Helen Housby

Helen Housby MBE (born 19 January 1995) is a professional English netball player.^[1][2] She has represented the England national netball team since 2014. Housby played club netball for the Superleague side Manchester Thunder from 2013 to 2016, helping them win the 2014 Superleague Grand-Final against rivals Surrey Storm. Since 2017 she plays for the New South Wales Swifts.^[3]

Helen Housby
MBE

Personal information
Born	(1995-01-19) 19 January 1995 (age 29) Carlisle, England
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
School	The Nelson Thomlinson School
Netball career
Playing position(s): GA, GS, WA
Years	Club team(s)	Apps
2013–2016	Manchester Thunder
2017–Present	New South Wales Swifts
Years	National team(s)	Caps
2014–present	England	102
Medal record Representing  England Commonwealth Games 2018 Gold Coast Netball

Personal life

Housby was born in Carlisle and grew up in rural Cumbria surrounded by animals. An avid Manchester United F.C. fan, her role model was David Beckham.^[4] She studied zoology at the University of Manchester.^[5] A video of Housby performing a TikTok dance during an England game went viral in 2022. It was posted by the official Commonwealth Games TikTok account and viewed over 1.1 million times.^[6]

Club career

She played for the Superleague side Manchester Thunder from 2013 to 2016, helping them win the 2014 Superleague Grand-Final against rivals Surrey Storm. She joined the Australian side New South Wales Swifts for the 2017 season. She was part of the Swifts team that won the Suncorp Super Netball in 2019, and again in 2021.^[7]

International career

Housby was a member of the England national netball team that played at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 Netball World Cup.^[8]

She was a key member of the England netball team that won the gold medal match against Australia at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia - scoring in the final second of the game to give victory to England by one point.^[9] The England team had beaten Jamaica in the semi-final match by a single point, also from a last-minute goal.^[10] Jamaica had narrowly defeated England in Glasgow 2014 to take the bronze medal. The England team won BBC Sports Team of the Year Award and BBC Greatest Sporting Moment of the Year in 2018.^[4]

She was selected for England's 2019 Netball World Cup, and 2022 Commonwealth Games squad, finishing 3rd in both events.^[11][4][12] Housby was also part of the England team at the 2023 Netball World Cup.^[13] She was named player of the tournament and 'best shooter' as England lost in the final to Australia.^[14]

Housby was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 New Year Honours for services to netball.^[15]

References

1. "Manchester Thunder - Helen Housby". England Netball. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
2. Evans, Denice (13 May 2014). "Helen Housby: A netball star is born". Manchester Evening News. Archived from the original on 14 June 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2015.
3. "Helen Housby Player Profile". New South Wales Swifts website. Retrieved 1 October 2018.^{[permanent dead link]}
4. "The Beckham of netball? Housby on title defence". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
5. "Could I be any more excited?". Players Voice. 29 April 2018. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2018.
6. "Carlisle netballer Helen Housby becomes TikTok internet sensation after Commonwealth Games dance". 4 August 2022. Archived from the original on 2 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
7. "Helen Housby". NSW Swifts. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
8. Evans, Denise (26 June 2015). "Tracey Neville names England netball World Cup Squad". Manchester Evening News. Trinity Mirror. Archived from the original on 11 October 2015. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
9. "Commonwealth Games: England shock Australia to win netball gold". BBC News. 15 April 2018. Archived from the original on 24 October 2018. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
10. "Commonwealth Games: England beat Jamaica to reach final for first time". BBC News. 14 April 2018. Archived from the original on 14 April 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
11. "England squad for the Vitality Netball World Cup revealed". 23 May 2019. Archived from the original on 25 May 2019.
12. "Birmingham 2022 Netball Results". World Netball. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
13. "The forgetful, the joker & the DJ - meet England Roses". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 31 July 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
14. "Cumbrian netball star Helen Housby named World Cup player of the tournament". ITV. 7 August 2023.
15. "No. 64269". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 2023. p. N21.