ANZ Championship
Encyclopedia
The ANZ Championship is the pre-eminent netball
Netball
Netball 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 ...

 league in the world. The competition is held annually between April and July, comprising 69 matches played over 17 weeks. It is contested by ten teams, five from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and five from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. The competition is administered by Trans Tasman Netball League, which was formed as a joint venture by the netball governing bodies of both countries. ANZ Bank
ANZ Bank
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited , commonly called ANZ, is the fourth largest bank in Australia, after the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation and the National Australia Bank. Australian operations make up the largest part of ANZ's business, with commercial and retail...

 has been naming sponsors of the competition since its inaugural season.

The ANZ Championship was launched in 2008 as a successor to the Commonwealth Bank Trophy
Commonwealth Bank Trophy
The Commonwealth Bank Trophy was the pre-eminent national netball competition in Australia from 1997 to 2007.It was established in 1997 as a true national league to replace the ailing, state club-based Mobil League. Designed from the beginning to be more marketable to the general public, it saw...

 in Australia and the National Bank Cup
National Bank Cup
The National Bank Cup was the pre-eminent national netball competition in New Zealand between 1998 and 2007. From 2008, it was replaced by the ANZ Championship.-Format:...

 in New Zealand, both of which were retired after 2007. The ANZ Championship saw netball become a semi-professional sport in both countries, with increased media coverage and player salaries. The current champions are the Queensland Firebirds
Queensland Firebirds
The Queensland Firebirds are an Australian netball team based in Brisbane that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Firebirds were formed as one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy , previously the premier netball league in Australia, which was contested...

, who defeated the Northern Mystics
Northern Mystics
The Northern Mystics are a New Zealand netball team based in Auckland that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The franchise was formed in 2007 as an amalgamation of two teams from the National Bank Cup – the Northern Force and the Auckland Diamonds – after the competition was...

 in the grand final of the 2011 season.

Background

Netball is the most popular team sport for women in Australia and New Zealand in terms of player participation, with the sport having been established in both countries for more than a century. Both countries started national competitions in the 1920s, and by the close of the 20th century had started their own separate elite competitions. The National Netball League (later the Commonwealth Bank Trophy
Commonwealth Bank Trophy
The Commonwealth Bank Trophy was the pre-eminent national netball competition in Australia from 1997 to 2007.It was established in 1997 as a true national league to replace the ailing, state club-based Mobil League. Designed from the beginning to be more marketable to the general public, it saw...

) was started in Australia in 1997, while a revamped Coca-Cola Cup (later the National Bank Cup
National Bank Cup
The National Bank Cup was the pre-eminent national netball competition in New Zealand between 1998 and 2007. From 2008, it was replaced by the ANZ Championship.-Format:...

) commenced in New Zealand the following year. These competitions were designed to bring a higher profile to the sport in their respective countries, which despite strong local-level participation was still largely amateur.

In this respect, these competitions had mixed results. Both competitions produced games of greater intensity, saw increased spectator attendance, and with televised matches achieved a somewhat higher profile for the sport (more so in New Zealand). Nevertheless, they still lagged behind the professional competitions of male-dominated sports, such as the Super 14
Super 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...

, in terms of public interest, sponsorship, media coverage and player salaries. Both the Commonwealth Bank Trophy and the National Bank Cup played their last season in 2007. In its eleven-year run, the CBT was dominated by the Sydney Swifts
Sydney Swifts
The Sydney Swifts were an Australian netball team, playing in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They were based out of Acer Arena and Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in the suburb of Homebush. Following the 2003 demise of the Sydney Sandpipers, the Swifts were the only team representing the...

, Adelaide Thunderbirds
Adelaide Thunderbirds
The Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Thunderbirds were formed as one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy , previously the premier netball league in Australia, which was...

  and the Melbourne Phoenix
Melbourne Phoenix
The Melbourne Phoenix were an Australian netball team. They were one of two teams representing the city of Melbourne, Victoria in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They have been replaced by the Melbourne Vixens in the ANZ Championship...

, while the NBC was dominated by the Southern Sting
Southern Sting
The Southern Sting were a netball team based in Invercargill, New Zealand that competed in The National Bank Cup competition, formerly known as the Coca Cola Cup....

