History of netball
Encyclopedia
The history of netball can be traced to the early development of basketball
. A year after basketball was invented in 1891, the sport was modified for women to accommodate social conventions regarding their participation in sport, giving rise to women's basketball
. Variations of women's basketball arose across the United States and in England. At a physical training college in England, the rules of women's basketball were modified over several years to form an entirely new sport: "net ball". The first codified rules of netball were published at the start of the twentieth century, and from there the new sport spread throughout the British Empire
.
From the beginning, netball
was widely accepted as a sport suitable for women. Domestic netball competitions arose in several countries during the first half of the 20th century. Starting from the 1920s, national associations were formed to organise the sport in netball-playing nations. International matches were played sporadically in the early 20th century, but were hampered by varying rules in different countries.
By 1960, the rules of netball were standardised internationally. An international governing body was formed to oversee the sport globally, now called the International Federation of Netball Associations
(IFNA). The second half of the 20th century saw international competition expand, with the sport's premier international competition, the Netball World Championships
, starting in 1963. Netball has also been contested at the Commonwealth Games
since 1998.
Today, netball is popular in Commonwealth nations
, and is reportedly played by over 20 million people worldwide. It remains primarily a women's sport, although male participation is increasing in some countries. Netball is still largely an amateur sport, despite some countries having high local-level participation. Further developments to the sport are being trialled, including a shortened version of the game played in a World Series format; netball is also being advocated for possible inclusion in the Olympic Games
.
Netball traces its roots to basketball. Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith
, a Canadian physical education instructor working in the United States, who was trying to develop an indoor sport for his students at the YMCA
Training School (now Springfield College
) in Springfield
, Massachusetts. His game was first played in the campus gymnasium on a court roughly half the size of a regulation NBA
court today, between two teams of nine players. It was played with a soccer ball that was shot into closed-bottom peach baskets that were nailed to the gymnasium wall.
Women teachers became interested in Naismith's game soon afterwards. Senda Berenson, a physical education instructor at nearby Smith College
, read an article on Naismith's game, and in 1892 adapted his game for her female students. Berenson devised rules that maintained feminine decorum and slowed down potentially "strenuous" play. She divided the playing court into thirds, each containing three players per team that could not leave their assigned zone. Players also could not hold the ball for more than three seconds, dribble it more than three times, or snatch the ball from another player. The first game of women's basketball
was played in 1892 at Smith College. By 1895, women's basketball had spread across the United States, with variations of the rules emerging in different areas.
Published rules for women's basketball first appeared in 1895, written by Clara Gregory Baer
, who was working as a physical education instructor at Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans during the 1890s. Baer introduced women's basketball to her female students at Sophie Newcomb College as early as 1893. According to the IFNA, Baer received a copy of the basketball rules from Naismith, but she misinterpreted his unclear drawings marking the zones that players could best control, believing that they were restrictions on player movement. Naismith noted that Baer's game was substantially different from his version and recommended that she give her sport a different name. In 1895, Baer published the rules of her game under the name "basquette"; these were the first published rules for women's basketball. The rules of this game were substantially different from Berenson's, although similarly adapted for women's participation. Each player was assigned a zone on court to which they were confined, and so a game with seven players per team was played on a court with seven zones. She also forbade dribbling of the ball and guarding, introduced alternating offensive/defensive roles after each goal was scored, and developed rules to maintain elegant posture among players.
Eventually, the first unified rules of women's basketball were published in the Spalding Athletic Library Rules for Women's Basket Ball in 1901, with Berenson as editor and with some rules adopted from Baer's game. Starting from 1918, the rules of women's basketball were gradually rewritten to more closely resemble men's basketball, and today basketball is played under the same rules by men and women. However, a different sport emerged when basketball arrived in England.
in Merseyside
, although the sport did not gain significant popularity in that country for another two decades. Basketball was also taught at other institutions in England, either by visiting American instructors or by English people returning from visits to North America.
In 1893, Martina Bergman-Österberg
informally introduced one version of basketball to her female physical training students at the Hampstead
Physical Training College in London, after having seen the game being played in the United States. Madame Österberg advocated physical fitness for women to better prepare them for motherhood and in the wider context of women's emancipation. Basketball was more formally introduced to Madame Österberg's college by an American lecturer, Dr Toles (alternatively spelled "Toll"), in 1895. This version of the game was played with waste paper baskets for goals that were hung on walls; there were also no lines, boundaries, or circles as in the modern game.
The rules of this game were modified at Madame Österberg's college (which moved to Dartford
, Kent in 1895) over several years. Substantial revisions were made during a visit in 1897 from another American teacher, Miss Porter, who introduced rules from women's basketball in the United States; the game also moved outdoors onto grass courts, the playing court was divided into three zones, and the baskets were replaced with rings that had nets. By this time, the new sport had also acquired a new name: "net ball". The first codified rules of netball were published in 1900 or 1901 by the Ling Association (later the Physical Education Association
), with 250 copies of the rules published. From England, the game of netball was spread to all corners of the British Empire
.
In some countries, the sport still retained the name "women's (outdoor) basketball" upon its arrival. "Women's basketball" arrived in Australia reportedly as early as 1897, although most sources agree that it was established in that country around the start of the 20th century. "Women's basketball" arrived in New Zealand in 1906 or 1907 from Australia. By 1909, "netball" was also being played in schools in Jamaica. Netball spread throughout much of the British Empire during the first half of the 20th century.
National netball associations were established, starting from the 1920s, to administer various organised netball leagues and organisations on a national level. The first such organisation was the New Zealand Basketball Association, which was formed in 1924. Equivalent organisations were formed in other countries, including the All England Net Ball Association in 1926, the All Australia Women's Basketball Association in 1927, and the Jamaican Netball Association in 1957. In 1949 wheelchair netball
was introduced at the Grand Festival of Paraplegic Sport and was played at every festival until 1954.
Competitive netball in the early 20th century mostly comprised local leagues or nationwide domestic tournaments. International competition was initially hindered by variations of rules in different countries. Australia and New Zealand contested the first international game of netball (still called "women's basketball" in both countries) in 1938, when the New Zealand team toured Australia, playing local and state teams as well as the Australian national team. At the time, Australia played seven-a-side netball, while New Zealand played nine-a-side. For these matches, Australian seven-a-side netball was adopted, along with some netball rules from England. In their one encounter for that tour, Australia's national team defeated New Zealand 40–11. England played Scotland
and Wales
in the first international matches of "netball" in 1949, with England winning 25–3 in both games.
This meeting also resulted in the creation of a world tournament to be played every four years, now called the World Netball Championships. The inaugural tournament was played in Eastbourne, England in 1963, and tournaments have since been played quadrennially. Since their inception, Australia has dominated the World Championships, winning 10 of the 13 tournaments played. The most recent tournament was the 2007 Championships played in Singapore, with Australia emerging as winners. The next tournament is scheduled for 2015 in Australia.
Following the global standardisation of netball rules, international netball competition expanded during the second half of the 20th century. It was included for the first time in 1985 at the World Games
, a sporting competition held every four years for sports that are not contested at the Olympic Games. New Zealand won the inaugural World Games netball competition, and again in 1989. Australia won the third and last World Games netball competition in 1993. Netball has not been included in the World Games since.
During the 1988 Australian Bicentenary
celebrations, a youth netball tournament was organised in Canberra involving U-21 teams from around the world on 15–24 July. This tournament proved to be a success, and has continued to be held roughly every four years, presently as the World Youth Netball Championships. Fiji hosted the next tournament in 1992, followed by Canada in 1996, Wales in 2000 and the United States in 2005. The most recent tournament was held in the Cook Islands in 2009, with Australia U21 emerging as champions.
At the 1990 Commonwealth Games
in Auckland, netball was included in the programme as a demonstration sport
. Netball became a competitive sport in the Commonwealth Games at the 1998 Games
in Kuala Lumpur. Australia won the inaugural netball competition in 1998, and again at the 2002 Games
in Manchester. New Zealand won the next two netball competitions at the 2006 Games
in Melbourne and the 2010 Games
in Delhi. Netball has since become a "core sport" at the Commonwealth Games (for women only).
Netball has never been contested at the Olympic Games, nor has it been shown as a demonstration sport
. However, netball became an Olympic "recognised sport" in 1995, paving the way for its possible inclusion as a competitive sport in the future. A campaign in England was started in 2008 for netball to be included as a demonstration sport at the 2012 Summer Olympics
in London, which was supported by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
.
Smaller regional tournaments emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s giving increased competition for second-tier nations, including the Asian Netball Championship
and the Nations Cup. Netball has also been included in various smaller multi-sport events, including the Pacific Games, World Masters Games
and the Arafura Games
. It has also been included as a demonstration sport at the All-Africa Games
.
Increased international competition led to the development of the IFNA World Rankings
in 2008, in which the performances of national teams could be compared. Higher-ranked national teams often compete on an annual basis, either in one-off tests or as part of tours. The Australian
and New Zealand
national teams have traditionally dominated the international game, although England
and Jamaica are becoming increasingly competitive against their Antipodean counterparts.
Nationwide netball competitions emerged in different countries in the first half of the twentieth century, starting from the 1920s. These were primarily contested between local-level clubs or regions/states. Elite domestic competitions did not emerge until the late twentieth century. These competitions have usually involved franchises rather than club or representative teams, and have focused on gaining a larger profile for the sport, as well as attracting greater sponsorship, investment and media coverage.
The Commonwealth Bank Trophy
(CBT) was the first elite domestic competition in Australia, starting in 1997. It succeeded the Mobil League, which was still a state-representative club-based competition. The Commonwealth Bank Trophy was televised on ABC Sport
, although coverage was usually limited to a few live games and a weekly highlights series. The competition lasted for eleven years, playing its final season in 2007, after which it was replaced by the ANZ Championship.
New Zealand introduced its first elite domestic competition in 1998, when the previous Coca-Cola Cup, a nationwide domestic competition contested between regional-representative teams, was reorganised into a franchise-based competition, with each franchise incorporating one or more New Zealand regions
. After four years, the competition became known as the National Bank Cup
(NBC). Unlike its counterpart in Australia, the National Bank Cup received wide media coverage in New Zealand. During this time, netball achieved a higher profile in New Zealand than in Australia. The NBC played its last season in 2007, after which it was replaced by the ANZ Championship.
Britain introduced the Netball Superleague
in 2005. It replaced the previous Fisher & Paykel Super Cup, which started in England in 2001, and was established to improve performances on the domestic and international stages. The Superleague started with eight teams, seven from England and one from Wales; a Scottish team was added for the 2008–09 season. Sky Sports
began televising the competition in 2006, attracting an overall netball viewing audience of 2.5 million people after its first year, and coinciding with a 6% increase in netball participation at grassroots level in England.
The Commonwealth Bank Trophy in Australia and the National Bank Cup in New Zealand played their last seasons in 2007. Netball Australia and Netball New Zealand convened to replace them with a joint domestic competition to start in 2008, contested between domestic franchises from both nations: the competition became known as the ANZ Championship
. For the first time, all matches were telecast live in both countries. Player salaries were increased to a point where the sport is now semi-professional in both countries, with the expectation that the sport will become fully professional within a few years.
The IFNA reports that over 20 million people currently play netball in more than 80 countries, with 74 national netball associations affiliated with the worldwide governing body. It is the most popular team sport for women in Australia and New Zealand, and remains a popular women's sport throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, including in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Jamaica. Television coverage has increased the profile of the sport in countries with elite domestic competitions, but in many cases not to the extent of well-established male-dominated sports. Netball has also yet to reach the status of a fully professional sport in any country.
Further developments to the sport are being trialled. A new shortened version of the sport was announced by the IFNA in December 2008, called "fastnet
". Featuring six-minute playing quarters, "power plays" in which goals count for double points, and two-point shots similar to three-point field goals in basketball, the new version of the sport has been likened to cricket's Twenty20
. The format is primarily used in the World Netball Series
, which was first contested in October 2009 and is currently scheduled to be held annually. This new competition has been contested between the top six netballing nations, according to the IFNA World Rankings.
Major international competitions in the immediate future include the 2013 World Youth Netball Championships and the 2014 Commonwealth Games
, both held in Glasgow. Fastnet tournaments have emerged in several countries following the introduction of the World Netball Series in 2009. Efforts were also started in England in 2008 advocating netball's inclusion in the Summer Olympic Games programme, either as a demonstration sport or as a fully competitive sport in future Games.
Basketball
Basketball 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...
. A year after basketball was invented in 1891, the sport was modified for women to accommodate social conventions regarding their participation in sport, giving rise to women's basketball
Women's basketball
Women'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...
. Variations of women's basketball arose across the United States and in England. At a physical training college in England, the rules of women's basketball were modified over several years to form an entirely new sport: "net ball". The first codified rules of netball were published at the start of the twentieth century, and from there the new sport spread throughout the British Empire
British Empire
The 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...
.
From the beginning, 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 ...
was widely accepted as a sport suitable for women. Domestic netball competitions arose in several countries during the first half of the 20th century. Starting from the 1920s, national associations were formed to organise the sport in netball-playing nations. International matches were played sporadically in the early 20th century, but were hampered by varying rules in different countries.
By 1960, the rules of netball were standardised internationally. An international governing body was formed to oversee the sport globally, now called the International Federation of Netball Associations
International Federation of Netball Associations
International 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). The second half of the 20th century saw international competition expand, with the sport's premier international competition, the Netball World Championships
Netball World Championships
The World Netball Championships is a quadrennial international netball world championship co-ordinated by the International Federation of Netball Associations , inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australian national netball team and the New...
, starting in 1963. Netball has also been contested at the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
since 1998.
Today, netball is popular in Commonwealth nations
Commonwealth of Nations
The 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...
, and is reportedly played by over 20 million people worldwide. It remains primarily a women's sport, although male participation is increasing in some countries. Netball is still largely an amateur sport, despite some countries having high local-level participation. Further developments to the sport are being trialled, including a shortened version of the game played in a World Series format; netball is also being advocated for possible inclusion in the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
.
Origins from basketball
James Naismith
The 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,...
, a Canadian physical education instructor working in the United States, who was trying to develop an indoor sport for his students at the YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
Training School (now Springfield College
Springfield College
Springfield College is a private, coeducational university located in the City of Springfield, Massachusetts. Springfield College is most famous as the site where the sport of basketball was invented...
) in Springfield
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...
, Massachusetts. His game was first played in the campus gymnasium on a court roughly half the size of a regulation NBA
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
court today, between two teams of nine players. It was played with a soccer ball that was shot into closed-bottom peach baskets that were nailed to the gymnasium wall.
Women teachers became interested in Naismith's game soon afterwards. Senda Berenson, a physical education instructor at nearby Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, read an article on Naismith's game, and in 1892 adapted his game for her female students. Berenson devised rules that maintained feminine decorum and slowed down potentially "strenuous" play. She divided the playing court into thirds, each containing three players per team that could not leave their assigned zone. Players also could not hold the ball for more than three seconds, dribble it more than three times, or snatch the ball from another player. The first game of women's basketball
Women's basketball
Women'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...
was played in 1892 at Smith College. By 1895, women's basketball had spread across the United States, with variations of the rules emerging in different areas.
Published rules for women's basketball first appeared in 1895, written by Clara Gregory Baer
Clara Gregory Baer
Clara Gregory Baer was an American physical education instructor and women's sports pioneer. Baer introduced the first teacher certification course for physical education in the Southern United States, and authored the first published rules of women's basketball...
, who was working as a physical education instructor at Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans during the 1890s. Baer introduced women's basketball to her female students at Sophie Newcomb College as early as 1893. According to the IFNA, Baer received a copy of the basketball rules from Naismith, but she misinterpreted his unclear drawings marking the zones that players could best control, believing that they were restrictions on player movement. Naismith noted that Baer's game was substantially different from his version and recommended that she give her sport a different name. In 1895, Baer published the rules of her game under the name "basquette"; these were the first published rules for women's basketball. The rules of this game were substantially different from Berenson's, although similarly adapted for women's participation. Each player was assigned a zone on court to which they were confined, and so a game with seven players per team was played on a court with seven zones. She also forbade dribbling of the ball and guarding, introduced alternating offensive/defensive roles after each goal was scored, and developed rules to maintain elegant posture among players.
Eventually, the first unified rules of women's basketball were published in the Spalding Athletic Library Rules for Women's Basket Ball in 1901, with Berenson as editor and with some rules adopted from Baer's game. Starting from 1918, the rules of women's basketball were gradually rewritten to more closely resemble men's basketball, and today basketball is played under the same rules by men and women. However, a different sport emerged when basketball arrived in England.
"Net Ball" in the British Empire
Basketball was first introduced to England in 1892 through the YMCA at BirkenheadBirkenhead
Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...
in Merseyside
Merseyside
Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
, although the sport did not gain significant popularity in that country for another two decades. Basketball was also taught at other institutions in England, either by visiting American instructors or by English people returning from visits to North America.
In 1893, Martina Bergman-Österberg
Martina Bergman-Österberg
Martina 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...
informally introduced one version of basketball to her female physical training students at the Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead 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...
Physical Training College in London, after having seen the game being played in the United States. Madame Österberg advocated physical fitness for women to better prepare them for motherhood and in the wider context of women's emancipation. Basketball was more formally introduced to Madame Österberg's college by an American lecturer, Dr Toles (alternatively spelled "Toll"), in 1895. This version of the game was played with waste paper baskets for goals that were hung on walls; there were also no lines, boundaries, or circles as in the modern game.
The rules of this game were modified at Madame Österberg's college (which moved to Dartford
Dartford
Dartford is the principal town in the borough of Dartford. It is situated in the northwest corner of Kent, England, east south-east of central London....
, Kent in 1895) over several years. Substantial revisions were made during a visit in 1897 from another American teacher, Miss Porter, who introduced rules from women's basketball in the United States; the game also moved outdoors onto grass courts, the playing court was divided into three zones, and the baskets were replaced with rings that had nets. By this time, the new sport had also acquired a new name: "net ball". The first codified rules of netball were published in 1900 or 1901 by the Ling Association (later the Physical Education Association
Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom
The 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....
), with 250 copies of the rules published. From England, the game of netball was spread to all corners of the British Empire
British Empire
The 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...
.
In some countries, the sport still retained the name "women's (outdoor) basketball" upon its arrival. "Women's basketball" arrived in Australia reportedly as early as 1897, although most sources agree that it was established in that country around the start of the 20th century. "Women's basketball" arrived in New Zealand in 1906 or 1907 from Australia. By 1909, "netball" was also being played in schools in Jamaica. Netball spread throughout much of the British Empire during the first half of the 20th century.
Development in the early 20th century
From the start, netball was developed as a women's sport: existing outside the sphere of male-dominated sports, netball did not encounter the initial social opposition that faced women in other sports in the early 20th century. Women's participation in netball in the early 20th century was widely accepted, as the sport avoided physical contact and did not involve male participation. The sport spread substantially through the school systems of many netball-playing countries.National netball associations were established, starting from the 1920s, to administer various organised netball leagues and organisations on a national level. The first such organisation was the New Zealand Basketball Association, which was formed in 1924. Equivalent organisations were formed in other countries, including the All England Net Ball Association in 1926, the All Australia Women's Basketball Association in 1927, and the Jamaican Netball Association in 1957. In 1949 wheelchair netball
Wheelchair netball
Wheelchair netball is a variation of netball adapted for play in wheelchairs. A hybrid version of basketball and netball was introduced at the Grand Festival of Paraplegic Sport in 1949. Six teams composed of 37 athletes competed at the event...
was introduced at the Grand Festival of Paraplegic Sport and was played at every festival until 1954.
Competitive netball in the early 20th century mostly comprised local leagues or nationwide domestic tournaments. International competition was initially hindered by variations of rules in different countries. Australia and New Zealand contested the first international game of netball (still called "women's basketball" in both countries) in 1938, when the New Zealand team toured Australia, playing local and state teams as well as the Australian national team. At the time, Australia played seven-a-side netball, while New Zealand played nine-a-side. For these matches, Australian seven-a-side netball was adopted, along with some netball rules from England. In their one encounter for that tour, Australia's national team defeated New Zealand 40–11. England played Scotland
Scotland national netball team
The Scotland national netball team, known as the "Scottish Thistles", represent Scotland in international netball tests and competitions. The Thistles competed in every World Championship from 1963–2007, finishing sixth on three occasions . The team are currently coached by Denise Holland...
and Wales
Wales national netball team
The Wales national netball team represents Wales in international netball competition.The Welsh Netball Association , the governing body for netball in Wales, is responsible for Welsh squad selection, international matches and for the training and development of players.Wales' current IFNA world...
in the first international matches of "netball" in 1949, with England winning 25–3 in both games.
Standardisation and the global game
Following the 1956 Australian tour of England, the first efforts were made in earnest to establish unifying international rules for netball. These efforts culminated in 1960 with representatives from key netball-playing countries – including England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka (then "Ceylon"), as well as the West Indies – agreeing on a codified set of rules, with seven-a-side teams; an international body was also formed to govern the sport globally, called the International Federation of Women's Basketball and Netball (now the International Federation of Netball Associations). The sport was referred to as "netball" in most countries, although New Zealand and Australia still used the name "women's basketball"; both countries eventually adopted the name "netball" in 1970.This meeting also resulted in the creation of a world tournament to be played every four years, now called the World Netball Championships. The inaugural tournament was played in Eastbourne, England in 1963, and tournaments have since been played quadrennially. Since their inception, Australia has dominated the World Championships, winning 10 of the 13 tournaments played. The most recent tournament was the 2007 Championships played in Singapore, with Australia emerging as winners. The next tournament is scheduled for 2015 in Australia.
Expanding international competition
World Games
The World Games, first held in 1981, are an international multi-sport event, meant for sports, or disciplines or events within a sport, that are not contested in the Olympic Games...
, a sporting competition held every four years for sports that are not contested at the Olympic Games. New Zealand won the inaugural World Games netball competition, and again in 1989. Australia won the third and last World Games netball competition in 1993. Netball has not been included in the World Games since.
During the 1988 Australian Bicentenary
Australian Bicentenary
The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1970 on the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing and claiming the land, and again in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of permanent European settlement.-1970:...
celebrations, a youth netball tournament was organised in Canberra involving U-21 teams from around the world on 15–24 July. This tournament proved to be a success, and has continued to be held roughly every four years, presently as the World Youth Netball Championships. Fiji hosted the next tournament in 1992, followed by Canada in 1996, Wales in 2000 and the United States in 2005. The most recent tournament was held in the Cook Islands in 2009, with Australia U21 emerging as champions.
At the 1990 Commonwealth Games
1990 Commonwealth Games
The 1990 Commonwealth Games were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January-3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: athletics, aquatics, badminton, boxing, cycling, gymnastics, judo,...
in Auckland, netball was included in the programme as a demonstration sport
Demonstration sport
A demonstration sport is a sport which is played to promote itself, most commonly during the Olympic Games, but also at other sporting events.Demonstration sports were officially introduced in 1912 Summer Olympics, when Sweden decided to include glima, traditional Icelandic wrestling, in the...
. Netball became a competitive sport in the Commonwealth Games at the 1998 Games
1998 Commonwealth Games
The 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 Lumpur. Australia won the inaugural netball competition in 1998, and again at the 2002 Games
2002 Commonwealth Games
The 2002 Commonwealth Games were held in Manchester, England from 25 July to 4 August 2002. The XVII Commonwealth Games was the largest multi-sport event ever to be held in the UK, eclipsing London's 1948 Summer Olympics in numbers of teams and athletes participating.After the 1996 Manchester...
in Manchester. New Zealand won the next two netball competitions at the 2006 Games
2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
in Melbourne and the 2010 Games
Netball at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Netball was one of 17 sports that were contested at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Netball is a core sport for women at the Commonwealth Games, and one of only three events in the 2010 programme for women only...
in Delhi. Netball has since become a "core sport" at the Commonwealth Games (for women only).
Netball has never been contested at the Olympic Games, nor has it been shown as a demonstration sport
Demonstration sport
A demonstration sport is a sport which is played to promote itself, most commonly during the Olympic Games, but also at other sporting events.Demonstration sports were officially introduced in 1912 Summer Olympics, when Sweden decided to include glima, traditional Icelandic wrestling, in the...
. However, netball became an Olympic "recognised sport" in 1995, paving the way for its possible inclusion as a competitive sport in the future. A campaign in England was started in 2008 for netball to be included as a demonstration sport at the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
in London, which was supported by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
.
Smaller regional tournaments emerged in the 1990s and early 2000s giving increased competition for second-tier nations, including the Asian Netball Championship
Asian Netball Championship
The 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...
and the Nations Cup. Netball has also been included in various smaller multi-sport events, including the Pacific Games, World Masters Games
World Masters Games
The World Masters Games is an international multi-sport event held every four years which, in terms of competitor numbers, has developed into the largest of its kind....
and the Arafura Games
Arafura Games
The Arafura Games is a Multi-sport event held every 2 years in the Australian city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory. It is an international event which draws its competitors from around the world. First held in 1991, the most recent Games, held in 2009, involved over 30 nations and over 3,000...
. It has also been included as a demonstration sport at the All-Africa Games
All-Africa Games
The All-Africa Games, sometimes called the African Games or the Pan African Games, are a regional multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa...
.
Increased international competition led to the development of the IFNA World Rankings
IFNA World Rankings
The 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...
in 2008, in which the performances of national teams could be compared. Higher-ranked national teams often compete on an annual basis, either in one-off tests or as part of tours. The Australian
Australia national netball team
The 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...
and New Zealand
Silver Ferns
The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern , which is an iconic emblem for many New Zealand sports teams. The Silver Ferns were formed in 1938 as a representative...
national teams have traditionally dominated the international game, although England
England national netball team
The England national netball team represent England in international netball competition. The team are presently co-captained by Karen Atkinson and Sonia Mkoloma, and were coached by Australian Sue Hawkins through to the end of the 2011 World Netball Championships in Singapore...
and Jamaica are becoming increasingly competitive against their Antipodean counterparts.
Elite domestic competitions
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...
(CBT) was the first elite domestic competition in Australia, starting in 1997. It succeeded the Mobil League, which was still a state-representative club-based competition. The Commonwealth Bank Trophy was televised on ABC Sport
ABC Sport
ABC Sport is the name given to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's sport's programming broadcast on ABC Television and ABC Local Radio.-Television:ABC Television broadcasts significantly less sport than the other Free-to-air Australian TV networks...
, although coverage was usually limited to a few live games and a weekly highlights series. The competition lasted for eleven years, playing its final season in 2007, after which it was replaced by the ANZ Championship.
New Zealand introduced its first elite domestic competition in 1998, when the previous Coca-Cola Cup, a nationwide domestic competition contested between regional-representative teams, was reorganised into a franchise-based competition, with each franchise incorporating one or more New Zealand 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...
. After four years, the competition became known as 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:...
(NBC). Unlike its counterpart in Australia, the National Bank Cup received wide media coverage in New Zealand. During this time, netball achieved a higher profile in New Zealand than in Australia. The NBC played its last season in 2007, after which it was replaced by the ANZ Championship.
Britain introduced the Netball Superleague
Netball Superleague
The 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 2005. It replaced the previous Fisher & Paykel Super Cup, which started in England in 2001, and was established to improve performances on the domestic and international stages. The Superleague started with eight teams, seven from England and one from Wales; a Scottish team was added for the 2008–09 season. Sky Sports
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
began televising the competition in 2006, attracting an overall netball viewing audience of 2.5 million people after its first year, and coinciding with a 6% increase in netball participation at grassroots level in England.
The Commonwealth Bank Trophy in Australia and the National Bank Cup in New Zealand played their last seasons in 2007. Netball Australia and Netball New Zealand convened to replace them with a joint domestic competition to start in 2008, contested between domestic franchises from both nations: the competition became known as the ANZ Championship
ANZ Championship
The 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...
. For the first time, all matches were telecast live in both countries. Player salaries were increased to a point where the sport is now semi-professional in both countries, with the expectation that the sport will become fully professional within a few years.
Present status and future
Further developments to the sport are being trialled. A new shortened version of the sport was announced by the IFNA in December 2008, called "fastnet
Fastnet (netball)
Fastnet is a variation of netball featuring shortened games and goals worth multiple points. The new format was announced by the International Federation of Netball Associations in 2008, and was primarily developed for a new international competition, the World Netball Series.- Background :In...
". Featuring six-minute playing quarters, "power plays" in which goals count for double points, and two-point shots similar to three-point field goals in basketball, the new version of the sport has been likened to cricket's Twenty20
Twenty20
Twenty20 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...
. The format is primarily used in the World Netball Series
World Netball Series
The 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...
, which was first contested in October 2009 and is currently scheduled to be held annually. This new competition has been contested between the top six netballing nations, according to the IFNA World Rankings.
Major international competitions in the immediate future include the 2013 World Youth Netball Championships and the 2014 Commonwealth Games
2014 Commonwealth Games
The 20th Commonwealth Games in 2014 will be held in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. The winning city was announced by the Commonwealth Games Federation on 9 November 2007 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Games will run over 11 days of competition from 24 July to 3 August 2014...
, both held in Glasgow. Fastnet tournaments have emerged in several countries following the introduction of the World Netball Series in 2009. Efforts were also started in England in 2008 advocating netball's inclusion in the Summer Olympic Games programme, either as a demonstration sport or as a fully competitive sport in future Games.