Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, 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 (later renamed the
International Federation of Netball AssociationsInternational Federation of Netball Associations is the governing body for netball. The organisation has five regional areas: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Leadership meets every two years. IFNA is responsible for world rankings, maintaining the rules for netball and organising the...
(IFNA)) was formed. As of 2011, IFNA comprises more than 60
national teams organized into five global regions.
Games are played on a rectangular court with raised goal rings at each end. Each team attempts to score goals by passing a ball down the court and shooting it through its goal ring. Players are assigned specific positions, which define their roles within the team and restrict their movement to certain areas of the court. During general play, a player with the ball can hold onto it for only three seconds before shooting for a goal or passing to another player. The winning team is the one that scores the most goals. Netball games are 60 minutes long. Variations have been developed to increase the game's pace and appeal to a wider audience.
Netball is most popular in
Commonwealth nationsThe Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
, specifically in schools, and is predominantly played by women. According to the IFNA, netball is played by more than 20 million people in more than 80 countries. Major
transnationalTransnationalism is a social movement and scholarly research agenda grown out of the heightened interconnectivity between people and the receding economic and social significance of boundaries among nation states....
competitions take place, including the
Netball SuperleagueThe Netball Superleague is the elite netball competition in England, Wales and Scotland. The league, which runs from November to June, features nine teams from all areas of Britain. It is regularly shown on sports broadcaster Sky Sports, thanks to a major television deal signed in 2006. Naming...
in Great Britain and the
ANZ ChampionshipThe ANZ Championship is the pre-eminent netball 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 and five from New Zealand...
in Australia and New Zealand. Three major competitions take place internationally: the quadrennial World Netball Championships, the Commonwealth Games, and the yearly
World Netball SeriesThe World Netball Series is an international netball competition that was contested for the first time in October 2009. The new competition features modified "fastnet" rules, and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens...
. In 1995 netball became an
International Olympic Committee recognised sportNetball is an Olympic recognised sport, a status attained in 1995 after a twenty year period of lobbying. It has never been played at the Summer Olympics, but recognition means that it could be included at some point in the future. Its exclusion was seen by the netball community as a hindrance to...
.
History
Netball emerged from early versions of
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and evolved into its own sport as the number of women participating in sports increased. Basketball was invented in 1891 by
James NaismithThe first game of "Basket Ball" was played in December 1891. In a handwritten report, Naismith described the circumstances of the inaugural match; in contrast to modern basketball, the players played nine versus nine, handled a soccer ball, not a basketball, and instead of shooting at two hoops,...
in the United States. The game was initially played indoors between two teams of nine players, using an association football ball that was thrown into closed-end peach baskets. Naismith's game spread quickly across the United States and variations of the rules soon emerged.
Physical EducationPhysical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
instructor Senda Berenson developed modified rules for women in 1892; these eventually gave rise to
women's basketballWomen's basketball is one of the few women's sports that developed in tandem with its men's counterpart. It became popular, spreading from the east coast of the United States to the west coast , in large part via women's colleges...
. Around this time separate intercollegiate rules were developed for men and women. The various basketball rules converged into a universal set in the United States.
Martina Bergman-ÖsterbergMartina Sofia Helena Bergman-Österberg was a Swedish physical education instructor and women's suffrage advocate. After studying Swedish gymnastics in Stockholm she moved to London, where she founded the first physical education instructor's college in England, in which she admitted women only...
introduced a version of basketball in 1893 to her female students at the Physical Training College in
HampsteadHampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, London. The rules of the game were modified at the college over several years: the game moved outdoors and was played on grass; the baskets were replaced by rings that had nets; and in 1897 and 1899, rules from women's basketball in the United States were incorporated. Madame Österberg's new sport acquired the name "net ball". The first codified rules of netball were published in 1901 by the Ling Association, later the
Physical Education Association of the United KingdomThe Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom is a former leading body in the United Kingdom for physical education. It was founded in 1899 as the Ling Association....
. From England, netball spread to other countries in the
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
. Variations of the rules and even names for the sport arose in different areas: "women's (outdoor) basketball" arrived in
AustraliaNetball 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...
around 1900 and in
New ZealandNetball 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...
from 1906, while "netball" was being played in Jamaican schools by 1909.
