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.
Starting and Restarting Play
When a quarter begins, or after a goal is scored, play begins from the centre
of the court with a "centre pass". These passes alternate between
the teams, regardless of which team scored the last goal. A centre pass is
taken by the Centre player, who must have one foot grounded within the centre
circle. As the game restarts, only the teams' Centre players can be in the
centre third. When the umpire blows the whistle to restart play, the Goal Attacks,
Goal Defences, Wing Attacks and Wing Defences move into the centre third, and
the centre pass must be taken by someone who lands within the centre third
of the court when they receive the pass.
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.
History
Netball 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 back in
the day 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, and as popular as football and volleyball.
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 New Zealand
also has a professional domestic competition for women. On the other hand,
in Australia, only two of the current team are full-time netballers.
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. On occasions, trial matches between
national men's and women's teams have been arranged, with
the men usually coming off victorious because of their height
advantage and also their considerable skill level.
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.
