   #copyright

Netball

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Sports

   Netball is a sport similar to and derived from basketball, and was
   originally known in its country of origin, the United States, as
   "women's basketball". Invented by Clara Gregory Baer, a pioneer in
   women's sport, it is now the pre-eminent women's team sport (both as a
   spectator and participant sport) in Australia and New Zealand and is
   popular in Jamaica, Barbados, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the United
   Kingdom.

Description and rules

   Diagram of a netball court.
   Diagram of a netball court.

   Like basketball, the game is played on a hard court with scoring rings
   at both ends, and with a ball resembling a basketball (but lighter,
   smaller and slightly softer in construction, even mainly white). The
   hoops are of smaller dimension and height in comparison to basketball
   hoops, though they contain no backboards. The court is divided into
   thirds which regulate where individuals in each team are allowed to
   move, and two semi-circular "shooting circles" at each end from within
   which all scoring shots must be taken.

   There are seven players on each team, who are given nominated, named
   positions. (Some junior/training variants have only five players per
   team.) Each player must wear a "bib" showing one of the abbreviations
   below, indicating that player's position. Each player is only allowed
   in certain areas of the court: a player in a section of court that is
   not part of their playing area is deemed "offside". The positions are
   described below:
   Netball positions
   Position Name Abbreviation Opponent Areas permitted
   Goal Shooter GS Goal Keeper Attacking goal third including goal circle
   Goal Attack GA Goal Defence Attacking goal third, goal circle, and
   centre third
   Wing Attack WA Wing Defence Attacking goal third and centre third, not
   goal circle
   Centre C Centre Everywhere except goal circles
   Wing Defence WD Wing Attack Defensive goal third and centre third, not
   goal circle
   Goal Defence GD Goal Attack Defensive goal third and centre third,
   including goal circle
   Goal Keeper GK Goal Shooter Defensive goal third, including goal circle

   By the combination of the above, only the Goal Attack and Goal Shooter
   are able to score goals directly. A ball that passes through the hoop,
   but has been thrown either from outside the circle or by a player not
   the GA or GS, is deemed a "no goal". Furthermore, a shooter (GA or GS)
   may not shoot for a goal if a "free pass" has been awarded for an
   infringement such as stepping, offside, or using the post.

   Netball rules do not permit players to take more than one step in
   possession of the ball. Consequently, the only way to move the ball
   towards the goal is to throw the ball to a team-mate. The ball cannot
   be held by a player for more than three seconds at any time, and
   players may not tap the ball to themselves ("replay"). This, combined
   with the restrictions on where one player can move, ensures that
   everyone on the team is regularly involved in play. Defence is
   restricted — not only is contact not permitted, but players must be at
   least three feet (90 centimetres) away from a player with the ball,
   meaning that hard physical contact is rare. If contact is made, a
   penalty is given to the team of the player who was contacted, and the
   player who contacted must stand "out of play", meaning they cannot
   participate in play until the player taking the penalty has passed the
   ball.
   Malawi plays Fiji at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
   Malawi plays Fiji at the 2006 Commonwealth Games

   A game is played in four quarters, each one lasting 15 minutes, with
   intervals of three minutes between the first and second quarters, and
   between the third and fourth quarters. There is also an interval of
   five minutes at half time. If a player has an injury, a team-mate or
   umpire calls time, and the time keeper pauses the timer. When the game
   starts and the player has swapped places with another player, or is
   healthy, play is resumed and the timer is restarted.

Court Dimensions

   A netball court is slightly larger than a basketball court, being 30.5m
   long and 15.25m wide. The longer sides are called Side Lines and the
   shorter lines called Goal Lines. The court is divided into three equal
   areas. A 90cm-diameter Centre Circle is located in the centre of the
   court. A 4.9m-radius semi-circle on each Goal Line is called the Goal
   Circle. The court lines are not more than 50mm wide. The goal posts are
   3.05m high from the top of the ring. The rings have an internal
   diameter of 380mm and are located 150mm forward from the post. The
   rings are made of 15mm diameter steel. The free space around the court
   will be a minimum of 37.9m x 22.65m.

