Netball in New Zealand
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| Netball in New Zealand | |||
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| Netball sculpture at Invercargill Airport, Southland. |
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| Governing body | Netball New Zealand | ||
| National team | New Zealand | ||
| Nickname(s) | Silver Ferns | ||
| Registered players | 125,500 (total) (as of 2006) |
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| Competitions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| National | |||
| - Netball World Championships | |||
| Club | |||
| - ANZ Championship | |||
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Netball is the most popular adult women's sport in New Zealand in terms of player participation and public interest.[1] With the national team, the Silver Ferns, currently ranked second in the world, netball maintains a high profile in New Zealand. As in other netball-playing countries, netball is considered primarily a women's sport; men's and mixed teams exist at different levels, but are ancillary to women's competition.
In 2006, 125,500 players were registered with Netball New Zealand,[2] the governing body for organised netball in the country. Organised competition ranges from interschool and local club netball to premier domestic competitions such as the ANZ Championship, with the pinnacle for netball players in New Zealand being selection for the national team.
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[edit] History
Netball was introduced to New Zealand as 'women's basketball' in 1906 by Rev. J. C. Jamieson. The game spread across New Zealand through primary and secondary schools, although different playing rules emerged in different areas. By 1923, the first representative match was played between the regions of Canterbury and Wellington. The New Zealand Basketball Association was formed the following year, representing the first national governing body for netball. The first New Zealand National Tournament was held two years later in 1926. A New Zealand national team was named in 1938 to tour Australia; games were played with the Australian seven-a-side rules (cf. nine-a-side in New Zealand).[3]
Attempts to adopt an international standard of rules for netball were made in earnest in 1957 in England, along with the formation of an international netball body, the International Federation of Netball Associations. Prior to this, New Zealand and Australia had worked out their own unified rules, in places making reference to netball rules in England. New Zealand national teams played seven-a-side, while domestic teams continued to play nine-a-side. However, the new international rules of netball were agreed upon in 1958, and universally applied in New Zealand by 1961.[3] The first Netball World Championships took place in 1963 in England, with Australia defeating New Zealand in the finals.
In 1970, New Zealand became the last country to adopt the name 'netball', which until that time was still referred to as 'women's basketball'. Eventually, the New Zealand Netball Association was formed from the New Zealand Basketball Association. The 1970s saw an increase in regular tours by the New Zealand national team to other countries, as well as other national teams touring New Zealand. Domestically, mid-week netball became popular amongst housewives, with children being brought along with them to netball courts. Indeed, by 1977, 6,058 senior teams and 2,816 primary school teams were registered with the New Zealand Netball Association.[3] New Zealand hosted the fourth Netball World Championships in 1975, coming third behind England and Australia.
In 1991, the New Zealand Netball Association changed its name to the current 'Netball New Zealand'. In 1998, the Silver Ferns won a silver medal when netball became a medal sport at the Commonwealth Games for the first time in Kuala Lumpur; a gold medal would come eight years later in Melbourne. That year also saw the formation of a revamped national netball competition, the National Bank Cup, with twelve teams representing twelve regional entities (each representing one or more regions) across New Zealand.
New Zealand netball has enjoyed recent success in the 2000s, with the national team winning the 2003 Netball World Championships in Jamaica, as well as a gold medal in the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The success of the national team, along with a long-standing rivalry with Australia, has helped the sport to maintain a high profile in New Zealand.
[edit] Organised competition
Organised netball in New Zealand usually starts at local club or school level at around 5–7 years of age.[4] At this stage, players focus on learning the rules of the game, as well as ball skills and basic game play. Fully competitive netball begins at around 13 years of age, although interschool competition often starts during primary school. At this stage, young players can play for a school team or for an out-of-school club team. School teams compete against other school teams in their region, with the best four teams from each of three national 'regions' competing in the annual New Zealand Secondary School Championships. Exceptional players can be invited to participate in a development camp, from which the New Zealand Secondary Schools team is chosen.[4]
Players in out-of-school club competition compete in regional and regional-representative competitions. Regional development programmes allow selected players to compete in U-15 and U-17 regional-representative competitions.[4] After this, players may trial for entry into the New Zealand U-19 and U-21 teams. Open-age regional competition can, for talented players, lead to competing in the New Zealand Championships. Successful players can be chosen to play in a franchise in the ANZ Championship. From this point, the highest levels of netball in New Zealand are selection for the New Zealand A team, and ultimately the New Zealand national team, the Silver Ferns.
[edit] Governance
Netball New Zealand is the governing body that oversees organised netball competition at school, club, regional, national and international level in New Zealand. It was founded from the New Zealand Basketball Association, which was established in 1924, and has helped to organise standard rules of play both internationally and within New Zealand. In recent years, Netball New Zealand secured the 2007 Netball World Championships, after hosting rights were withdrawn from Fiji following the 2006 Fijian coup d'état. Netball New Zealand has recently organised the ANZ championship in conjunction with Netball Australia.
Netball New Zealand oversees 12 regional netball associations in regional and regional-representative netball. In elite domestic netball, Netball New Zealand supervises five ANZ Championship franchises, which replaced the eight National Bank Cup franchises after 2007.
[edit] National teams
[edit] Silver Ferns
The Silver Ferns are often the national focus for netball in New Zealand. They are currently second in the IFNA world rankings, behind Australia. The Silver Ferns were formerly the highest-ranked team in the world after winning the 2003 Netball World Championships, but were replaced by Australia after the 2007 Championships. Indeed, New Zealand and Australia have always had a keen and close rivalry in netball, as in many other sports – one that has sustained interest in the sport in New Zealand. The Silver Ferns currently compete in two annual three-test series against Australia. Regular tests are also held with England, Jamaica and South Africa.
