Karen Atkinson is an English international
netballNetball 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 teamThe 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 GamesThe 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,
2006The 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
2010Netball 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 ChampionshipsThe 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 SeriesThe 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 SuperleagueThe 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 LightningLoughborough 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...
.