Netball

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Netball is a team sport similar to and derived from basketball, and was originally known in its country of origin, the U.S., as "women's basketball". It is the pre-eminent women's team sport (both as a spectator and participant sport) in Australia and New Zealand and is popular in Jamaica, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and various other Commonwealth countries.

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[edit] Description and rules

Diagram of a netball court.
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Diagram of a netball court.

Like basketball, the game is played on a hard court with scoring rings at both ends, and with a ball resembling a basketball (but lighter, smaller and slightly softer in construction, and usually white in colour). The hoops, while of similar height and dimension to basketball hoops, do not have a "backboard". The field is divided into thirds which regulate where individuals in each team are allowed to move, and two semi-circular "shooting circles" at each end from within which all scoring shots must be taken.

There are seven players on each team, who are given nominated, named positions. In competitive netball, each player must wear "bibs" showing the abbreviations below, indicating their position. They are only allowed in certain areas of the court: a player in a section of court that is not part of their playing area is deemed "offside". The positions are described below:

Netball positions
Position Name Abbreviation Opponent Areas permitted
Goal Shooter GS Goal Keeper Attacking goal third including goal circle
Goal Attack GA Goal Defence Attacking goal third, goal circle, and centre third
Wing Attack WA Wing Defence Attacking goal third and centre third, not goal circle
Centre C Centre Everywhere except goal circles
Wing Defence WD Wing Attack Defensive goal third and centre third, not goal circle
Goal Defence GD Goal Attack Defensive goal third and centre third, including goal circle
Goal Keeper GK Goal Shooter Defensive goal third, including goal circle

By the combination of the above, only the Goal Attack and Goal Shooter are able to score goals directly. A ball that passes through the hoop, but has been thrown either from outside the circle or by a player not the GA or GS, is deemed a "no goal". Furthermore, a shooter (GA or GS) may not shoot for a goal if a "free pass" has been awarded for an infringement such as stepping, offside, or using the post.

Netball rules do not permit players to take more than one step in possession of the ball. Consequently, the only way to move the ball towards the goal is to throw the ball to a team-mate. The ball cannot be held by a player for more than three seconds at any time, and players may not tap the ball to themselves ("replay"). This, combined with the restrictions on where one player can move, ensures that everyone on the team is regularly involved in play. Defence is restricted — not only is contact not permitted, but players must be at least three feet (90 centimetres) away from a player with the ball, meaning that hard physical contact is rare. If contact is made, a penalty is given to the team of the player who was contacted, and the player who contacted must stand "out of play", meaning they cannot participate in play until the player taking the penalty has passed the ball.

Malawi plays Fiji at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
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Malawi plays Fiji at the 2006 Commonwealth Games

A game is played in four quarters, each one lasting 15 minutes, with intervals of three minutes between the first and second quarters, and between the third and fourth quarters. There is also an interval of five minutes at half time. If a player has an injury, a team-mate or umpire calls time, and the time keeper pauses the timer. When the game starts and the player has swapped places with another player, or is healthy, play is resumed and the timer is restarted.

[edit] Starting and restarting play

When a quarter begins, or after a goal is scored, play begins from the centre of the court with a "centre pass". These passes alternate between the teams, regardless of which team scored the last goal. A centre pass is taken by the Centre player, and must be to someone who is within the centre third of the court when they receive the pass.

If the ball leaves the court boundaries, then a member of the team that did not touch the ball last restarts play by making a pass from the court boundary back into play.

[edit] History

Netball traces its roots to basketball, which explains why its rules are related. When James Naismith devised basketball in 1891 for his students in the School for Christian Workers (later called the YMCA), female teachers got curious and started to formulate a version for girls. The outfits of women back in the day hindered them from effectively executing important basketball moves such as running and dribbling, so the game had to be modified to accommodate these restrictions. Women’s basketball, or ‘netball,’ was conceptualized.

Netball was first played in England in 1895 at Madame Ostenburg's College and quickly spread to all the British Commonwealth territories, but it did not yet have hard-and-fast rules. So loose were the regulations, in fact, that some games were played by nine players in each team, while some were played with only five players in each. The nets used were also ineffective – they were not open at both ends, so after each goal was scored, the umpire had to retrieve the ball from the top of the post.