. Before the start of their 2007 seasons, Netball Australia
Netball Australia
Netball Australia is the peak governing body for the sport of netball in Australia. The organisation's stated objectives for Australian netball are to achieve national and international success in competition, encourage greater participation and spectator involvement, and ensure excellence in all...

 and Netball New Zealand
Netball New Zealand
Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns.Other competitions overseen include:*ANZ Championship – Premier Domestic Competition...

 jointly announced that both competitions would play their final seasons that year, after which one new competition would replace them both, commencing in 2008.

Formation

From the start, it was envisioned that five teams from each country would compete in the new competition. This required a reduction from the eight teams that were present in each of the previous competitions.

The deadline for expressions of interests for Australian franchises was 10 April 2007. In March 2007, Netball Australia chief executive Kate Palmer
Kate Palmer
Kate Palmer is the current Chief Executive Officer of Netball Australia. A leading figure in netball and Australian sport since the early 1990s, Palmer was previously the Chief Executive of Netball Victoria...

 said the preferred model was for one team each from New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia. In April this was confirmed as the composition of the league's Australian teams. Netball New South Wales boss Caroline Campbell said that she was disappointed that the Sydney Swifts
Sydney Swifts
The Sydney Swifts were an Australian netball team, playing in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They were based out of Acer Arena and Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in the suburb of Homebush. Following the 2003 demise of the Sydney Sandpipers, the Swifts were the only team representing the...

 and the Hunter Jaegers
Hunter Jaegers
The Hunter Jaegers were an Australian netball team representing the Hunter Valley of New South Wales in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. The team was initially based out of the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, but merged with the Sydney Swifts in 2008 to create the New South Wales Swifts to...

 would have to merge. Netball Victoria president Jenny Sanchez said that she had an open mind about whether Victoria would enter one of the two existing teams or a new franchise, but by May 2007, the organisation had chosen to enter a single merged team. Netball ACT also bid for a franchise, but were unsuccessful.

For New Zealand franchises, 10 April was also the deadline set for expressions of interest, with a confirmation date of 23 April announced. Early in the selection process, Netball New Zealand chairman Don Mackinnon said there would be three franchises from the North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 and two from the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

. Five proposed New Zealand teams for the competition – three from the North Island, two from the South Island – were confirmed by the end of April, and approved in early May.

2008–09: Early seasons

The inaugural championship began on 5 April 2008, with the Central Pulse hosting to the Melbourne Vixens in Wellington. After fourteen weeks of round-robin matches, the Magic emerged as minor premiers. The Swifts, Thunderbirds and Vixens also progressed to the finals stage. The Swifts defeated the Magic in the major semi-final, while the Thunderbirds beat the Vixens in the minor semi-final. The preliminary final saw the Magic defeat the Thunderbirds to advance to the grand final. On 28 July 2008, the New South Wales Swifts
New South Wales Swifts
The New South Wales Swifts are an Australian netball team based in Sydney that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Swifts were formed in 2007 as an amalgamation of two teams from the Commonwealth Bank Trophy – the Sydney Swifts and the Hunter Jaegers...

 hosted the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic in the inaugural grand final, held at Acer Arena
Acer Arena
The Allphones Arena is a large entertainment and sporting complex located in Sydney, Australia. It is situated in Sydney Olympic Park, and was completed in 1999 as part of the facilities for the 2000 Summer Olympics....

 in Sydney. A near world-record netball crowd of 12,000 spectators watched the Swifts defeat the Magic 65–56 to claim the inaugural ANZ Championship.

During the 2008 season, Australian teams generally performed better than their New Zealand counterparts. The Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic were the only New Zealand team to make the finals, with the other New Zealand teams occupying four of the bottom five places on the competition ladder. Furthermore, no New Zealand team managed to win a single match in Australia, although Australian teams had some success playing in New Zealand. Most notably, the Wellington-based Central Pulse failed to win a single game. Media reports in New Zealand attributed the relative lack of success for New Zealand teams to a lack of player depth, restrictions on training hours, and delays in allowing franchises to finalise player selections.

All ten teams returned for the 2009 season
2009 ANZ Championship season
The 2009 ANZ Championship season was the second season of the ANZ Championship, commencing on 4 April 2009. The 2009 season comprised 69 matches played over 17 weeks. The format of the competition was unchanged from last year, starting with a 14-week round robinfollowed by a three-week finals series...

