England Netball and the Netball Family have been saddened to learn of the passing of Margaret Palmer.
Margaret played an integral role in the England set-up for many years, acting as Team Manager for several Roses’ teams.
She coached many players who went on to become senior Roses at U17, U19 and U21 level and was affectionately known to a lot of players as their ‘netball mum.’ She also worked with Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby as a Team Manager when she joined the England set-up.
Amongst her international honours, Margaret worked with the team that won a silver medal at the World Netball Youth Cup in 2005 as well as the senior team that won bronze at the Netball World Cup in 2011.
Margaret was a key member of the West Midlands netball community for more than 45 years and held numerous roles with Birmingham County, West Midlands Warriors and Wasps Netball. She dedicated a lot of her time to coaching, umpiring and even playing when there were absentees at any local games.
In 2017, Margaret was awarded the prestigious Community Award at the Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards in recognition of her exceptional contribution to the local community as a volunteer, coach and president at Lyndon Centre Netball Club.
An inspiration to so many who have come up through the pathway and someone who was always there to support them, Margaret will be dearly missed.
Our condolences are with her many friends in the game and her family.