From the start, netball was viewed as an appropriate sport for women to play, with restricted movement that appealed to contemporary notions of women's participation in sports, while remaining distinct from potential rival male sports. Netball became a popular women's sport in countries where it was introduced and spread rapidly through school systems. School leagues and domestic competitions emerged during the first half of the 20th century, and in 1924 the first national governing body was established in New Zealand. International competition was initially hampered by a lack of funds and varying rules in different countries.
AustraliaThe Australia national netball team, commonly known as the Australian Netball Diamonds, represent Australia in international netball tests and competitions. The team was formed in 1938 and played in the first international game of netball, against New Zealand...
hosted New Zealand in the first international game of netball in
MelbourneMelbourne 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...
on 20 August 1938; Australia won 40–11. Efforts began in 1957 to standardise netball rules globally: by 1960 international playing rules had been standardised, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball, later the
International Federation of Netball AssociationsInternational Federation of Netball Associations is the governing body for netball. The organisation has five regional areas: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Leadership meets every two years. IFNA is responsible for world rankings, maintaining the rules for netball and organising the...
(IFNA), was formed to administer the sport worldwide.
Representatives from England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the West Indies were part of a 1960 meeting in Sri Lanka that standardised the rules for the game. The game spread to other African countries in the 1970s. South Africa was prohibited from competing internationally from 1969 to 1994 due to apartheid. In the United States, Netball's popularity also increased during the 1970s, particularly in the New York area, and the
United States of America Netball AssociationUnited States of America Netball Association is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in the United States. It was created in 2001 in New York City. It has affiliates in California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York,...
was created in 1992. The game also became popular in the Pacific Island nations of the Cook Islands, Fiji and Samoa during the 1970s. Even though netball was played in
Sri LankaNetball was first played in Sri Lanka in 1921. The first game was played by Ceylon Girl Guide Company at Kandy High School. The first interschool march was played between Kandy High School and Colombo Ladies College in February 1925. In 1927, netball was played at Government Training College for...
as early as 1926, an official governing body was not created there until 1972.
Netball SingaporeNetball Singapore, founded in 1962, is the national body for netball in Singapore. In 2002, the Association was named a merit sport by the Singapore Sports Council. In 1999, Netball Singapore established the Netball Super League....
was created in 1962, and the
Malaysian Netball AssociationMalaysian Netball Association is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in Malaysia. Established in 1978, the Malaysian Netball Association hosted the first Asian Netball Championship in 1985, and the 3rd Asian Youth Netball Championship.-References:...
was created in 1978.
In Australia, the term
women's basketball was used to refer to both netball and basketball. During the 1950s and 1960s, a movement arose to change the Australian name of the game from
women's basketball to
netball in order to avoid confusion between the two sports. The Australian Basketball Union offered to pay the costs involved to alter the name, but the netball organisation rejected the change. In 1970 the Council of the All Australia Netball Association officially changed the name to "netball" in Australia.
In 1963, the first international tournament was held in
EastbourneEastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, England. Originally called the World Tournament, it later became known as the World Netball Championships. Following the first tournament, one of the organisers, Miss R. Harris, declared,
The World Netball Championships have been held every four years since, most recently in 2011. The
World Youth Netball ChampionshipsThe World Youth Netball Championships is the world championships of netball for national U21 teams, with all players being aged 21 years or younger. The event started in Canberra in 1988, and has been held roughly every four years since...
started in
CanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
in 1988, and have been held roughly every four years since. In 1995, the
International Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
designated netball as an Olympic recognised sport. Three years later it debuted at the
1998 Commonwealth GamesThe 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...
in
Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
. Other international competitions also emerged in the late 20th century, including the Nations Cup and the
Asian Netball ChampionshipThe Asian Netball Championship is a netball competition held every four years with teams from across Asia competing.The sixth Asian Netball Championship was held in 2005, and was won by the Singaporean team with a win over the Malaysian team with a score of 53–39 in the final. The fifth Asian...
.
Gender
As of 2006, the IFNA recognises only women's netball.