. Despite some concerns over the competition format, subsequent seasons have been held a similar format to the inaugural competition. New Zealand teams continued to struggle playing in Australia, although two New Zealand teams qualified for the finals. 2008 champions the Swifts had a disappointing season, finishing ninth. They also became the first team to lose to the Central Pulse, who won their first game in 25 attempts. The Melbourne Vixens
Melbourne Vixens
The Melbourne Vixens are an Australian netball team in Melbourne that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The team were formed in 2007 as an amalgamation of the Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne Kestrels from the previous Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Sharelle McMahon and Bianca Chatfield have...

 emerged as minor premiers for 2009; the Magic, Thunderbirds and Steel also qualified for the finals stage. The grand final was contested between the Vixens and the Thunderbirds in Melbourne. The Vixens won the grand final by 54–46 to claim the 2009 ANZ Championship trophy.

The 2009 season also saw the introduction of the Festival of Stars and the Rivalry Round to the competition. The Festival of Stars is a celebrity netball match led by Australian match commentators Liz Ellis
Liz Ellis
Elizabeth "Liz" Ellis AM is a retired Australian netball player, a member of the national team from 1992 until 2007 and captain for the last four of those years. She is the most capped international player for Australian netball....

 and Luke Darcy
Luke Darcy
Luke Darcy is a former Australian rules footballer who played with the Western Bulldogs who now juggles roles in media and administration.-Early life:...

. Proceeds from the celebrity match are given to two charities, beyondblue
Beyondblue
beyondblue is an Australian non-profit organisation which aims to increase awareness and improve the treatment of depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and related mental disorders...

 and the National Breast Cancer Foundation
National Breast Cancer Foundation
The National Breast Cancer Foundation is the leading community-funded national organisation in Australia, supporting and promoting research for the prevention and cure of breast cancer....

. One round of the regular season is designated the "Rivalry Round", in which all matches are trans-Tasman clashes. Goals scored by teams from each country are tallied, and the country that scores the most goals wins.

2010–11: Format and rule reviews

A review of competition rules was conducted after the 2009 season. While the format of the competition remained unchanged, several rule changes were announced. To aid the struggling Central Pulse, who finished 10th in the first two seasons, teams that finish in the bottom two placings of the competition ladder were granted the right to use two import or non-eligible players, and were also made eligible for a NZ$25,000 financial assistance grant. Starting from 2010, two modifications of the international rules were implemented in the ANZ Championship, including the ability for coaches to talk to players during playing stoppages.
The 2010 season
2010 ANZ Championship season
The 2010 ANZ Championship season was the third season of the ANZ Championship, commencing on 20 March. The 2010 season started two weeks earlier than in previous years to accommodate the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, in which netball is a core sport. 69 matches were played over 17 weeks,...

 started two weeks earlier in the year compared with other seasons, to accommodate the 2010 Commonwealth Games
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games till date...

, held from 4–14 October. After the conclusion of the round-robin stage, the Swifts, Thunderbirds, Magic and Steel qualified for the finals stage; defending champions the Vixens suffered a mid-season form slump, finishing seventh. In the finals stage, minor premiers the Swifts suffered two successive losses to finish the season third. The grand final was contested between the Thunderbirds and Magic in Adelaide. Tickets to the match sold out within 12 minutes: a capacity crowd of 9,300 watched the Thunderbirds defeat the Magic by 52–42 to claim the 2010 ANZ Championship trophy.

For the 2011 season, the competition format has been reduced to 15 weeks, including a 12-week round-robin, to accommodate the 2011 Netball World Championships
2011 Netball World Championships
The 2011 World Netball Championships was the 13th edition of the World Netball Championships, a quadrennial event first staged in 1963. The World Netball Championships is the premier event in international netball. The 2011 tournament was held in Singapore from 3–10 July. All 48 matches were played...

 being held in July that year. Teams will not have byes during the season, and some will play two matches per round in "double-headers". In addition, changes to player eligibility rules allow all teams one import player as of right, while teams may also apply for a "citizen ineligible" player. As a result, the assistance package introduced for the 2010 season has been discontinued.

Teams

Ten teams were formed for the inaugural season in 2008, five each from Australia and New Zealand. All ten teams remain in the competition. Each of the ten teams represents long-established regional netball organisations. The Australian teams represent the five largest Australian states, while the five New Zealand teams represent groupings of adjacent regions
Regions of New Zealand
The region is the top tier of local government in New Zealand. There are 16 regions of New Zealand. Eleven are governed by an elected regional council, while five are governed by territorial authorities which also perform the functions of a regional council and thus are known as unitary authorities...

