This year the 13 recipients of the North Shore based Tania Dalton Foundation (TDF) scholarship awards come from all around New Zealand. From Northland, Gisborne, Auckland, Waikato, Whanganui and Wairarapa. One of them is a student from Carmel College on the Shore, where Tania attended school.

In 2025, the milestone of 100 girls graduating from the foundation is something Duane Dalton, along with his three children (Tayla, Charlie and Matthew) and the Nicholson family, are enormously proud of. Duane was married to the former Silver Ferns star Tania Dalton (affectionately known to many as ‘T’), who tragically passed away in February 2017. The Tania Dalton Foundation concept was stitched together by Duane in consultation with Tania’s immediate family, her three brothers including Tony and Dave Nicholson (who have served or are serving as TDF Gala trustees) plus a couple of great mates, Scott Pritchard (CEO at Precinct Properties) and Steve Jurkovich (CEO ofKiwibank) in the uneasy few days leading up to Tania’s memorial.
It was important for Tania’s family, and Duane, to be able to share this idea to the large crowd that gathered at North Harbour Stadium for her very public funeral and farewell. They all made a promise to honour Tania’s legacy. The foundation would give them all a focus and purpose, to share with Tania’s children who were aged just 15, 13 and 10 at the time.
Establishing TDF was the way to carry Tania’s great principles and passion for life forward. After eight years the trustees and founders are honoured that they have achieved the goa of 100 recipients having received a TDF scholarship, and the foundation is proud to witness the difference that has been made to the lives of the girls and their families. What they have collectively been able to achieve is quite incredible.
“Our scholarship recipients shine in their chosen sport but find it challenging getting to and remaining at the high-performance level. For some that can come with additional challenges due to family, education or work commitments.” says Duane, who is chair of the foundation.
Tania and Duane met at teachers’ college, and both graduated as PE teachers. Colleagues tell  many a great story about their funny escapades. Adine Wilson (ex-Silver Fern and TDF trustee) says, “When they were apart Tania and Duane were mischievous, but together, they were dynamite!”
Duane remembers that Tania had huge empathy plus love and drive to help other people less fortunate than herself. As a teacher ‘T’ always preferred to work in under-funded lower decile schools of South or West Auckland. She was known for taking breakfast in for some of her students, and she showed real care for those less fortunate than herself; it was important for her to help disadvantaged girls
The couple were certainly high achievers, Duane and his team won a world title for surf life saving in 1998. In 2003,  while Tania returned from overseas with the Silver Ferns team that had won the world netball title.
The opportunity to start TDF came after the very first charity gala was held, raising $100,000 to kick off the foundation. The genesis was to amplify the essence of what Tania liked to do, and make it achievable for disadvantaged girls to reach their potential. From the very start, the principle was to connect recipients to sponsors directly. Each recipient has their own sponsor, be it a corporate, individual or family donor. The sponsor establishes a direct contact with the recipient. This gives the girls an opportunity to be exposed to a company or situation that they would ordinarily never have been able to access. In turn, the sponsor signs up to the TDF for three years and has an obligation to fund the girl's sports journey for three years.
The girls  awarded scholarships are enabled to get the best of both worlds, but must work for the donation which goes towards anything they need, like sports gear, clothing, shoes etc. Under the umbrella of the foundation, they can access up to $5000 per year. TDF provides additional support, pastoral care, mentoring, and courses on personal development.
It is equally beneficial to the sponsor to have the one-to-one relationship and exposure to the remarkable achievements that their recipient graduates with. For example, Precinct Properties has witnessed Paris Mason, their recipient, graduate in 2023, and be selected as a Silver Fern.
The young women selected for the TDF scholarships each year are chosen from many different areas and schools. It is a hardship scholarship, and it is important that they have a certain level of achievement in their chosen sport. They must be at a regional level to qualify. They start when they are still in school in Year 11, 12 or 13, and  by the end of three years they graduate from school to work, from a junior sportsperson, to being an adult.
The very first recipient to accept a scholarship was Samalulu Clifton, who  represented Samoa at the Paris Olympics in the canoe sprint. Samalulu currently works for AUT Millenium on the Shore, works part time as a kayak coach, and competes locally with the Mairangi Bay Surf Life Saving Club. She is also now a trustee of TDF. Her scholarship was with New Zealand Surf Life Saving, and she graduated from university with a Bachelor of Science in 2023. .
Ella Henderson from Carmel College is doing a scholarship in rugby. Ella has captained the North Harbour team and plays rugby and touch. She is very much a humble leader. Her sponsor is Archibald and Shorter North Shore, a very generous corporate sponsor. Each year they provide the venue for the girls' graduation and introduction to the next year’s recipients.
Scholarship Manager Paula George (“Georgie” as she is known) says, “The girls are given workshops on many different things learning transferrable skills. The values and life lessons they are exposed to at the foundation will stand them in good stead for their life ahead.”

Not every recipient will have a big future in high performance sport. Georgie spoke of one graduate Luisa whose scholarship was in rugby. She now works in the management and administration department of a trailer company in West Auckland and has a team of eight working under her. At the age of 23 she is standing strong and is grateful for the life skills, mentoring and companionship she has gained from being a scholarship recipient.
Georgie also said, “In a statistical report from USA last year in 2024, 94% of women who work in c-suite positions as a career, have all previously played sport.”
The very reason that Tania and Duane loved sport so much is because sport unites people, it transcends race, religion, culture, and wealth. The girls who participate in the three-year programme all become close. Jeanette Paine, general manager of TDF, says, “It is quite amazing to see how the girls get along together. [They deveop] such a strong level of connectivity and they refer to themselves as a sisterhood.”
In 2020, TDF started a new relationship with Rebel Sport and Silver Fern called ‘Pass It Forward’, which supplies sports equipment to schools. This came about through the recipients on the TDF programme needing to give something back to their community. It was also apparent that after Covid-19, children were desperate to get outdoors and play with balls; anything to be outside socialising. The girls are encouraged to go back to their schools and donate sports equipment. Most girls complete their Pass It Forward programme in the third and final year, while some complete it after they have graduated, due to timing. After graduation, the journey back to their low decile schools is also important. They love feeling so strong and passing on the love and help that they have received.

For trustees of the foundation, it can be very emotional witnessing the difference that they have made to an individual’s life,  and the profound effect that ithas on the community of the lower socio-economic areas in New Zealand. It is extremely satisfying to see sports equipment being donated to schools and giving the children new opportunities. Since May 2020, TDF and Rebel Sport have supplied 256,000 balls to New Zealand schools.

TDF GM Jeanette Paine says that this year the annual (and eighth) Tania Dalton Foundation Charity Gala will be held at The Viaduct Events Centre on Saturday 14 August. Attendees are encouraged to dress up and have fun for this worthy cause in Tania’s name. “This is by far the biggest fundraiser for the foundation and allows us to continue the positive work with young women experiencing hardship, in their journey to be a high performing sportsperson. We would like to shout out to the wider North Shore community in advance to get involved. This year we have a Vegas theme for the gala. These are always wonderful events of celebration.”
TDF would love to hear from North Shore people and businesses that may have quality gifts or experiences they are happy to donate to the TDF to be auctioned at the gala.
Current Tania Dalton Foundation Trustees are Duane Dalton, Adine Wilson, Scott Pritchard, Tayla Dalton, Steve Jurkovich, Vikki Maclean, Tony Nicholson, Caterina Poletti and Samalulu Clifton.
Well done to everyone who plays a part in the ongoing success of the Tania Dalton Foundation. It is a fitting way to remember ‘T’!

Visit: taniadaltonfoundation.org.nz