Men's netballOn the club, national and international level, men's netball teams exist, but attract less attention than women's netball. Mixed teams are not uncommon in Australia and are very popular. Men's national teams do exist for countries including Canada, England, Fiji, Jamaica, Kenya, Pakistan and the...
teams exist in some areas but attract less attention from sponsors and spectators. Men's netball started to become popular in Australia during the 1980s, and the first men's championship was held in 1985. In 2004, New Zealand and Fiji sent teams to compete in the Australian Mixed and Men's National Championships. By 2006, mixed netball teams in Australia had as many male participants as
rugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. Other countries with men's national teams include Canada, Fiji, Jamaica, Kenya, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Unlike women's netball at elite and national levels, men's and mixed gendered teams are largely self-funded.
An all transgendered netball team from Indonesia competed at the 1994 Gay Games in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The team had been the Indonesian national champions. At the 2000 Gay Games VI in Sydney, netball and
volleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
were the two sports with the highest rates of transgendered athletes participating. There were eight teams of indigenous players, with seven identifying as transgendered. They came from places like
Palm IslandPalm Island is an Aboriginal community located on Great Palm Island, also called by the Aboriginal name "Bwgcolman", an island on the Great Barrier Reef in North Queensland, Australia The settlement is also known by a variety of other names including "the Mission", Palm Island Settlement or Palm...
in northern
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
,
SamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
,
TongaTonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
and
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. Teams with transgendered players were allowed to participate in several divisions including men's, mixed and transgendered; they were not allowed to compete against the cisgendered women's teams.
Description and rules
The objective of a game is to score more goals than the opposition. Goals are scored when a team member positioned in the attacking shooting circle shoots the ball through the goal ring. The goal rings are 380 millimetres (15 in) in diameter and sit atop 3.05 metres (10 ft)-high goal posts that have no backboards. A 4.9 metres (16.1 ft)-radius semi-circular "shooting circle" is an area at each end of the court. The goal posts are located within the shooting circle. Each team defends one shooting circle and attacks the other. The netball court is 30.5 metres (100.1 ft) long, 15.25 metres (50 ft) wide, and divided lengthwise into thirds. The ball is usually made of leather or rubber, measures 680 to 710 mm (26.8 to 28 ) in circumference, and weighs 397 to 454 g (14 to 16 ). A normal game consists of four 15-minute quarters and can be played outdoors or in a covered stadium.
Each team is allowed seven players on the court. Each player is assigned a specific position, which limits her movement to a certain area on the court. A "bib" worn by each player indicates her position. Only two positions are permitted in the attacking shooting circle, and can therefore shoot for a goal. Similarly, only two positions are permitted in the defensive shooting circle; they try to prevent the opposition from shooting goals. Other players are restricted to two thirds of the court, with the exception of the Centre, who may move anywhere on the court except for a shooting circle.
At the beginning of every quarter and after a goal has been scored, play starts with a player in the Centre position passing the ball from the centre of the court. These "centre passes" alternate between the teams, regardless of which team scored the last goal. When the umpire blows the whistle to restart play, four players from each team can move into the centre third to receive the pass. The centre pass must be caught or touched in the centre third. The ball is then moved up and down the court through passing and must be touched by a player in each adjacent third of the court. Players can hold the ball for only three seconds at any time. It must be released before the foot they were standing on when they caught it touches the ground again. Contact between players is only permitted if it does not impede an opponent or the general play. When defending a pass or shot players must be at least 90 centimetres (35.4 in) away from the player with the ball. If illegal contact is made, the player who contacted cannot participate in play until the player taking the penalty has passed or shot the ball. If the ball is held in two hands and either dropped or a shot at goal is missed, the same player cannot be the first to touch it unless it first rebounds off the goal.
Indoor netball
Indoor netball is a variation of netball, played exclusively indoors, in which the playing court is surrounded on each side and overhead by a net. The net prevents the ball from leaving the court, permitting faster play by reducing playing stoppages.
Different forms of indoor netball exist. In a seven-per-side version called "action netball", seven players per team play with rules similar to netball. However, a game is split into 15-minute halves with a three-minute break in between. This version is played in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England.
A six-per-side version of the sport is also played in New Zealand. Two Centres per team can play in the whole court except the shooting circles; the remaining attacking and defending players are each restricted to one half of the court, including the shooting circles. The attacking and Centre players may shoot from outside the shooting circle for a two-point goal.
A five-per-side game is also common in indoor netball. Players can move throughout the court, with the exception of the shooting circles, which are restricted to certain attacking or defending players.
