Karen Atkinson
Overview
 
Karen Atkinson is an English international netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

 player. Atkinson has represented England in netball since 1994, and was selected for the senior England team
England national netball team
The England national netball team represent England in international netball competition. The team are presently co-captained by Karen Atkinson and Sonia Mkoloma, and were coached by Australian Sue Hawkins through to the end of the 2011 World Netball Championships in Singapore...

 in 1997. During her international career, she has won bronze medals at three Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....

 (1998, 2006
Netball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games was the third Games at which netball, one of the few women-only sports in the Commonwealth Games, was played. The preliminary matches were held at the State Netball and Hockey Centre in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville, with the finals being held at the multi-purpose...

 and 2010
Netball at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Netball was one of 17 sports that were contested at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Netball is a core sport for women at the Commonwealth Games, and one of only three events in the 2010 programme for women only...

), as well as in the 1999 Netball World Championships
1999 Netball World Championships
The 1999 World Netball Championships was the tenth staging of the World Netball Championships, the premier tournament in international netball, held every four years. The 1999 tournament was held in Christchurch, New Zealand and was contested by 24 teams. All matches were held at the Westpac...

. She also won silver with the England team at the 2010 World Netball Series
2010 World Netball Series
The 2010 World Netball Series was the second edition of the World Netball Series, an annual international netball competition held under fastnet rules. The 2010 event was held in Liverpool, England, and was contested between the top six national netball teams according to the IFNA World Rankings....

 in Liverpool.

In domestic netball, Atkinson plays for the Hertfordshire Mavericks in the Netball Superleague
Netball Superleague
The Netball Superleague is the elite netball competition in England, Wales and Scotland. The league, which runs from November to June, features nine teams from all areas of Britain. It is regularly shown on sports broadcaster Sky Sports, thanks to a major television deal signed in 2006. Naming...

, after having played an initial season with the Loughborough Lightning
Loughborough Lightning
Loughborough Lightning is a team in the Netball Superleague, the elite netball competition in England, Wales and Scotland. It was created in 2005, with the foundation teams including teams like the Loughborough Lightning...

.
Quotations

A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him, I may think aloud.

Ralph Waldo Emerson, in "Friendship" in Essays, First series (1841)

Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

The Bible, Proverbs 27:6 (NASB)

A friendship that can be ended didn't ever start.

Mellin de Saint-Gelais, Oeuvres poétiques

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Scots proverb, as published in Beauties of Allan Ramsay: Being a Selection of the Most Admired Pieces of that Celebrated Author, viz. The Gentle Shepherd; Christ's Kirk on the Green; The Monk, and the Miller's Wife; with his valuable collection of Scots Proverbs (1815), "Scots Proverbs" Ch. 1; also quoted in Pure Morning|Pure Morning, a song by Placebo|Placebo.

A friend loves at all times, and kinsfolk are born to share adversity.

The Bible, Proverbs 17:17 (NRSV)

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24, The Bible (New International Version)

It is amazing how you can surround yourself with so many people you can call friends, and yet actually only have one or two real ones.

Jerry Grant Blakeney

Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.

Anaïs Nin, Diary entry, March 1937

A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter;he who finds one finds a treasure.A faithful friend is beyond price,no sum can balance his worth.

Sirach 6:14-15 (The New American Bible)

Friendship is not for merriment but for stern reproach when friends go astray.

Tiruvalluvar, Tirukkural: 784

 
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