Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own goal ring. It is one of a few sports created exclusively for women and girls and remains primarily played by them, on indoor and outdoor courts, especially in schools and most popularly in the Commonwealth of Nations.
World Netball, previously known as the International Netball Federation and the International Federation of Netball Associations, is the worldwide governing body for Netball. The INF was created in 1960 and is responsible for world rankings, maintaining the rules for netball and organising the Netball World Cup and Netball at the Commonwealth Games
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.
The Netball Super League is a top level netball league featuring teams from the United Kingdom. The league is organised by England Netball but features teams based in England, Wales and Scotland. The league was commenced playing at the 2005–06 season, replacing the Super Cup as the elite netball competition in England. Since 2016 the league has been sponsored by VitalityHealth and, as a result, it is also known as the Vitality Netball Superleague.
Ama Agbeze is an England netball international. She was captain when England won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. In 2019 she received an for her services to netball. She was also a member of the England team that won the bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games. As of 2020, Agbeze has played for at least sixteen different club teams in England, Australia and New Zealand.
Tamsin Greenway is a former England netball international. She was a member of the England teams that won bronze medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and at the 2011 and 2015 Netball World Cups. Between 2006 and 2018 she played in eight Netball Superleague grand finals for three different teams – Team Bath, Surrey Storm and Wasps. During this time she won five Netball Superleague titles as a player and/or coach and a sixth as a director of netball. Greenway also works as a netball pundit for Sky Sports. In 2020, she was appointed head coach of the Scotland national netball team.
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 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.
Cardiff Dragons are a Welsh netball team based in Cardiff. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. In 2005–06 they were founder members of the league. Their best performance in the Superleague came in 2013 when they finished as runners up to Team Bath. Playing as Celtic Flames, Dragons also played in the 2017 Netball New Zealand Super Club. Cardiff Dragons main partners include the Welsh Netball Association, the Wales national netball team and Cardiff Metropolitan University. The team changed its name from Celtic Dragons to Cardiff Dragons on 31 August 2023 in preparation for the 2024 season
In England, netball has been popular enough to be included as part of the physical education curriculum. Its inclusion had been at times controversial; during the 1910s and 1920s, schools worried about the potential negative impact of physical exercise like netball participation on the health of girls.
Loughborough Lightning is an English netball team based at Loughborough University. Their senior team plays in the Netball Superleague. In 2005–06 they were founder members of the league. They also enter under-19 and under-21 teams in the National Performance League. Using the name Loughborough Students, Loughborough University also enter teams in intervarsity leagues organised by British Universities and Colleges Sport. Together with the women's cricket team, the women's rugby union team, the women's cycling team, the women's football team and the women's wheelchair basketball team, the netball team is one of five women's sports teams based at Loughborough University that use the Loughborough Lightning name.
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.
Netball in Wales is organised by the Welsh Netball Association. Copies of the rule book were sold in Wales by 1903. Marion Morton was involved with early organising of the game in Wales. Between 1949 and 1976, the Wales national team lost to England on twenty-eight occasions.
Joanne Elizabeth Harten is a former England netball international. She was a member of the England team that won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She also sits on the board of the Australian Netball Players’ Association.
Yorkshire Jets were an English netball team based at Leeds Beckett University. Their senior team played in the Netball Superleague. Between 2005–06 and 2011 they played as Leeds Met Carnegie or simply Leeds Carnegie. Together with the men's basketball, women's basketball, men's association football, women's association football and rugby union teams, the netball team was one of several sports teams associated with the Carnegie School of Physical Education, now part of Leeds Beckett University, that used the Leeds Carnegie brand name. In 2005–06, Leeds Carnegie were founder members of the Netball Superleague. As Leeds Carnegie, their best Superleague performance came in 2008–09, when they finished fourth. Between 2012 and 2016 they played as Yorkshire Jets. Their best Superleague performance as Yorkshire Jets came in 2015 when they again finished fourth. In June 2016 England Netball announced that Jets had lost their place in the Superleague and the franchise was subsequently wound up.
Beth Cobden is an England netball international. She was a member of the England teams that won gold medals at the 2017 Fast5 Netball World Series and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. At club level, she was a member of the Northern Thunder/Manchester Thunder teams that won Netball Superleague titles in 2012 and 2014. She also played in two grand finals for Loughborough Lightning which won their first ever Superleague title in 2021. In 2019 she signed for Adelaide Thunderbirds of Suncorp Super Netball.
The 2012 Netball Superleague season was the seventh season of the Netball Superleague. The league was won by Northern Thunder. In the grand final Northern Thunder defeated Surrey Storm. 2012 saw the introduction of a new format, featuring three distinct phases, including a Showdown Weekend.
Layla Guscoth is an England netball international. She was a member of the England squad that won a bronze medal at the 2019 Netball World Cup. At club level, Guscoth has played for Loughborough Lightning, Hertfordshire Mavericks and Team Bath in the Netball Superleague and for Adelaide Thunderbirds in Suncorp Super Netball. She was a member of the Mavericks team that won the 2011 Netball Superleague. She has captained both Mavericks and Thunderbirds. In 2016 she qualified as a doctor.
Claire Maxwell, also known as Claire Brownie, is a Scotland netball international. She captained Scotland at both the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 Netball World Cup. She also represented Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Netball World Cup. At club level, she has played for Glasgow Wildcats, Team Bath and Sirens in the Netball Superleague and for Team Northumbria and Loughborough Lightning in the British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship.
The 2022 Netball Superleague season was the seventeenth season of the Netball Superleague, the elite domestic netball competition in the United Kingdom. Loughborough Lightning were the defending champions, as they won the 2021 season. The season began on 5 February, and ended with the grand final on 5 June.