Fastnet
Fastnet is a variation on the rules of netball designed to make games faster and more television-friendly. The
World Netball SeriesThe World Netball Series is an international netball competition that was contested for the first time in October 2009. The new competition features modified "fastnet" rules, and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens...
promotes it to raise the sport's profile and attract more spectators and greater sponsorship. The game is much shorter, with each quarter lasting only six minutes and only a two-minute break between quarters. The coaches can give instructions from the sideline during play, and unlimited substitutions are allowed. Like six-per-side indoor netball, attacking players may shoot two-point goals from outside the shooting circle. Each team can separately nominate one "power play" quarter, in which each goal scored by that team is worth double points and the centre pass is taken by the team that conceded the goal.
For children
The rules for children are similar to those for adults, except the length of each quarter can be reduced and the height of the goal may be lower.
Fun Net is a version of netball for five– to seven-year-olds developed by
Netball AustraliaNetball 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...
that aims to improve basic netball skills using games and activities. The Fun Net program runs for 8–16 weeks. There are no winners or losers. The goal posts are 2.4 metres (7.9 ft) high, and a smaller ball is used.
Netball Australia also runs a modified game called Netta aimed at 8– to 11-year-olds. The same goals and ball are used, but players rotate positions during the game, permitting each player to play each position. Netta was created to develop passing and catching skills. Its rules permit six seconds between catching and passing the ball, instead of the three seconds permitted in the adult game. Most players under 11 play this version at netball clubs.
A similar version called High Five Netball is promoted by the All England Netball Association. It is also aimed at 9– to 11-year-old girls and consists of just five positions. The players swap positions during the game. When a player is not on the court, she is expected to help the game in some other way, such as being the timekeeper or scorekeeper. The game is played over four quarters, with each quarter lasting six minutes.
Governance
The recognised international governing body of netball is the
International Federation of Netball AssociationsInternational Federation of Netball Associations is the governing body for netball. The organisation has five regional areas: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Leadership meets every two years. IFNA is responsible for world rankings, maintaining the rules for netball and organising the...
(IFNA), based in
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England. When it was founded in 1960, the organisation was called the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball. The IFNA is responsible for compiling
world rankingsThe IFNA World Rankings are published by the International Federation of Netball Associations to make it possible to compare the relative strengths of internationally active national netball teams. Initially, rankings were based on the results from the Netball World Championships, and released...
for national teams, maintaining the rules for netball and organising several major international competitions. It is governed by a congress that meets every two years, a board of directors that meets three times a year, a Chief Executive Officer and a Secretariat.
As of August 2011, the IFNA claimed 74 national members in five regions. Each region has an IFNA Regional Federation.
| IFNA Region | Regional Federation |
| Africa Netball is a popular women's sport in parts of Africa. Several African nations are ranked amongst the top twenty-five in the world. As of January 2011, South Africa was ranked number six, Malawi was ranked number seven, Tanzania was ranked twenty-one, Namibia's women's national team was ranked...
|
Africa Netball |
| Americas The IFNA's Americas region includes North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. The region covers 54 nations, of which 13 have national governing bodies. Each year, the region hosts two tournaments: the CNA U16 Championship and the AFNA Senior Championship. Netball is most...
|
American Federation of Netball Associations |
| Asia Netball is popular in several parts of Asia. The IFNA Asia region includes countries such as Australia , India, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka. The major regional competition is the Asian Netball Championship...
|
Netball Asia |
| Europe Netball is primarily played in Commonwealth countries, which were heavily involved in standardising the rules for netball. The Federation of European Netball Associations , sometimes referred to as Netball Europe, is the governing body for netball in the Europe netball region. The organisation was...
|
Federation of European Netball Associations |
| Oceania In Australia and New Zealand, netball is one of the most popular sports played by women. Women's sport in Oceania has traditionally had a very low profile. Despite this, netball is popular in Oceania, with its growth partly because of New Zealand encouraging the game and providing money for the...
|
Oceania Netball Federation The Oceania Netball Federation is the regional body within the International Federation of Netball Associations that governs netball across Oceania. The current co-ordinator is Briar Martindale...
|
The IFNA is affiliated with the General Association of International Sports Federations, the
International World Games AssociationThe International World Games Association is an international association, recognized by the IOC, that organizes every four years since 1981 the multi-sport event called the World Games.-Member federations:...
and the
Association of IOC Recognised International Sports FederationsThe Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations is a non-governmental, non-profit, non-discriminatory organisation constituted through and recognised by the International Olympic Committee. . It was formed in 1983...