.

All but one of the teams in the final year of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy and National Bank Cup are represented in the new league, either in their previous form with a new name, or as part of a merged entity. The exception is the AIS Canberra Darters
AIS Canberra Darters
The AIS Canberra Darters were an Australian netball team, playing in the now defunct national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They mostly represented the Australian Institute of Sport, giving young players experience at an elite level, but also included some young players from Canberra and the Australian...

, who competed in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy representing the Australian Institute of Sport
Australian Institute of Sport
The Australian Institute of Sport is a sports training institution in Australia with world class facilities and support services. The Institute's headquarters is situated in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The 66.0 hectare site campus is in the northern suburb of Bruce, but some of the...

 and the Australian Capital Territory
Australian Capital Territory
The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

, but not in the ANZ Championship. Additionally, no team represents the Australian netball regions of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...

 or the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

.

Current teams

Teams in the ANZ Championship
Teams Bases Main venues Former teams
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

Adelaide Thunderbirds
Adelaide Thunderbirds
The Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Thunderbirds were formed as one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy , previously the premier netball league in Australia, which was...

Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...

ETSA Park
ETSA Park
ETSA Park is a sporting venue located in Adelaide, South Australia, opposite Santos Stadium, Adelaide's premier athletics stadium. It is a specialist netball facility, hosting matches in both the national ANZ Championship and state Dairy Farmers Cup, as well as some international matches. However,...

Adelaide Thunderbirds
Adelaide Thunderbirds
The Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Thunderbirds were formed as one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy , previously the premier netball league in Australia, which was...

Melbourne Vixens
Melbourne Vixens
The Melbourne Vixens are an Australian netball team in Melbourne that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The team were formed in 2007 as an amalgamation of the Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne Kestrels from the previous Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Sharelle McMahon and Bianca Chatfield have...

Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

State Netball and Hockey Centre
State Netball and Hockey Centre
State Netball Hockey Centre is a multipurpose sporting facility located in Melbourne, Australia. It is the home arena of the Melbourne Vixens netball team in the ANZ Championship, and the Melbourne Tigers National Basketball League team. The facility is located in Royal Park, Parkville next to...

Melbourne Phoenix
Melbourne Phoenix
The Melbourne Phoenix were an Australian netball team. They were one of two teams representing the city of Melbourne, Victoria in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They have been replaced by the Melbourne Vixens in the ANZ Championship...

, Melbourne Kestrels
Melbourne Kestrels
The Melbourne Kestrels were an Australian netball team. They were based out of the State Netball and Hockey Centre in Melbourne, Victoria and were one of two teams from the city to compete in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy, alongside the Melbourne Phoenix. The Kestrels were coached by Jane...

New South Wales Swifts
New South Wales Swifts
The New South Wales Swifts are an Australian netball team based in Sydney that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Swifts were formed in 2007 as an amalgamation of two teams from the Commonwealth Bank Trophy – the Sydney Swifts and the Hunter Jaegers...

Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre Sydney Swifts
Sydney Swifts
The Sydney Swifts were an Australian netball team, playing in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They were based out of Acer Arena and Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in the suburb of Homebush. Following the 2003 demise of the Sydney Sandpipers, the Swifts were the only team representing the...

, Hunter Jaegers
Hunter Jaegers
The Hunter Jaegers were an Australian netball team representing the Hunter Valley of New South Wales in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. The team was initially based out of the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, but merged with the Sydney Swifts in 2008 to create the New South Wales Swifts to...

Queensland Firebirds
Queensland Firebirds
The Queensland Firebirds are an Australian netball team based in Brisbane that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Firebirds were formed as one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy , previously the premier netball league in Australia, which was contested...

Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...

Brisbane Convention Centre Queensland Firebirds
Queensland Firebirds
The Queensland Firebirds are an Australian netball team based in Brisbane that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Firebirds were formed as one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy , previously the premier netball league in Australia, which was contested...

West Coast Fever
West Coast Fever
The West Coast Fever are an Australian netball team based in Perth that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The franchise was one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, formerly the premier domestic league in Australia. They contested every year of the...

Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....

