User:Rebecca/Drafts/Netball in Australia

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Netball is one of the most widely played sports in Australia. It is played by thousands of girls and women at a local level, primarily throughout the cooler months of the year. The nation has consistently been one of the most successful in the sport in the world since its introduction in the early 1900s, and has spawned leagues and governing bodies in every state and territory, as well as the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, the peak national competition. Australia is represented by the Australian national netball team, which has been ranked first in the world for most of its history, but slipped to second behind New Zealand's Silver Ferns after a defeat at the 2003 Netball World Championships.

Netball first spread to Australia soon after its creation, and a national body had been founded by the 1920s. Competition was entirely state-based for many years, although Australia developed a strong national team from the beginning; indeed, the team won the inaugural World Championships in 1963. Australia continued to dominate the international netball scene throughout the remainder of the century, but lacked any form of national domestic league until the 1980s, when the Esso Superleague (later the Mobil League) was created, which pitted the most successful clubs from each state against each other. This format struggled to maintain public interest, however, and the league was wound up in favour of an eight-team permanent national league, the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, which started in 1997. The new competition made significant changes in order to make the game more viewer-friendly, and has seen much larger audiences than its predecessor; although still falling far short of many male-dominated sports.

Despite netball being relatively widely played across Australia, it has struggled - as with much women's sport - to gain a significant viewer base. This has meant that the sport receives disproportionately small media attention and sponsorship, and has resulted in a situation where almost no player, even at the elite levels, can dedicate themselves to the sport full-time. Attempts to address this since the 1980s have had some success, but the sport remains far less commercially profitable than many male-dominated sports.

Contents

[edit] History and development

  • development as a sport
  • early club-based leagues
  • Esso Superleague and Mobil League
  • Commonwealth Bank Trophy
  • don't forget national success, any state developments, changes in numbers)

[edit] Governance

  • overview (link to main article)
  • note training - AIS (may be more appropriate under national team

[edit] National team

  • international record and current side (linking to main article)
  • note national youth teams

[edit] Training

[edit] Commonwealth Bank Trophy

  • overview of the league

[edit] State level

  • state leagues
  • state youth teams

[edit] Local level

  • local clubs
  • men's and mixed netball
  • schools
  • beyond organised games
  • played by younger children

[edit] Seasons in Australian netball