Year Honours, Gibbs was promoted toCompanion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to netball.[8]
She married Steve Gibbs and they have two sons.