Throughout her seven-season reign as captain of the White Ferns, Suzie Bates was referred to as Queenie by her teammates. From the second Beatrice Faumuinā turned the world’s finest discus thrower in 1997, she’s been often called Queen Bea.
From immediately, each queens of Kiwi sport may also be recognized by the additional letters after their names – Faumuina as CNZM, a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Advantage, for her providers to sport and governance; and Bates, at present in England getting ready for her swansong Cricket World Cup, as ONZM, an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Advantage, for providers to each cricket and basketball.
They’re two of 11 New Zealand girls concerned in sport to obtain King’s Birthday honours in 2026.
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Advantage (CNZM):
Beatrice Faumuinā – for providers to sport and governance
Whereas Faumuinā is finest recognized by the Kiwi public for her exploits on the within of an athletics observe, her careers as a director and a diplomat have been equally impactful.
A former world champion discus thrower, four-time Olympian and three-time Commonwealth Video games medallist – who acquired an ONZM from the Queen in 2005 – Faumuinā has since held a number of governance roles in sport and enterprise, and labored in worldwide relations.
From 2015 to 2018 she was the New Zealand Commerce Commissioner and Consul Normal in New York, and a member of the New Zealand and Samoa Commerce Funding Fee. She’s been a director of Sport New Zealand, serving to form Excessive Efficiency Sport NZ’s wellbeing initiatives for athlete psychological well being. As deputy chair of The Trusts Space in west Auckland, she coordinated help for households evacuated to the Enviornment in the course of the 2023 Auckland Anniversary floods.
A New Zealand Sports activities Corridor of Fame inductee, Faumuinā is immediately a management advisor and a public speaker.
Officers of the New Zealand Order of Advantage (ONZM):
Suzie Bates – for providers to cricket and basketball
Later this month, Bates will finish an outstanding profession as a world cricketer, and one of many biggest gamers the sport has seen. Bates (Ngāi Tahu) is New Zealand’s main run-scorer in ODIs, and the world’s high batswoman in T20Is – a file she intends to increase on the T20 World Cup beginning June 12.
The White Ferns captain from 2011 to 2018, Bates has a number of awards to her title, together with ICC Ladies’s ODI and T20I Cricketer of the Yr in 2013 and 2016, and Participant of the Match on the 2013 World Cup. And the Tall Fern who performed basketball on the 2008 Olympics hopes this honour displays the team-mate she’s been throughout her 20-year worldwide profession.
“The stats and people issues they arrive and go, however I suppose what you may maintain your self true to is the way you flip up day by day to the workforce and what sort of teammate and particular person you’re… I really feel like the way in which I’ve led myself inside this group for that point is one thing I’m actually happy with,” she mentioned from England final evening.
“It feels somewhat bit overwhelming that different individuals have recognised what I’ve achieved, despite the fact that after I first began in girls’s sport it wasn’t that nicely recognised. To see the place the sport is now, it’s actually particular to nonetheless be part of it.”
A champion of ‘Stability is Higher’, who works with teen ladies in Otago cricket, Bates says she hopes she’s led by instance and proven youthful gamers coming by means of the White Ferns the work ethic required to be knowledgeable cricketer. “We’ve acquired a very good probability at this World Cup, so I do know as soon as I’ve completed and I go away the workforce, I’m going to be actually happy with the affect I’ve had,” she mentioned.
She’d struggled with preserving the information a secret from her household in Dunedin and “in a really Suzie approach”, she’d proceed to maintain it below wraps from her White Ferns teammates immediately. “They will learn it someplace,” she laughed.
Sharon Williamson – For providers to hockey
The previous chair of Hockey New Zealand, Williamson was instrumental in delivering the $50m Nationwide Hockey Centre in Albany – awarded the Sultan Azlan Shah Award by the Worldwide Hockey Federation in 2020 for her efforts.
She’s given greater than 30 years to North Harbour hockey – from teaching youth and senior girls’s groups to and chairing their board from 2010 to 2013.
She’s been a member of the Hockey NZ board since 2014, as chair from 2023 to 2025, and in addition headed the Nationwide Hockey Centre Governance Group. Her worldwide advocacy has strengthened Hockey NZ’s presence globally.
Members of the New Zealand Order of Advantage (MNZM):
Barbara Beable – for providers to athletics
A 1970 Commonwealth Video games silver medallist in shotput, Beable (née Poulsen) has contributed greater than 60 years to sport and athletics as an athlete, coach, and educator. She received 16 senior nationwide titles between 1966 and 1978 – 9 in pentathlon and 7 in shot put – and competed at three Commonwealth Video games. Her highest worldwide rating was fourth in pentathlon.
She labored together with her husband, Dr Michael Beable (additionally honoured in these awards), creating a novel coaching surroundings serving to different athletes to nationwide and worldwide success.
Head of PE for 26 years at Queen Margaret School in Wellington, she launched trendy health programmes and was a part of the pilot group who pioneered PE as a tutorial topic. She additionally introduced power and conditioning to Dame Lois Muir’s Capital Shakers netball workforce within the early 2000s. She continues to educate on the Aspiring Athletics Membership in Wanaka.