. It is also a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code.
International competition
Netball is a popular participant sport in countries of the
Commonwealth of NationsThe Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
. Non-Commonwealth entities with full IFNA membership include Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Argentina, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the United States, along with former Commonwealth members Zimbabwe, Ireland and Hong Kong. According to the IFNA, over 20 million people play netball in more than 80 countries. International tournaments are held among countries in each of the five IFNA regions, either annually or every four years. School leagues and national club competitions have been organised in England, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica since the early 20th century. Franchise-based netball leagues did not emerge until the late 1990s. These competitions sought to increase the profile of the sport in their respective countries. Despite widespread local interest, participation was largely amateur.
Netball was one of three new sports included in the
1998 Commonwealth GamesThe 1998 XVI Commonwealth Games were held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 September to 21 September 1998 making it the first Asian country to act as host and the last Commonwealth Games for the 20th century. A record 70 nations supplied 3638 athletes...
and has been a fixture ever since. At the
2010 Commonwealth GamesThe 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...
, 12 teams competed. Australia and New Zealand have won two golds and two silvers each, while England has three bronzes and Jamaica one bronze.
The major international tournament in Africa is organised by the Confederation of Southern African Netball Associations, which invites teams from
BotswanaThe Botswana national netball team represent Botswana in international netball tests. Botswana competed in the 2007 World Netball Championships, their first appearance at a World Championships, finishing tenth. They also came second at the 2008 Nations Cup, and finished 13th at the 2011 World...
, Namibia, Zambia,
MalawiThe Malawi national netball team, nicknamed "The Queens", represent Malawi in international netball competition. Malawi have played in five World Netball Championships, famously finishing fifth in 2007. The Queens are currently coached by Edith Kaliati...
,
South AfricaThe South Africa national netball team, nicknamed the "Proteas", are the national netball team of South Africa. The Proteas are coached by former representative player Elize Kotze. The team are governed by Netball South Africa and sponsored by...
, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and the Seychelles to take part. The tournament is hosted by a country within the region; senior and under 21 teams compete. The tournament has served as a qualifier for the World Championships. South Africa launched a new domestic competition in 2011 called Netball Grand Series. It features eight regional teams from South Africa and is aimed at increasing the amount of playing time for players. It runs for 17 weeks and replaces the National Netball League, which was played over only two weeks. According to
ProteasThe South Africa national netball team, nicknamed the "Proteas", are the national netball team of South Africa. The Proteas are coached by former representative player Elize Kotze. The team are governed by Netball South Africa and sponsored by...
captain Elsje Jordaan it was hoped that the competition would create an opportunity for players to become professional.
The American Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) hosts two tournaments each year: the Caribbean Netball Association (CNA) Under 16 Championship and the AFNA Senior Championship. The CNA championship involves two divisions of teams from the Caribbean islands. In 2010 five teams competed in two rounds of
round robinA round-robin tournament is a competition "in which each contestant meets all other contestants in turn".-Terminology:...
matches in the Championship Division, while four teams competed in the Developmental Division. Jamaica, which has lost only once in the tournament, decided not to play the 2011 tournament. The AFNA Senior Championship includes Canada and the USA along with the Caribbean nations. The tournament serves as a qualifier for the World Championship. Jamaica, with its high ranking, does not have to qualify; this leaves two spots to the other teams in the tournament.
The
Asian Netball ChampionshipThe Asian Netball Championship is a netball competition held every four years with teams from across Asia competing.The sixth Asian Netball Championship was held in 2005, and was won by the Singaporean team with a win over the Malaysian team with a score of 53–39 in the final. The fifth Asian...
is held every four years. The seventh Asian games were held in 2009 and featured
SingaporeThe Singapore national netball team are the national netball team representing Singapore. The Singapore team have competed at four World Netball Championships . They have also won two Nations Cup titles...
, Thailand, Maldives, Taiwan, Malaysia,
Sri Lanka-History:Netball was first played in Sri Lanka in 1921. The first game was played by Ceylon Girl Guide Company at Kandy High School. By 1952, Sri Lankan clubs were playing Indian club sides. In 1956, Sri Lanka played its first international match against Australia's national team in Sri Lanka. In...
