THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT NETBALL

Netball was invented as a women’s version of basketball in late 19th century England. It was intended as a non-contact sport for ladies restricted in their movement by long skirts, corsets and leg-of-mutton sleeves.

Netball continued to be called Women’s Basketball in Australia and New Zealand until the name was changed to netball in 1970.

Netball was not included in the Commonwealth Games until 1998 in Kuala Lumpur.

There is much interpretation of the data but netball has the highest participation rate of women and girls of any team sport in Australia. More than 324,000 girls under 15 play in organised competitions outside of school and more than 333,000 adult women.

Unlike the footy codes, netball’s five-year free-to-air television deal with Channel 9 generates revenue for the sport only through sponsorships and advertising revenue shared with the network.

In 2018, super netball introduced rule changes designed to make the game more exciting for broadcast.

These include a system awarding competition points for each quarter won, longer breaks between quarters, basketball style time-outs and allowing coaches to roam the sidelines.

Fast5 netball is a form of the game with five players a side, shortened quarters, rolling interchanges and one, two and three point goals. It was first contested internationally in 2009. Australia has never won the Fast5 Netball World Series. England currently holds the title.