Challenge Stadium
Challenge Stadium
Challenge Stadium is a sports complex in the suburb of Mount Claremont, west of Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It was opened in 1986 and is home to the Western Australian Institute of Sport. The main indoor arena holds 4,500 people...

Perth Orioles
New
Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

Canterbury Tactix Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

Westpac Arena Canterbury Flames
Canterbury Flames
The Canterbury Tactix are a New Zealand netball team based in Christchurch, New Zealand that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The team was one of the founding franchises in the National Bank Cup, formerly the premier netball competition in New Zealand , during which the team...

Central Pulse
Central Pulse
The Central Pulse are a New Zealand netball team based in Wellington that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Pulse represent several New Zealand regions in the North and South Islands, from East Cape in the north to Tasman and Marlborough in the south, and were formed as an...

Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

TSB Bank Arena
TSB Bank Arena
The TSB Bank Arena, formerly known as the Queens Wharf Events Centre, is an indoor arena, located in Wellington, New Zealand. The arena hosts mainly basketball games and is the home arena for the Century City Saints and part-time home arena of the New Zealand Breakers when they play in Wellington,...

Capital Shakers
Capital Shakers
The Capital Shakers were a New Zealand netball team based in Wellington that competed in now defunct National Bank Cup competition. The Shakers franchise merged with the Western Flyers to form the Central Pulse in the ANZ Championship-2007 Shakers Squad:...

, Western Flyers
Western Flyers
The Western Flyers were a New Zealand netball team which represented most of the Central, Southern and Eastern North Island in the National Bank Cup. The team was formed in 1998 and played all ten seasons of the competition...

Northern Mystics
Northern Mystics
The Northern Mystics are a New Zealand netball team based in Auckland that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The franchise was formed in 2007 as an amalgamation of two teams from the National Bank Cup – the Northern Force and the Auckland Diamonds – after the competition was...

Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

Trusts Stadium
Trusts Stadium
Trusts Stadium is an indoor arena located in Waitakere City, Auckland, New Zealand. It is a multi-purpose stadium that primarily holds sports events and music concerts...

Auckland Diamonds
Auckland Diamonds
The Auckland Diamonds were a regional netball team which represented Auckland-Waitakere and Counties Manukau Netball in New Zealand's National Bank Cup...

, Northern Force
Northern Force
The Northern Force were the northern-most team in Netball New Zealand's former premier competition - the National Bank Cup. For the 2008 ANZ Championship the Force merged with the Auckland Diamonds to create the Northern Mystics....

, CMTV Cometz
Southern Steel
Southern Steel
The Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The franchise was formed as an amalgamation of two teams from the National Bank Cup, the Dunedin-based Otago Rebels and the Invercargill-based Southern Sting...

Invercargill
Invercargill
Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...

Stadium Southland
Stadium Southland
Stadium Southland is an international sports complex in Invercargill, New Zealand. The stadium was completed in May 2000. The main SBS Sports Arena in the stadium has a capacity of 4,500, with temporary seating...

Southern Sting
Southern Sting
The Southern Sting were a netball team based in Invercargill, New Zealand that competed in The National Bank Cup competition, formerly known as the Coca Cola Cup....

, Otago Rebels
Otago Rebels
The Otago Rebels was a New Zealand netball team which represented Otago in the National Bank Cup.Otago Rebels were the first team to win the inaugural Coca-Cola Cup...

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...

Mystery Creek Events Centre
Mystery Creek Events Centre
Mystery Creek Events Centre is a large events centre based in the outskirts of Hamilton, New Zealand. It is home to many events, the largest being the National Agricultural Fieldays which is held annually in June....

Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic

  • Note: Some franchises have secondary stadiums in other cities. The Southern Steel were forced to find a new venue for home games in the 2011 season, after Stadium Southland's roof collapsed in a snowstorm on 18 September 2010. In 2011, the adjoining Invercargill ILT Velodrome
    Invercargill ILT Velodrome
    The Invercargill ILT Velodrome is the only indoor velodrome in New Zealand. The $11 million dollar velodrome is an indoor complex next to Stadium Southland, built on the western side of the stadium proper....

     will host four home games, with the Edgar Centre in Dunedin hosting two games.