Finally, Clara Baer, a gym teacher from New Orleans, asked Naismith for a copy of the basketball rules, identified the areas within which women players could move, and consequently introduced the ‘zoning areas’ we know today. This was the start of netball’s formalization. These zoning rules along with many other provisions (such as elimination of the dribbling rule) were all included in the first draft of ‘Rules for Women’s Basketball.’ In 1901, this set of rules was ratified and netball officially became a competitive sport.

Netball soon spread throughout the then-British colonies of Australia, Jamaica, and Antigua. Further improvements were introduced some 60 years later by the International Federation of Women's Basketball and Netball – an international organization composed of netball representatives from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and The West Indies. The first Netball World Championship was held in 1963 in Eastbourne, England, and since then, international netball championships have been held every four years. Australia has dominated the World Tournaments, beating the other 11 teams competing in 1971, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1991, 1995 and 1999. In 2003, New Zealand finally broke the pattern and took home the gold. Fiji was scheduled to host the next World Netball Championship in July 2007, but was stripped of its hosting privileges as a result of the December 2006 coup.

Netball is still very popular in former British colonies. In fact, approximately 10,000 people play netball in Jamaica, and it remains the favored women's sport in that country. Antigua and Barbuda is also very active in the sport, with netball less popular only than cricket, and as popular as football and volleyball.

[edit] Growth in popularity

Netball is a popular participant sport, particularly in Australia and New Zealand, but also around the world in countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. In Australia and New Zealand, it is the most popular sport played by women, and New Zealand also has a professional domestic competition for women. On the other hand, in Australia, only two of the current team are full-time netballers. The women's game is played internationally at a high level, with Australia and New Zealand undoubtedly the world's strongest teams. Whilst not attracting much public attention, there are representative men's netball teams. On occasions, trial matches between national men's and women's teams have been arranged, with the men usually coming off victorious because of their height advantage and also their considerable skill level.

Netball's fundamentals are easy for new players to learn, and it is a common sport at schools in the Commonwealth. At primary school level, mixed teams are not uncommon. As adults, men and women can compete with each other on reasonably fair terms as the restrictions on defence, limitations of numbers and positions of male players, and the women's greater familiarity with the game, prevent men's superior strength and size gaining an overly large advantage.

[edit] Netball variants for children

In Australia young netballers can enjoy a range of experiences from five to seven year olds learning basic skills in Fun Net, eight to ten year olds developing skills and game knowledge through Netta, or participating in Netball Australia's soon to be launched Net Set Go programs.

[edit] FunNet

FunNet is Netball Australia's play based motor skills program for 5-7 year olds. The emphasis is on the acquisition of basic motor skills, in a fun environment of games and activities. The length of the FunNet program can be run between 8-16 weeks, although this is flexible depending on school, association and individual needs.

[edit] Netta

A size 4 ball is used to develop correct passing and catching skills with up to six seconds allowed between catching and passing the ball, instead of the three seconds permitted in the adult game. All players rotate positions throughout the game so that they can experience the differences between each position. Netta is more in line with the adult game than Fun Net and is the natural stage between Fun Net and adult netball, which is played by children 10 years of age and older.

[edit] Netball teams

[edit] Netball competitions

[edit] Recent World Championships

New Zealand finally broke an Australian stranglehold on major titles, after a run of near-misses, with a 49-47 win in the 2003 World Championship final in Jamaica. A 3-0 series win over Australia in New Zealand in the winter of 2004 continued the ascendancy, but Australia won the return series at home in November 2004, 2-7. On October 29, 2005, in a one-off Test in Auckland, the Silver Ferns scored their most decisive victory ever against the Australian team, winning 61-36. This result made them clear favourites for the 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medal, which they subsequently won, reinforcing their World Champion status.

In the 2006 Fisher & Paykel Series in NZ, Australia won the series 2-1, in 3 close fought games.

[edit] Netball personalities

[edit] See also

  • Korfball A similar but distinct game played primarily in the Netherlands and Belgium.
  • Also in the Netherlands and Belgium there is a game called Netball, but it's more similar to volleyball

[edit] External links

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