As of November 2007, the coach of the Silver Ferns is Ruth Aitken, with Adine Wilson the captain. Other high-profile players in the national team include Irene van Dyk and Temepara George.
[edit] Other national teams
- New Zealand A
The New Zealand A team includes players just below the level of the Silver Ferns. Players in this team are selected from domestic competitions such as the National Bank Cup. Like the Silver Ferns, the New Zealand A team participates in tours of other countries. Te Aroha Keenan is the current coach, as of December 2007.[5]
- New Zealand U21
The New Zealand U21 team includes players under 21 years of age that are considered to have the potential to progress to higher levels of netball in the future. Players are selected from domestic netball competitions. The New Zealand U21 team won the 2005 World Youth Netball Cup in Miami. Yvette McCausland-Durie is the current coach, as of December 2007.[5]
- New Zealand Secondary Schools
The New Zealand Secondary Schools team includes talented players of secondary school age. Players are selected from a development camp after the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships. The New Zealand Secondary Schools team will compete in the International Schoolgirls Netball Challenge in 2008 in Adelaide.[6] Kiri Adams is the current coach, as of December 2007.[5]
[edit] International netball
The Silver Ferns regularly compete with other national netball teams, both in tours and in one-match tests. The Silver Ferns also compete in test series and in world championships, which are usually televised in New Zealand. The New Zealand A, New Zealand U21 and New Zealand Secondary Schools teams also compete internationally.
[edit] Netball World Championships
The IFNA Netball World Championships represents the highest level of competitive netball in the world. The Silver Ferns have competed at each tournament, the first of which started in 1963. New Zealand has won three Championships – in 1967, 1987 and 2003 – and have always finished in the top three places. The majority of Netball World Championship finals are contested between New Zealand and Australia: the intense rivalry between the two teams at the highest level of netball competition becomes a focus of national attention in New Zealand.
[edit] Fisher & Paykel Series
The 'Fisher & Paykel Series' is an umbrella term for international tests played by the Silver Ferns in New Zealand. International teams have been touring New Zealand for more than half a century. Regular home series have been played in New Zealand since 1986, with the Fisher & Paykel Series starting in 1996. The Fisher & Paykel Series has seen regular rivals Australia, England, South Africa and Jamaica touring New Zealand, as well as other national teams such as Barbados and the Cook Islands. As of 2007, New Zealand has won 10 of the 12 Fisher & Paykel Series.[7]
[edit] National competitions
The first national netball competition in New Zealand was held in 1926. Presently, the two main non-elite domestic netball tournaments are the New Zealand National Championships and the New Zealand Secondary School Championships. Elite domestic netball competition in New Zealand began in 1998 with the establishment of the National Bank Cup.
[edit] National Bank Cup
The National Bank Cup was inaugurated in 1998, evolving from the previous Coca Cola Cup. It comprised ten franchises representing regional areas throughout New Zealand; by 2007, this had been reduced to eight franchises. From this competition, players were selected for the Silver Ferns and the New Zealand A team. The National Bank Cup also marked the start of nationally televised domestic netball in New Zealand. The final National Bank Cup season was played in 2007, with the Southern Sting as winners. It was replaced in 2008 by a new trans-Tasman competition, the ANZ Championship.
[edit] ANZ Championship
The ANZ Championship was inaugurated in April 2008 as the premier domestic netball competition in both New Zealand and Australia. The competition comprises ten teams, five each from New Zealand and Australia.
| ANZ Championship franchises | ||
| Franchise | Representative area | |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand | Northern Mystics | Northland, Auckland-Waitakere, Counties Manukau |
| Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic | Waikato, Bay of Plenty | |
| Central Pulse | Central North Island, Wellington, Tasman | |
| Canterbury Tactix | Canterbury | |
| Southern Steel | Otago, Southland | |
| Australia | New South Wales Swifts | New South Wales |
| Melbourne Vixens | Melbourne (Victoria) | |
| Queensland Firebirds | Queensland | |
| Adelaide Thunderbirds | Adelaide (South Australia) | |
| West Coast Fever | Western Australia | |
With netball in New Zealand turning semi-professional, each New Zealand franchise agreed to spend NZ$300,000 on player retainers, with a $12,000 minimum retainer for each player.[8]
[edit] Television coverage
Domestic matches in the ANZ Championship are televised live on SKY Sports,[9] which also televised the National Bank Cup; delayed coverage is broadcasted by both SKY Sports and Television New Zealand. International matches involving the Silver Ferns are televised on TVNZ Channel ONE (free-to-air) and SKY Sports (pay TV).
The final of the 1999 Netball World Championships between New Zealand and Australia was, at the time, the highest rating programme ever for then-televiser TV2.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Phillips, Jock (2007-09-23). Sports and leisure. Te Ara – the encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
- ^ 2006 Netball New Zealand Annual Report. Retrieved on 2007-12-22.
- ^ a b c d History. Netball New Zealand. Retrieved on 2007-11-23.
- ^ a b c Programme Pathways. Netball New Zealand. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
- ^ a b c Teams. Netball New Zealand. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
- ^ New Zealand International Teams. Netball New Zealand. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
- ^ Fisher & Paykel Series. Netball New Zealand. Retrieved on 2007-12-13.
- ^ New netball venture steps forward. Sportal (2007-12-21). Retrieved on 2007-12-22.
- ^ ANZ Championship Draw Released (2007-12-11). Retrieved on 2007-12-20.
[edit] External links
- Netball New Zealand – official website
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