Lisa Kingi-Bon – for providers to rugby, notably participant welfare
Kingi-Bon is a fierce advocate for protected and inclusive rugby environments, working with gamers and their households dwelling with catastrophic accidents from rugby.
Since 2012, she’s been the chief govt of the New Zealand Rugby Basis (NZRF), supporting lifelong look after severely injured rugby gamers and their households. She’s led planning for mind well being and concussion threat administration, and has ensured defibrillators are in each rugby membership within the nation.
Kingi-Bon has additionally been an administrator at 5 Rugby World Cup tournaments and was a King Nation Rugby board member.
Vicky Lassen – for providers to netball and life saving
Over 4 many years, Lassen has given voluntary service to netball and life saving within the Hawkes Bay.
After 15 seasons taking part in for the Hastings Excessive Faculty Outdated Ladies’ Netball Membership, she’s served as coach, secretary, umpire, sponsorship co-ordinator, and committee member. At Napier Ladies’ Excessive, she’s coached, umpired and managed groups, and has a number of awards for her service to the college sport. She’s additionally served in varied teaching and administration roles for Hawke’s Bay Netball since 1987.
For greater than 45 years, she’s served as an administrator, teacher, and nationwide examiner for the Royal Life Saving Society of New Zealand – receiving the Bar to Service Cross from the society in 2013.
Shirley Mackay – providers to swimming
One of many stalwarts of Auckland swimming, Mackay has contributed her sport for greater than 40 years. She been each president and chair of Swimming Auckland because the late Nineteen Eighties and was awarded life membership in 2010. She’s led a number of main governance tasks which modernised the game and developed its membership, together with merging with Swimming Northland.
Since 1982, she’s held varied management roles on the Waitakere Swimming Membership, persevering with to assist the membership as its patron, and organises swimming meets for the Central and West Auckland zones. Mackay has acquired each the Jackie Clarke Award and a service award from Swimming New Zealand.
Vania Wolfgramm – for providers to rugby
Black Fern and Sky Sport commentator Wolfgramm (nee Lavea) has laid important paths in girls’s and Pacific rugby improvement. She performed for the Black Ferns XVs from 2003 to 2007, the Black Ferns Sevens in 2008, and made 45 appearances for Auckland within the Farah Palmer Cup.
She turned a girls’s rugby improvement officer with New Zealand Rugby in 2012, and later sport improvement supervisor of ladies’s rugby. She was key within the improvement of the Ako Wāhine and Teine Toa programmes, offering management pathways for ladies and Pasifika youth in sport and governance.
Wolfgramm co-developed the Pasifika Cultural Competency programme, performed a key function in shaping the present Pasifika Technique and has fostered Pacific rugby at a grassroots stage with the Pacific Aotearoa Cup. On the Marist Brothers Rugby Membership, she mentors younger gamers, directs membership technique and advocates for balanced resourcing between the lads’s and girls’s groups. She’s additionally one of many first Pasifika girls analysts in New Zealand rugby broadcasting.
The King’s Service Medal (KSM):
Honey Amner – for providers to sport
Honey Amner (Ngāti Kahungunu) has been an excellent volunteer and a super-manager in native sport in Hawke’s Bay for greater than 40 years – notably in contact rugby, rugby and netball.
A nationwide selector for all New Zealand and Māori contact groups from 2000 to 2014, Amner helped the expansion of aggressive contact by advocating for equitable recognition of high-level athletes. She’s been a part of Hawke’s Bay Contact Rugby for 30 years, managing groups starting from younger kids to senior grades.
Amner was workforce supervisor for the Hawke’s Bay girls’s rugby workforce for 10 years, working alongside coaches and mentoring younger gamers, and he or she’s supported Hawke’s Bay netball workforce from social by means of to consultant, awarded Volunteer of the Yr a number of instances.
Karen Burrows – for providers to sport and the neighborhood
New Zealand’s first feminine provincial rugby president, Burrows has been closely concerned with the Hokitika/Westland neighborhood.
She’s volunteered with Wests Rugby Membership for greater than 33 years – navigating the membership by means of a interval of hardship again to success. She’s held all officer roles within the membership, and coached and managed younger groups. In 2013, she made historical past as president of West Coast Rugby Union. A life member of each Wests Rugby Membership and the West Coast Rugby Union, she’s volunteered with the Hokitika/Westland RSA for 23 years.
Marleen Morrison – for providers to swimming administration
For 4 many years, Morrison’s unstinting volunteering has helped to develop swimming in Canterbury and New Zealand. From grass roots by means of to regional stage, she’s been a staple at competitions – from organising meets by means of to announcer at nationwide meets in Canterbury for 10 years. She’s held quite a few roles in Wharenui Swimming Membership, and run two of the highest occasions for junior swimmers within the South Island.
Morrison has been a selector and regional delegate to Swimming NZ, and was a eager fundraiser for the Doreen Brown Belief, serving to under-privileged children to study to swim. She’s been recognised with a number of Swimming NZ service awards.