Format

The ANZ Championship operates as a 17-week tournament with 69 matches during the first half of the calendar year. However, a condensed version of this schedule will be used in the 2011 season to accommodate the 2011 Netball World Championships, which will be held in July that year. Prior to the opening match, pre-season tournaments are held in Australia and New Zealand. The official pre-season tournament is the Netball Cup (formerly the SOPA Cup), which is held in Sydney over three days in the month leading up to the regular season.

Each season starts with a 14-week round-robin stage, followed by a 3-week finals series. In the initial round-robin stage, each team plays other teams from their own country twice, and teams from the other country once. Each team plays at least six home games, and also has one bye, some time during Rounds 5–9. Teams accumulate points during the round-robin stage: 2 points are awarded for each match won, while no points are earned for matches lost; competition rules do not generally allow for draws. Teams are ranked according to points accumulated, with the team that has the most points ranked highest, and so on; teams with equal competition points are subsequently sorted by goal percentage (calculated as the total number of goals scored during the competition divided by the total number of goals conceded, all multiplied by 100), accurate to two decimal places.

The four highest-ranked teams at the end of the round-robin phase progress to the finals series; other teams are eliminated from the competition for that season. The finals series is played over three weeks using a Page-McIntyre System. The 1st-ranked team from the round-robin phase hosts the 2nd-ranked team in the major semi-final; 3rd hosts 4th in the minor semi-final, the loser of which is eliminated. The loser of the major semi-final hosts the winner of the minor semi-final in the preliminary final. The grand final is contested between the winner of the major semi-final and the winner of the preliminary final, with the former team as hosts.

Matches are played under international netball rules. From 2010, one exception to the international rules will apply in the ANZ Championship, allowing coaches to talk with players during time stoppages. Another new feature of the competition will see the game clock displaying the final 60 seconds of each quarter, where previously the clock was blank for that time. In addition, matches that are tied at the end of four quarters continue into extra time until a winner emerges.

Governance

The ANZ Championship is administered by Trans-Tasman Netball League (TTNL), established in 2007 as a joint venture between Netball Australia and Netball New Zealand, both of which have representatives in TTNL's six-member board. Individual franchises are managed by state (Australian) and regional (New Zealand) netballing bodies, although these organisations report to their respective national governing body. The Australian Netball Players Association and the New Zealand Netball Players Association represent players collectively in negotiations with TTNL regarding salaries and playing conditions.

Players

As with international teams, ANZ Championship teams comprise 12 players each, with seven starting players and five reserves. Teams are presently allowed to include one import player at their discretion, and can also apply to their respective national organising body to use an "ineligible" player – a player who is a citizen of the team's country but is ineligible to play for that country's national team.

Transfer period

The Transfer season for the ANZ Championship usually takes place one month after the competition ends. The ten teams look to add depth to their rosters for the following seasons, all while staying under the salary cap. Teams look to re-sign and announce which of their roster will be returning first, then look to sign remaining talent and the international imports.

Salaries

The ANZ Championship is a semi-professional competition. Players are paid wages substantially higher than in previous competitions, but also lower than that required for players to make a living solely from the sport, with most players required to hold part-time or full-time employment elsewhere. Franchises are each restricted to a NZ$300,000 salary cap
Salary cap
In professional sports, a salary cap is a cartel agreement between teams that places a limit on the amount of money that can be spent on player salaries. The limit exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both...

 from which player salaries are paid. Salary amounts vary among players, but each player receives a retainer of at least NZ$12,000 per season; high-profile players are expected to earn up to NZ$50,000.

The effectiveness of the salary cap was called into question in 2009, when Queensland Firebirds coach Vicki Wilson
Vicki Wilson
Vicki Wilson, OAM, is an Australian netball coach and retired international player.-Netball career:Wilson was a part of the Australian national netball team for fifteen years, making her debut in 1985...

 publicly speculated that the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, who had at least seven current or former Silver Ferns players, were not complying with the $300,000 salary cap, a claim that the Magic denied.

Sponsorship

On 9 October 2007, ANZ Bank
ANZ Bank
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited , commonly called ANZ, is the fourth largest bank in Australia, after the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac Banking Corporation and the National Australia Bank. Australian operations make up the largest part of ANZ's business, with commercial and retail...

 was announced as the league's major sponsor. GM Holden
Holden
GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...

