When the National Netball League rebranded as Suncorp Super Netball in 2017, Netball NSW launched a second elite team in the form of Giants Netball.
Existing alongside the NSW Swifts, who were formed in 1997 (initially as the Sydney Swifts), NNSW decided to introduce a trophy which the teams could contest every time they played a competitive fixture.
With that, the Carole Sykes Memorial Trophy was launched.
A legend of NSW netball both as a player and coach, Sykes trained some of the best talent coming through NSW, many of whom went on to play for - and win Premierships with - the Swifts.
A member of the Randwick Netball Association, Sykes first represented NSW in 1959 as a member of the NSW Night team.
Selected in the NSW Opens Team in 1962, she spent nine years in the team; three as Vice-Captain and two as Captain. Her performances for NSW earned her selection in the 1970 Australian Netball Squad.
After retiring from playing in 1979, Sykes turned her attention to coaching. Prior to coaching the NSW 17U team to three National Championship victories from four attempts, she was a member of the Australian Team staff as a satellite coach.
In 1991 and from 1993 through to 1996, she coached in the ESSO Super League and MOBIL League competitions, claiming the Prime Minister’s Cup as MOBIL League National Champions in 1991 with Sydney Pulsars and 1995 with Sydney Electricity.
Returning from a six year break in 2001, Sykes coached in the NSW Indigenous State of Origin Series for a number of years, whilst juggling her commitments to the National program as a selector for the Opens, 17 and 19 age groups.
Awarded an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 for her services to the administration of netball, Sykes was also a selector for the Swifts side that claimed the inaugural 2008 trans-Tamsman ANZ Championship, the Club's fifth Premiership and third of the 2006-2008 threepeat.
In recognition for her extensive contribution to netball, Sykes was inducted into the Netball NSW Hall of Fame in 2008.
RESULTS
- 2023 Round 12: Swifts win
- 2023 Round 7: Swifts win
- 2022 Round 8: Swifts win
- 2022 Round 1: Giants win
- 2021 Grand Final: Swifts win
- 2021 Major Semi Final: Swifts win
- 2021 Round 11: Giants win
- 2021 Round 6: Swifts win
- 2020 Round 14: Swifts win (drawn game, Swifts retained Cup on percentage scored)
- 2020 Round 1: Swifts win
- 2019 Round 8: Swifts win
- 2019: Round 1: Swifts win
- 2018 Round 10: Giants win
- 2018: Round 1: Swifts win
- 2017 Round 9: Giants win
- 2017 Round 1: Giants win
