A tough competitor and an intelligent player Glenda Taylor played for the national team from 1962-1966 touring Australia with the 1964 team. She played for the North Island team on four occasions during this period and again in 1974. Glenda described the 1964 tour as “the hurried and harried” as it was arranged at short notice following the cancellation of a proposed tour to South-East Asia. The tour consisted of twelve games, in different venues, travelling to four Australian states. The opening game was lost 44-41 against New South Wales but considering the team arrived in Sydney less than three hours before tip-off, and trailed by 9 at half-time, it was a decent performance. The team finished the tour with a 6 win – 6 loss record.
Glenda began playing as a 14-year-old at Wellington Technical College and quickly came to the notice of Wellington selectors and would go on to represent the province for twenty years including a spell as captain. Glenda also spent time as manager of the Wellington Basketball Stadium in Newtown – the role including many exotic tasks such as cleaning and washing and ironing the rep uniforms! She also coached at Erskine College before its closure.
Despite leaving Wellington Technical College without School Certificate, Glenda gained a BA from Victoria University before moving to the USA where she gained an MA, PhD and MBA. As a tenured professor at Longwood University, she wrote many articles and presentations and served on many community agencies.
The basketball community of New Zealand are delighted that Glenda combined her academic and research skills with her passion for basketball to write and compile “Let’s Go Girls”. “Let’s Go Girls” traces the history of New Zealand Women’s Basketball through the pioneer years from 1939 to 1979. This outstanding work, the only book ever published on women’s basketball in New Zealand, is a must read for basketball fans. As well as charting the early history of the women’s game Glenda records, with intimate knowledge, the commitment, skill and fortitude of the pioneers of the period. She also candidly records some of the parochialism and controversies that most sports encounter and the challenges players faced when surrounded by males “administering, coaching and selecting”.
From her home in Greenville, Michigan, Glenda still keeps an eye on our Kiwis playing collegiate basketball in the States.
We are honoured that Glenda has made the trip home to New Zealand to receive this award. Glenda, please come forward to receive the Zena Gay Award for 2023.
