Grace Kara

Grace Kara^[3] (née Rasmussen; born 18 March 1988 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand netball player of Samoan descent.^[4] Kara played in the National Bank Cup for the Auckland Diamonds from 2005 to 2007. She continued playing in Auckland for the Northern Mystics in the ANZ Championship, starting in 2008. She is the younger sister of fellow Mystics player Rachel Rasmussen and she is also the older sister of Ann-Helen Rasmussen.

Grace Kara

Personal information
Born	Grace Rasmussen (1988-03-18) 18 March 1988 (age 36) Auckland, New Zealand
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Spouse	Mark Kara
Married	11 November 2017
Relatives	Rachel Rasmussen (sister) Roma Rasmussen (sister) Ann Helen Nu'uali'itia (sister)[1]
Netball career
Playing position(s): WA, C, GA
Years	Club team(s)	Apps
2005–07	Auckland Diamonds
2008–2013	Northern Mystics	39
2014–2017	Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic
2017–2018	Northern Stars
Years	National team(s)	Caps
2004–09	New Zealand U21
2010–2019	Silver Ferns	63[2]
	FastNet Ferns
Medal record Representing  New Zealand Netball World Cup 2015 Sydney Netball Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi Netball World Netball Series 2010 Liverpool Fastnet
Last updated: 15 December 2017

Kara was a member of the New Zealand U21 team from 2004 to 2009, winning gold (2005) and silver (2009) medals at the World Youth National Championships. In 2009, she travelled with the senior national team, the Silver Ferns, as a member of their extended training squad.^[2] Kara earned a place in the Silver Ferns lineup the following year,^[5] making her debut against Samoa.^[6] She later travelled to Delhi for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, and was named in the 2010 Fastnet Ferns for the World Netball Series.^[7]

She suffered a season ending ACL injury in 2011, which left her out of the end of year squad. She made the squad again for the 2012–13 season, and was named in the twelve for the Australian leg of the 2012 Quad Series, but a stress fracture left her unable to take part.^[8]

In 2017 she joined Northern Stars where she almost immediately became the captain of the ANZ Premiership team.^[9] In 2018 she announced that she is pregnant.^[10][11]

References

1. Sewell, Jane (14 August 2010). "Grace Rasmussen gets attack role". The Press. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
2. "Grace Kara". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
3. "Squad". Silver Ferns Netball. Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
4. Bertrand, Kelly (30 November 2017). "Silver Fern Grace Rasmussen's fairytale wedding". New Zealand Woman's Weekly.
5. ONE Sport (30 July 2010). "One new cap for Silver Ferns". TVNZ. Archived from the original on 2 August 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
6. Street, Toni (8 August 2010). "Rasmussen adds spark". TVNZ. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
7. Johannsen, Dana (19 October 2010). "Wider Silver Ferns squad join defence of Fastnet title". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
8. "Netball: Francois in for injured Rasmussen". The New Zealand Herald. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
9. "Kara more driven as Stars captain". Radio New Zealand. 15 March 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
10. "Northern Stars Captain Grace Kara Announces Pregnancy". www.starsnetball.co.nz. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
11. "Stars captain Grace Kara announces pregnancy". anzpremiership.co.nz. 8 October 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2022.

External links

• Silver Ferns profile
• ANZ Championship profile