, Hong Kong,
IndiaThe India national netball team is the national netball team of India. The team competed at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, for the first time. India were coached by Panchali Tatke, who took over from Mary Murcia Lourdes one month before the start of the Games. Prachi Tehlan captained the...
and Pakistan. There is also an Asian Youth Netball Championship for girls under 21 years of age, the seventh of which was held in 2010.
The major netball competition in Europe is the
Netball SuperleagueThe Netball Superleague is the elite netball competition in England, Wales and Scotland. The league, which runs from November to June, features nine teams from all areas of Britain. It is regularly shown on sports broadcaster Sky Sports, thanks to a major television deal signed in 2006. Naming...
, which features nine teams from England, Wales and Scotland. The league was created in 2005. Matches are broadcast on Sky Sports.
Netball has been featured at the Pacific Games, a multi-sport event with participation from 22 countries from around the South Pacific. The event is held every four years and has 12 required sports; the host country chooses the other four. Netball is not a required sport and has missed selection, particularly when former French or American territories host the games.
The
ANZ ChampionshipThe ANZ Championship is the pre-eminent netball 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 and five from New Zealand...
is a
Trans-TasmanTrans-Tasman is an adjective used primarily in Australia and New Zealand, which signifies an interrelationship between both countries. Its name originates from the Tasman Sea which lies between the two countries...
competition that has been broadcast on television in both New Zealand and Australia since 2008. It is contested among ten teams from Australia and New Zealand. It began in April 2008, succeeding Australia's
Commonwealth Bank TrophyThe 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...
and New Zealand's
National Bank CupThe 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:...
as the pre-eminent netball league in those countries. The competition is held annually between April and July, consisting of 69 matches played over 17 weeks. The ANZ Championship saw netball become a semi-professional sport in both countries, with increased media coverage and player salaries.
Major championships
There are three major international netball competitions.
The most important competition in netball is the World Netball Championships held every four years. The first was held in 1963 at the
Chelsea College of Physical EducationThe University of Brighton is an English university of the United Kingdom, with a community of over 23,000 students and 2,600 staff based on campuses in Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings. It has one of the best teaching quality ratings in the UK and a strong research record, factors which...
at
EastbourneEastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
, England, with 11 nations competing. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australian and New Zealand teams, with ten and four titles respectively. The only other team to receive a championship title is Trinidad and Tobago in 1979. That year there were no finals and the title was shared as New Zealand, Australia and Trinidad and Tobago all finished on equal points at the end of the round robin.
The World Series is a competition among the top six national netball teams according to the
IFNA World RankingsThe IFNA World Rankings are published by the International Federation of Netball Associations to make it possible to compare the relative strengths of internationally active national netball teams. Initially, rankings were based on the results from the Netball World Championships, and released...
. It is organised by the IFNA in conjunction with the national governing bodies of the six competing nations,
UK SportUK Sport is the UK Government's organisation for directing the development of sport within the home countries.-History:The Sports Council previously had been formed in 1972, and had the motto Sport for All. There was also the Central Council of Physical Recreation. In July 1994 it was decided to...
, and the host city's local council. The All England Netball Association covers air travel, accommodation, food and local travel expenses for all teams, while the respective netball governing bodies cover player allowances. It is held over three days, with each team playing each other once during the first two days in a round-robin format. The four highest-scoring teams advance to the semi-finals; the winners face each other in the Grand Final. The competition features modified fastnet rules and has been likened to
Twenty20Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in England for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board , in 2003. A Twenty20 game involves two teams, each has a single innings, batting for a maximum of 20 overs. Twenty20 cricket is also known as T20 cricket...
cricket and
rugby sevensRugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
. A new format featuring shorter matches with modified rules was designed to make the game more appealing to spectators and television audiences. The World Series was held for the first time in October 2009 and is scheduled to be held annually in England until at least 2011.
Netball gained Olympic recognition in 1995 after 20 years of lobbying. Although it has never been played at the Summer Olympics, politicians and administrators have been campaigning to have it included in the near future. Its absence from the Olympics has been seen by the netball community as a hindrance in the global growth of the game by limiting access to media attention and funding sources. Some funding sources became available with recognition in 1995, including the
International Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
, national Olympic committees, national sport organisations, and state and federal governments.
See also
External links