, Fisher & Paykel
Fisher & Paykel
Fisher & Paykel is a major appliance manufacturing company based in East Tamaki, New Zealand.Originally an importer of domestic refrigerators, Fisher & Paykel now holds over 420 patents and bases its identity on innovative design, particularly in the areas of usability and environmental...

 and Mars Snackfood
Mars, Incorporated
Mars, Incorporated is a worldwide manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products with US$30 billion in annual sales in 2010, and is ranked as the 5th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Headquartered in McLean, unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia,...

 have also been named as major sponsors.

Media coverage

All 69 games are shown live on One HD in Australia, with live matches broadcasted on Sky Sport
SKY Sport (New Zealand)
Sky Sport is a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by New Zealand's satellite pay-TV company, Sky Network Television. Sky Sport 1 was launched in 1990...

 in New Zealand. Fox Sports
Fox Sports (Australia)
Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...

 originally held telecast rights in Australia, signing a one-year deal in 2008. However, One's parent company Channel Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...

 succeeded in a rival bid, securing broadcasting rights for netball in Australia over four years starting from late 2008. Sky Sport in New Zealand has a three-year deal. These media rights are believed to be worth A$1.5 million a year to Netball Australia and Netball New Zealand, with guaranteed primetime telecasts until 2010. In New Zealand, Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....

 has delayed coverage rights, due to Netball New Zealand's split broadcasting deal between TVNZ (who have Silver Ferns games rights) and Sky Sport.

Champions and minor premiers

Season Grand final contenders Minor premiers
Champions Score Runners-up
2008 65 – 56
2009
2009 ANZ Championship season
The 2009 ANZ Championship season was the second season of the ANZ Championship, commencing on 4 April 2009. The 2009 season comprised 69 matches played over 17 weeks. The format of the competition was unchanged from last year, starting with a 14-week round robinfollowed by a three-week finals series...

54 – 46
2010
2010 ANZ Championship season
The 2010 ANZ Championship season was the third season of the ANZ Championship, commencing on 20 March. The 2010 season started two weeks earlier than in previous years to accommodate the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, in which netball is a core sport. 69 matches were played over 17 weeks,...

52 – 42
2011
2011 ANZ Championship season
The 2011 ANZ Championship season was the fourth season of the ANZ Championship in Australasia, commencing on 13 February. The 2011 season started much earlier in the year compared with previous seasons, to accommodate the 2011 Netball World Championships in July...

57 – 44

Most Valuable Player

Each year, the official Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is given to players who receive the most votes from coaches throughout the season. After every round-robin match, coaches nominate three players as their player of the match: their first nominee receives three points, the second nominee receives two points, while the third nominee receives one point. These points are tallied at the end of the regular season to determine the winner.
Season Player Team
2008   Romelda Aiken
Romelda Aiken
Romelda Aiken is a Jamaican netball player. Aiken debuted for the Jamaican national team in 2005 as a replacement for regular shooter Elaine Davis. The shooter rose to international prominence during the 2007 Netball World Championships...

  Sonia Mkoloma
Sonia Mkoloma
Sonia Mkoloma is an English international netball player. Mkoloma made her international debut for the English national team in 1999, and during her career has competed at three Netball World Championships, three Commonwealth Games and two World Netball Series...

2009
2009 ANZ Championship season
The 2009 ANZ Championship season was the second season of the ANZ Championship, commencing on 4 April 2009. The 2009 season comprised 69 matches played over 17 weeks. The format of the competition was unchanged from last year, starting with a 14-week round robinfollowed by a three-week finals series...

  Romelda Aiken
Romelda Aiken
Romelda Aiken is a Jamaican netball player. Aiken debuted for the Jamaican national team in 2005 as a replacement for regular shooter Elaine Davis. The shooter rose to international prominence during the 2007 Netball World Championships...

2010
2010 ANZ Championship season
The 2010 ANZ Championship season was the third season of the ANZ Championship, commencing on 20 March. The 2010 season started two weeks earlier than in previous years to accommodate the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, in which netball is a core sport. 69 matches were played over 17 weeks,...

  Liana Leota
2011
2011 ANZ Championship season
The 2011 ANZ Championship season was the fourth season of the ANZ Championship in Australasia, commencing on 13 February. The 2011 season started much earlier in the year compared with previous seasons, to accommodate the 2011 Netball World Championships in July...

  Leana de Bruin
Leana de Bruin
Leana de Bruin is a South African and New Zealand international netball player. De Bruin played 34 tests for South Africa before moving to New Zealand in 2000...