Starting and restarting play

   When a quarter begins, or after a goal is scored, play begins from the
   centrer of the court with a "center pass". These passes alternate
   between the teams, regardless of which team scored the last goal. A
   center pass is taken by the Center player, who must have one foot
   grounded within the center circle. As the game restarts, only the
   teams' Center players can be in the center third. When the umpire blows
   the whistle to restart play, the Goal Attacks, Goal Defences, Wing
   Attacks and Wing Defences move into the center third, and the center
   pass must be taken by someone who lands within the center third of the
   court when they receive the pass. If the ball is not received in the
   centre third then the opposition receives a "free pass" where the ball
   was received in the area of infringement. If the ball leaves the court
   boundaries, then a member of the team that did not touch the ball last
   restarts play by making a pass from the court boundary back into play.
   WOW!

History

   Netball a non contact sport traces its roots to basketball, which
   explains why its rules are related. When James Naismith devised
   basketball in 1891 for his students in the School for Christian Workers
   (later called the YMCA), female teachers got curious and started to
   formulate a version for girls. The outfits of women at this time
   hindered them from effectively executing important basketball moves
   such as running and dribbling, so the game had to be modified to
   accommodate these restrictions. Women’s basketball, or ‘netball,’ was
   conceptualized.

   Netball was first played in England in 1895 at Madame Ostenburg's
   College and quickly spread to all the British Commonwealth territories,
   but it did not yet have hard-and-fast rules. So loose were the
   regulations, in fact, that some games were played by nine players in
   each team, while some were played with only five players in each. The
   nets used were also ineffective – they were not open at both ends, so
   after each goal was scored, the umpire had to retrieve the ball from
   the top of the post.

   Finally, Clara Baer, a gym teacher from New Orleans, asked Naismith for
   a copy of the basketball rules, identified the areas within which women
   players could move, and consequently introduced the ‘zoning areas’ we
   know today. This was the start of netball’s formalization. These zoning
   rules along with many other provisions (such as elimination of the
   dribbling rule) were all included in the first draft of ‘Rules for
   Women’s Basketball.’ In 1901, this set of rules was ratified and
   netball officially became a competitive sport.

   Netball soon spread throughout Australia and the then-British colonies
   of Jamaica and Antigua. Further improvements were introduced some 60
   years later by the International Federation of Women's Basketball and
   Netball – an international organization composed of netball
   representatives from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, South
   Africa and The West Indies. The first Netball World Championship was
   held in 1963 in Eastbourne, England, and since then, international
   netball championships have been held every four years. Australia has
   dominated the World Tournaments, beating the other 11 teams competing
   in 1971, 1975, 1979, 1983, 1991, 1995 and 1999. In 2003, New Zealand
   finally broke the pattern and took home the gold. Fiji was scheduled to
   host the next World Netball Championship in July 2007, but was stripped
   of its hosting privileges as a result of the December 2006 coup.

   Netball is still very popular in former British colonies. In fact,
   approximately 10,000 people play netball in Jamaica, and it remains the
   favored women's sport in that country. Antigua and Barbuda is also very
   active in the sport, with netball less popular only than cricket. It
   also enjoys popularity in former British African colonies, such as
   Malawi.

Growth in popularity

   Netball is a popular participant sport, particularly in Australia and
   New Zealand, but also around the world in countries of the Commonwealth
   of Nations. In Australia and New Zealand, it is the most popular sport
   played by women, and both countries have a domestic competition for
   women. The women's game is played internationally at a high level, with
   Australia and New Zealand undoubtedly the world's strongest teams.
   Whilst not attracting much public attention, there are representative
   men's netball teams. Although Netball is mostly a female dominated
   sport with its light movements and restrictions in ability to move and
   contact, men use their height advantage and skill level to manipulate
   the game.

   Netball's fundamentals are easy for new players to learn, and it is a
   common sport at schools in the Commonwealth. At primary school level,
   mixed teams are not uncommon. As adults, men and women can compete with
   each other on reasonably fair terms as the restrictions on defence,
   limitations of numbers and positions of male players, and the women's
   greater familiarity with the game, prevent men's superior strength and
   size gaining an overly large advantage.

