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Netball

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Netball is a team sport similar to and derived from basketball. It was originally known as "women's basketball" and developed in the United States, and while basically unknown in its homeland, is the preeminent 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 Commonwealth countries. Later, the name "netball" was adopted as women were beginning to play basketball proper, and the game started to attract male players.

Competitions

The IFNA Netball World Championships are held every four years, and the results of these are collated into the IFNA World Rankings.

Description and rules

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). The rings, whilst of similar height and dimension to basketball rings, 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 (and in competitive netball must wear "bibs" or "patches" showing the abbreviations below indicating that position). They are only allowed in certain areas of the court, as described below:

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

By the combination of the above, only the Goal Attack and Goal Shooter are able to score goals directly.

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 teammate. The ball cannot be held by one person for more than 3 seconds at any one time. This, combined with the restrictions on where players 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 to defend, meaning that hard physical contact is rare. If contact is made, the ball must be passed to the team against which the penalty was committed.

A game is played in 4 quarters of 15 minutes each, with an interval of 3 minutes between the first and second and third and fourth quarters and an interval of 5 minutes at half time. There is up to 2 minutes of time allowed for each injury.

Growth in popularity

Netball is a popular participant sport in Australia and New Zealand, mostly among women (in country areas a netball competition is usually arranged to coincide with the local football league), but men's and mixed teams are becoming popular, as the fundamentals of the game are easy for new players to learn, and men and women can compete with each other on reasonably fair terms as the restrictions on defence (and, typically, the women's greater familiarity with the game) prevent men's superior strength and size gaining an overly large advantage.

The women's game has an elite international competition, with Australia and New Zealand undoubtedly the world's strongest teams -- however, despite a growing club competition, only two of the current Australian team are full-time netballers.

New Zealand finally broke an Australian stranglehold on major titles, after a heartbreaking 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, 2-1. 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, a result which makes them clear favourites for the 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medal.

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.

Netball is a common sport in British schools. Both girls' and mixed matches are played; boys' netball is rather less common.

Netball teams

Netball Competitions

Famous netballing identities past and present

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