Netball is a game that is played by both men and women and has many competitions held for the same.
In this game there are 7 members on each team who have certain designations. These designations decide the area in which you are allowed to play and also the role you will have in the team. To score in this game, the attackers have to make the ball pass through a net which is hung on top of a pole.
This game has been derived from the earlier versions of basketball and later it had its own set of rules and regulations that are now standardized and followed worldwide for every netball competition. At first, International Federation of Netball and women’s basketball was established but later it was renamed to International Netball Federation. There are about 60 teams under this Federation, and they belong to 5 different global regions.
It was recognized as an event for the Olympic in the year 1995 though it has still not been included in the Olympics and actions are being taken to make it an Olympic sport soon.
The Configuration Of The Court
- Netball competitions are played on a rectangular shaped netball court. Each court is 15.25 m wide and 30.5 m long. On each side of the court in the middle of the width, there is a ring that is kept raised.
- The ring is 15 inches in diameter and the goal post is 3.05 m high, but it does not have a backboard like the one that can be seen in the basketball court.
- The court is divided into three different sections. On either side of the court there is a goal semicircle that extends up to 4.9 m in radius. The length of these two sections is 10.2m.
- Lastly, there is a small circle in the middle of the court where the match commences.
What Are The Rules Of Netball?
There are 4 quarters of 15 minutes each that needs to be played to complete one game.
A player can move only in the designated sections of the courts which depend on the position at which they play. The defense players can only stay on their side of the court to prevent the ball from reaching the net, the center player is allowed to move freely but cannot go in the shooting area which is inside the ring, attackers (2 positions) are only allowed to stay in the opposition circle to try and score goals and the remaining players are restricted till two-third of the court.
Only the attackers can score and that too from the inside of the shooting ring which is the condition for the score to count during the play.
What Netball Competitions Can A Netball Team Play?
Major Netball Championships
- The Netball World Cup: It is the competition that is held every four years and 11 countries’ teams compete to prove that they are the best.
- Netball at the Commonwealth Games: In 1998, netball became a part of commonwealth games.
- Netball Quad Series: Australia, England, New Zealand, and South Africa have formed an association to give the netball players of their countries a chance to play more often. This competition is known as the netball quad series and is played annually.
- Fast5 Netball World Series: This series is organized by the INF and the top 6 Netball teams compete with each other for the top spot in the game.
Other international netball competitions are also held but these are done by different associations of netball in a particular continent.