What is Netball?

Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players, with the aim of shooting the ball through the defenders goal ring.

Netball is commonly compared to basketball, but differs in many ways, principally in the absence of backboards from the goal ring and the prohibition of dribbling, bouncing, and running while in possession of the ball. In addition, netball not only identifies the different positions of its players, but also defines where and in which areas of the court specific players are allowed to be in when they compete.

Consequently, netball more heavily emphasizes accurate passing and positioning than basketball.

The netball court is slightly bigger than a basketball court,and is divided into three sections which impacts on where players are allowed to move. The sections are referred to as the two goal thirds and the centre or middle-third.

The set positions in a netball team limit where the player can be on the court and are as follows:

Goal shooter (GS)

Goal Attack (GA)

Wing Attack (WA)

Centre (C)

Wing Defence (WD)

Goal Defence (GD)

Goal Keeper (GK)

Watch an introduction to the rules of netball here