  Natalie Medhurst
Natalie Medhurst
Natalie Medhurst is an Australian netball player. Medhurst plays as a goal attack and goal shooter, and is a current member of the Australian national netball team....


Best Young Player Award

The MARS Red Best Young Player Award is awarded to the player who is under the age of 25, has not played more than five matches in previous ANZ Championship seasons and has not played in more than five international matches. Five nominees are chosen throughout the regular season, and the winner is announced at the conclusion of the round-robin stage.
Season Player Team
2010
2010 ANZ Championship season
The 2010 ANZ Championship season was the third season of the ANZ Championship, commencing on 20 March. The 2010 season started two weeks earlier than in previous years to accommodate the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, in which netball is a core sport. 69 matches were played over 17 weeks,...

  Sharni Layton
Sharni Layton
Sharni Layton is an Australian netball player. Layton was a member of the Australian U21 team from 2006–09, winning gold at the 2009 World Youth Netball Championships in the Cook Islands. In 2008, Layton was signed to play for the Melbourne Vixens in the ANZ Championship...

2011
2011 ANZ Championship season
The 2011 ANZ Championship season was the fourth season of the ANZ Championship in Australasia, commencing on 13 February. The 2011 season started much earlier in the year compared with previous seasons, to accommodate the 2011 Netball World Championships in July...

  Kayla Cullen
Kayla Cullen
Kayla Cullen is a New Zealand netball player. As a high school student, Cullen played representative netball and basketball, and competed at a national level in athletics...


Rivalries

  • Canterbury Tactix vs Southern Steel
    Southern Steel
    The Southern Steel are a New Zealand netball team based in Invercargill that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The franchise was formed as an amalgamation of two teams from the National Bank Cup, the Dunedin-based Otago Rebels and the Invercargill-based Southern Sting...

    : The two teams from the Southern Island of New Zealand. In the National Bank Cup, the Canterbury Flames (Canterbury Tactix) and Southern Steel (Southern Sting) played in the grand finals in 2000-2002, 2004.

  • Melbourne Vixens
    Melbourne Vixens
    The Melbourne Vixens are an Australian netball team in Melbourne that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The team were formed in 2007 as an amalgamation of the Melbourne Phoenix and Melbourne Kestrels from the previous Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Sharelle McMahon and Bianca Chatfield have...

     vs New South Wales Swifts
    New South Wales Swifts
    The New South Wales Swifts are an Australian netball team based in Sydney that compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Swifts were formed in 2007 as an amalgamation of two teams from the Commonwealth Bank Trophy – the Sydney Swifts and the Hunter Jaegers...

    : These two teams are the most successful teams in Australia. In the Commonwealth Bank Trophy, the Sydney Swifts (New South Wales Swifts) and Melbourne Phoenix (Melbourne Vixens) were the most successful teams in the league winning nine of the eleven championships (the other two were from the Adelaide Thunderbirds). These two teams even played in four of the last five grand finals. The rivalry came about due to Sydney and Melbourne being the two largest cities in Australia. Also, every year, both teams would play for the "Sargeant McKinnis Cup" where the winner is the team who scored the most goals between the two sides (excluding any finals). Currently, the Swifts are the cup holders defeating the Vixens in both matches in 2010.

See also

  • Commonwealth Bank Trophy
    Commonwealth Bank Trophy
    The Commonwealth Bank Trophy was the pre-eminent national netball competition in Australia from 1997 to 2007.It was established in 1997 as a true national league to replace the ailing, state club-based Mobil League. Designed from the beginning to be more marketable to the general public, it saw...

     (defunct)
  • National Bank Cup
    National Bank Cup
    The National Bank Cup was the pre-eminent national netball competition in New Zealand between 1998 and 2007. From 2008, it was replaced by the ANZ Championship.-Format:...

     (defunct)
  • Netball in Australia
    Netball in Australia
    Netball is the most popular women's team participation sport in Australia. In 1985, there were 347,000 players. In 1995, there were over 360,000 Australian netball players. Throughout most of Australia's netball history, the game has largely been a participation sport; it has not managed to become...

  • Netball in New Zealand
    Netball in New Zealand
    Netball is the most popular women's sport in New Zealand, in terms of player participation and public interest. With the national team, the Silver Ferns, currently ranked second in the world, netball maintains a high profile in New Zealand...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK