Netball is a ball sport played by two teams of seven players, usually on an indoor court, and is predominantly played by women. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for the female sex. Originating in England, UK, in the late 19th century, the sport is played specifically in schools and is most popularly played in Commonwealth nations. The sport also uses outdoor netball courts.
The Rugby Championship is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere; the Six Nations is a similar tournament in the Northern Hemisphere.
Indoor cricket is a variant of and shares many basic concepts with cricket. The game is most often played between two teams each consisting of six or eight players.
Bryan Gary Habana OIS is a South African former professional rugby union player who initially played as an outside centre but later on, he shifted to the wing. He most recently played for Toulon in the French Top 14 competition, and for the South Africa national team.
The Netball at the 2006 Commonwealth Games was the third Commonwealth Games tournament. The preliminary matches were held at the State Netball and Hockey Centre with the finals being held at the multi-purpose Melbourne Park in the inner city.
The 2011 World Netball Championships was the 13th edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Singapore from 3–10 July. All 48 matches were played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Singapore was chosen as the host nation at the 2007 IFNA Congress in Auckland.
Netball is the most popular women's team participation sport in Australia. In 1985, there were 347,000 players. In 1995, there were over 360,000 Australian netball players. Throughout most of Australia's netball history, the game has largely been a participation sport; it has not managed to become a large spectator sport. In 2005 and 2006, 56,100 Australians attended one to two netball matches. Of these, 41,600 were women. 46,200 attended three to five netball matches, with 34,400 of those spectators being women. 86,400 attended six or more netball matches, with 54,800 spectators being female. Overall, 188,800 people attended netball matches, with 130,800 being female. In 2005 and 2006, netball was the 10th most popular spectator sport for women with Australian rules football (1,011,300), horse racing (912,200), rugby league (542,600), motor sports (462,100), rugby union (232,400), football (212,200), harness racing (190,500), cricket (183,200) and tennis (163,500) all being more popular. The country set an attendance record for a netball match with a record crowd of 14,339 at the Australia–New Zealand Netball Test held at the Sydney Super Dome game in 2004.
Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns.
Netball is the most popular women's sport in New Zealand, in terms of player participation and public interest. With the national team, the Silver Ferns, currently ranked second in the world, netball maintains a high profile in New Zealand. As in other netball-playing countries, netball is considered primarily a women's sport; men's and mixed teams exist at different levels, but are ancillary to women's competition.
Elaine Lamour Davis is a Jamaican international netball player. Fresh out of high school, she got her baptism in international sports when she was selected as a member of the national senior team, the Sunshine Girls, for the ninth World Netball Championships held in Birmingham, England in 1995. Davis officially debuted for the Jamaica national team during the 1995 Netball World Championships against Barbados, and has played goal shooter for most of her career.
The history of netball can be traced to the early development of basketball. A year after basketball was invented in 1895, 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 the Bergman Österberg physical training college in Dartford, England, the rules of women's basketball were modified over several years to form an entirely new sport: "net ball". The sport was invented to encourage young females to be physically active and energetic. 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.
The 2010 Tri Nations Indoor Netball Series took place 12–21 March 2010 in Sun City, South Africa.
The Cook Islands compete as a part of netball's Oceania region. More than 1,000 players have registered to play the sport. Participation in the game grew during the 1970s. Much of this is possible because of the national governing organisation, the Cook Islands Netball Association which is a member of Oceania Netball Federation. Because of the level of organisation and the game's development, the country has participated at several international events including the Pacific Games, the Commonwealth Games, the World Games, the Oceania Netball Tournament, the World Youth Netball Championship, and the International Challenge Men's and Mixed Netball Tournament. A demonstration of the Cook Islands success can be found by looking at the national team: It is one of the top ranked in the world.
Netball is one of the most popular women's participation sports in South Africa. The sport is also played by a large number of men. It exists in a culture where sport plays an important public and social part of life. The history of South Africa's netball involvement mirrors that of other sports played in the country like rugby union. During the apartheid era, there were many netball facilities available for whites to use, and fewer for people from other race groups. Funding issues and gender issues did not help bridge this gap.
Netball is a popular women's sport in parts of Africa. Several African nations are ranked amongst the top thirty in the world. As of August 2016, South Africa was ranked number Five, Malawi was ranked number Six, Uganda was ranked Seven, Zambia was ranked Sixteenth, Botswana was ranked twentieth, Zimbabwe was ranked Twenty-first and Swaziland was ranked Thirtieth in the world.
Netball in Oceania is generally regarded as a woman's sport. Women's sports in Oceania have 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 training of coaches, umpires and other netball development needs. In New Zealand and in neighbouring Australia, netball is one of the most popular sports played by women.
Netball is a popular participant sport in some parts of the world, particularly in countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. According to the IFNA, over 20 million people play netball in more than 72 countries. IFNA member nations are divided into five regional groups: Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
On 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 in Brunei, Canada, England, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, the Isle of Man, Jamaica, Kenya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
The Netball World Cup Sydney 2015 (NWC2015) was the 14th edition of the INF Netball World Cup, the premier competition in international netball. It was held from 7–16 August, in Sydney, Australia, which secured hosting rights after defeating a rival bid from Manchester, England. Matches were played at Allphones Arena and Netball Central. Sixteen nations competed at the championships, including the top six teams from the 2011 World Netball Championships in Singapore. After two rounds in which teams competed in pools of four, Australia, New Zealand, England and Jamaica contested the semi-finals. Australia defended its 2011 title against New Zealand by a narrow 58–55 victory. The final at Allphones Arena was attended by 16,752 people, a world record for any netball game. Malawian shooter Mwai Kumwenda was the player of distinction.
The 2019 Netball World Cup was the 15th edition of the INF Netball World Cup. It was held from 12–21 July 2019 at the Liverpool Arena in Liverpool, England with matches being held on two courts. Host nation England finished their campaign with a bronze medal. New Zealand became 5th time champions after beating Australia in the final and gold medal match.
