After more than five decades on the whistle, Teena Hobden is taking her passion for netball to the international stage, travelling to India next year with Beyond Borders and the Here If You Need Foundation to deliver umpiring and sport sessions for girls aged eight to 16.
For Teena, the opportunity brings together a lifetime in netball and a deep belief in the power of sport to change lives. A nurse by profession and a netball umpire for 54 years, she has officiated at countless carnivals, inter-district competitions and Junior and Senior State Titles across New South Wales, building a reputation as a highly respected and passionate official.
“When I was asked to go, I sat on it for a few days,” Teena said. “But then I thought, you’re not going to know if you don’t go. It might be an opportunity you never get again.”
The program, delivered in partnership with Beyond Borders, focuses on using sport to build confidence, autonomy and essential life skills for young people in developing and emerging nations. Teena will support netball and AFL sessions, with a particular emphasis on introducing basic umpiring skills and encouraging girls to see leadership opportunities within sport.
“Sport gives you so much more than just playing a game,” she said. “It builds confidence, self-discipline and self-belief. If we can inspire even one girl, that would be a blessing.”
Teena’s invitation to join the program came from Here If You Need Foundation founder Annemarie Brown, who recognised both her professional background and her lifelong commitment to netball.
“She said she couldn’t think of anyone else to help teach young girls some basic umpiring skills,” Teena said. “That really meant a lot to me.”
While the trip to India represents a new chapter, it is grounded in an extraordinary umpiring career that has spanned more than half a century. Teena recently retired from physical umpiring, having spent decades travelling across the state for carnivals and state titles — long weekends in June and early July consistently reserved for Junior and Senior State Titles.
“Those weekends were always booked,” she said. “Carnivals, state titles — that was just part of life, and I loved every minute of it.”
Central to Teena’s journey has been Shoalhaven Netball Association, which she describes as her driving force and unwavering support throughout her umpiring career.
“Shoalhaven Netball backed me in everything I wanted to achieve,” she said. “Whatever I set my sights on in my umpiring journey, they supported me completely. I wouldn’t be where I am without them.”
Now based on the NSW South Coast, Teena continues to give back as an umpire mentor across the Shoalhaven and the Far South Coast, helping develop junior umpires and guiding them through the pathway she knows so well.
“I didn’t want to be the umpire who couldn’t keep up with the speed of the game,” she said. “Stepping into mentoring means I can still contribute and help the next generation come through.”
Netball has been a constant in Teena’s life since she was 11, providing not just opportunity, but community and support during life’s toughest moments.
“Netball has been my family,” she said. “After I lost my husband in 2013, it really carried me through. I honestly don’t know where I’d be without my netball family.”
As she prepares to travel overseas, Teena hopes to share that same sense of belonging with young girls in India — and to show them what is possible through sport.
“Where one door closes, another one opens,” she said. “If netball can help young people believe in themselves, whether that’s here in NSW or on the other side of the world, then I know I’m exactly where I’m meant to be.”
