Nicola Edmonds
As the Silver Ferns prepare to face South Africa and Australia over the next few months, their captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio will instead be lacing up for a half marathon, shuttling her kids to their adventures and going on date nights with husband Damien.
She admits the competitor in her will find it tough to be watching the Ferns from afar, but after an “exhausting” few years leading our national netball side, Ameliaranne knows her priority now is her own wellbeing.
Stepping away from the ferns
The 34-year-old mum to Ocean, eight, and three-year-old Luna has made the difficult call to step away from international netball for the rest of the year – after playing for the Ferns 79 times over the past decade. But she hasn’t ruled out pulling on the black dress again.
“If I did come back, it would be in a different kind of way,” says Ameliaranne, hinting that could mean returning as a player but giving up the Silver Ferns captaincy.
For now, she’s content to spend the next six months at home in Wellington with her family – back into yoga, journalling and cooking nourishing meals, while overseeing the final renovations of the house she and Damien share with his mum Fay.
The toll of elite netball
Speaking to Woman’s Day shortly before it was announced Silver Ferns head coach Dame Noeline Taurua would be stood down for the test against South Africa, Ameliaranne admits, “It’s crazy because now I can see I’ve been in a high-strung survival mode for such a long time. “For the past couple of years, it’s felt more exhausting – with the commuting and the busyness of the never-ending juggle. The commitment and what’s required of you as a leader is growing every year too as the sport looks to become more professional. “Everything became so unsustainable that it was draining the life out of all of us. Now I’m in the cocoon stage, at home, doing what I need to do for myself. It’s a really healing time.”
The loving family is now back in the capital after moving to Papamoa the past summer so Ameliaranne could be closer to her Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic team in the ANZ Premiership. For three years, the standout shooter had been commuting weekly to Tauranga to train and play with the Magic.
Putting family first
But the constant travel left her exhausted, and robbed her of precious time with Ocean and Luna. Eventually, she and Damien decided a six-month relocation was the best option. As it turned out, it was a frustrating season for the Magic and a testing time for the family.
“It was a double whammy,” says Ameliaranne.
“It was the right decision for us as a family to move. Time away has such a big impact – not just on the kids, but on our marriage as well. “Everyone was really happy living up there in a beautiful location by the beach and we got six months of family bliss.”
Lessons learnt from her move
But without her usual support network around her and with Damien’s demanding job as general manager of Capital Basketball, she found it hard to “go above and beyond” for her team.
“I now know the best decision for me as a netballer would have been to carry on commuting,” she shares.
“Then I could focus purely on netball, get enough sleep and tick all the boxes you need to be the best athlete.”
Looking ahead, Ameliaranne has decided to rejoin her former ANZ Premiership franchise, the Central Pulse, in 2026. Raised in Queensland, she considered joining the exodus of Silver Ferns heading to Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball league.
She reveals, “I had multiple moments where I thought, ‘Oh, well, let’s just go to Australia.’ The ambitious netballer in me would have gone in an absolute heartbeat! “But it would have been too much to ask my family to pack up and leave home again – and to another country. It just isn’t the right time for us.”
On the brink of retirement
The uncertainty surrounding the future of the national domestic competition also weighed on her and she seriously considered retiring from all netball.
“For a while, I’ve been on the verge of thinking about how much longer I’m going to play,” she says.
Ameliaranne first committed to playing her netball in New Zealand in 2014. Her connection to Aotearoa was through her father Anthony, who was born here and is of Nga¯puhi descent. Selected for the Silver Ferns before even taking the court in her first season with the Pulse. She went on to cement her place in New Zealand’s shooting circle. Her looping shot a key factor in the Ferns’ 2019 World Cup triumph in Liverpool.
Choosing between love and letting go
“Something that’s served me well in my netball career is I’m quite stubborn when I put my mind to something,” she tells.
“That’s got me to where I need to be. But I suddenly recognised what that’s doing to me – to my health and to my family. “We sat with the decision of what to do next for so many months – to either retire or just take a break. I was thinking if I decide to retire, all good. But part of me was also saying, ‘I know you still love it and you still want to play.’ “Taking a break like this may give me the clarity to say either, ‘I still really want to play,’ or, ‘Life is so good on the other side, I don’t want to go back.’”
When Ameliaranne announced she was stepping back, Ferns coach Noeline praised her “selfless decision”.
A mum of five herself, Noeline added, “I personally understand sometimes being everything to everyone simply isn’t sustainable.”
Ameliaranne admits that skippering one of the world’s top netball teams has been as heavy as it has been an honour.
“You’re not just named captain and then that’s it,” she explains.
The demands of leadership
“It involves a lot of meetings, working as a leadership group with the management and sometimes with a mentor. “There’s constant planning. ‘What are we doing to move forward? Can we create something new? What is it Noels wants from us?’ “You’re also the conduit between the players and management. Sometimes you’re pushing messages down; sometimes you’re pushing messages up. Sometimes you’re trying to find a happy medium for everyone. It’s always a juggle.”
Ameliaranne’s also shouldered the pressure that comes with being in the public spotlight.
“We obviously had success last year winning the Constellation Cup, but there have been lots of times where we haven’t been successful and the public wants to know why,” she says.
“As captain, you feel that responsibility – you have to be on 24/7. “I’ve given absolutely everything to the role, which is just who I am. Once I’m in something, I’m so in. But sometimes the leadership commitment has taken away my ability to go to work and do my job, which is what I love.”
A possible 2027 World Cup return
That’s led her to consider a return to the Ferns, but without the captaincy. That would make another World Cup campaign – in Sydney in 2027 – within her reach.
“Lots of people say to me, ‘Sure, you can do another World Cup’, and I definitely could if my mind and body were right,” she says.
“But the big question is: Can I put my family through that preparation again? “I could do it in a different way if I didn’t have a leadership role in the Silver Ferns. That would be more manageable for me with my family.”
But that’s a decision for later. Right now, all her attention’s focused on her health, her wellbeing and a fresh start.
“We’re now in a whole new routine,” she shares.
Back to the basics
“In fact, the kids are having to get used to having me here all the time! I’m looking at all of my habits, how I live my day-to-day life and going back to the absolute basics – from the right amount of sleep to eating nutritiously. “I’m enjoying having time to plan meals for my family. I’m spending time journalling and processing some pretty big emotions. “And I’m getting back into yoga and realigning myself with meditation. Doing all those things I built myself on but that had been pushed to the side for me to survive and stay in the netball world.”
Ameliaranne is already starting to feel grounded in her new slower-paced life.
“It’s a bit of a challenge to slow down and be intentional with what I want to achieve out of this time,” she admits.
“But I’m learning it’s not the end of the world if I don’t do the last two things on my list today – I’ve got tomorrow. I can walk up this mountain because I’ve got time and it’s a beautiful day. I’ve got to make the most of it.”
New goals beyond netball
Among her goals is running her first half marathon in November – satisfying her competitive streak and her desire to train for something – and finishing their home renovations in the house they share with Damien’s mum Fay, who lives upstairs.
“It can be a bit of a madhouse,” she laughs.
“But it’s really nice having a multi-generational place to live in. It’s a beautiful gift I treasure – giving Fay what I would have loved to have been able to give my mum.”
Ameliaranne’s mum Denese passed away in 2015.
“It’d be great if after six months, we had a super- functional home life,” she enthuses.
“So if I choose to return to professional sport, then everything behind the scenes is in order.”