Netball variants for children

   In Australia young netballers can enjoy a range of experiences from
   five to seven year olds learning basic skills in Fun Net, eight to ten
   year olds developing skills and game knowledge through Netta, or
   participating in Netball Australia's soon to be launched Net Set Go
   programs.

FunNet

   FunNet is Netball Australia's play based motor skills program for 5-7
   year olds. The emphasis is on the acquisition of basic motor skills, in
   a fun environment of games and activities. The length of the FunNet
   program can be run between 8-16 weeks, although this is flexible
   depending on school, association and individual needs. The goal posts
   are only 2.4m high and a smaller size 4 netball is used.

Netta

   Netta is a basic introduction into the professional aspect of Netball
   for children aged seven years or older. A size 4 ball is used to
   develop correct passing and catching skills with up to six seconds
   allowed between catching and passing the ball, instead of the three
   seconds permitted in the adult game. All players rotate positions
   throughout the game so that they can experience the differences between
   each position. The program of Netta allows children to acquire
   important skills necessary in the game of netball in a fun and exciting
   environment. The aim of Netta is to ensure each child leaves with the
   confidence and skills ready to play Netball.

Netball teams

     * International
          + Australian national netball team
          + England National Netball Team
          + The Proteas (South African National Netball Team)
          + Silver Ferns (New Zealand national netball team)
          + The Sunshine Girls (Jamaica National Netball Team)
          + The College Of St. Hild and St. Bede Men's Netball Team

Major Netball competitions

     * Australia and New Zealand
          + Commonwealth Bank Trophy - Australia (to 2007)
          + National Bank Cup - NZ (to 2007)
          + Tasman Trophy Netball League (from 2008)
          + Fisher and Paykel Series
     * England
          + The Super League
     * International
          + Netball World Championship

Recent World Championships

   New Zealand finally broke an Australian stranglehold on major titles,
   after a run of near-misses, with a 49-47 win in the 2003 World
   Championship final in Jamaica. A 3-0 series win over Australia in New
   Zealand in the winter of 2004 continued the ascendancy, but Australia
   won the return series at home in November 2004, 2-7. On October 29,
   2005, in a one-off Test in Auckland, the Silver Ferns scored their most
   decisive victory ever against the Australian team, winning 61-36. This
   result made them clear favourites for the 2006 Commonwealth Games gold
   medal, which they subsequently won, reinforcing their World Champion
   status.

   In the 2006 Fisher & Paykel Series in NZ, Australia won the series 2-1,
   in 3 close fought games.

Famous Netball Players

     * Ruth Aitken
     * Chris Barrett
     * Jamie Beer
     * Gemma Bland
     * Joyce Brown
     * Bianca Chatfield
     * Natasha Chokljat
     * Temepara Clark
     * Jessica Cornwell
     * Catherine Cox
     * Rena Dang
     * Karina Davies
     * Vilimaina Davu
     * Sandra Edge
     * Liz Ellis
     * Rita Fatialofa
     * Deborah Field
     * Mo'onia Gerrard
     * Selina Gilsenan
     * Sindisiwe Gumede
     * Kathryn Harby-Williams
     * Emma Hassell
     * Amber Hazleton
     * Kristen Heinrich
     * Cynna Kydd (née Neele)
     * Jill McIntosh
     * Sharelle McMahon
     * Bernice Mene
     * Lois Muir
     * Tracey Neville
     * Amanda Newton
     * Shelley O'Donnell
     * Shannon Power
     * Susan Pratley
     * Julie Prendergast
     * Luke Richardson
     * Lesley Rumball (née Nicol) - New Zealand's most capped netball
       player
     * Anne Sargeant
     * Julie Seymour
     * Waimarama Taumaunu
     * Amy Thurgood
     * Carissa Tombs
     * Paul Tourle
     * Irene van Dyk
     * Laura von Bertouch
     * Natalie von Bertouch
     * Adine Wilson (née Harper)
     * Vicki Wilson

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netball"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
