60 Fun Facts About Netball

How many players does each netball team have on court?

Each player wears a bib with a one- or two-letter abbreviation for a position that restricts where they can go.

How many seconds may a netball player hold the ball?

The ball must also be released before the landing foot touches the ground again, so running with it is impossible.

How long is each quarter in a standard game of netball?

Games can be played outdoors or in a covered stadium.

How high is a netball goal post?

Unlike basketball hoops, the goal rings have no backboards.

How long is a netball court?

It is 15.25 m wide and divided lengthwise into thirds.

What is the radius of the semi-circular shooting circle?

Only two positions from each team are allowed inside the attacking circle to shoot.

How many positions on a netball team are permitted to shoot for goal?

Only the same number of defenders are allowed in the defensive circle to stop them.

Which position is the only one allowed to move anywhere on court except the shooting circles?

The other players are restricted to two-thirds of the court, and this player takes the pass that restarts play.

How far must a defender stand from the player with the ball when defending a pass or shot?

Illegal contact means the offender sits out of play until the penalty pass or shot is taken.

After a goal is scored in netball, how is play restarted?

Centre passes alternate regardless of which team scored the last goal.

What is the term for a netball player entering an area of the court where their position is not permitted?

It can happen with or without the ball, and a free pass is awarded where the violation occurred.

Roughly how many people play netball worldwide, according to World Netball?

It is played in more than 80 countries and is most popular across the Commonwealth.

Which sport did netball evolve from?

Clara Baer misread the lines on a court diagram as restricted zones, and that mistake stuck.

In which US city was Clara Baer teaching when she wrote to Naismith for the rules of his new game?

The diagram's lines were meant to show patrol areas, but she read them as zones players could not leave.

Who introduced Naismith's game to her Hampstead students in 1893, from which netball emerged?

Her college moved the game outdoors onto grass and swapped baskets for rings with nets.

In which year were the first codified rules of netball published?

They were issued by the Ling Association, later the Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom.

Where was the first international netball match played, on 20 August 1938?

Australia won comfortably at Royal Park in what was also the first Test between the two rivals.

What was the score when Australia beat New Zealand in the first ever netball Test in 1938?

A planned 1940 return tour was cancelled by the outbreak of World War II.

In which country did representatives meet in 1960 to standardise the international rules of netball?

The meeting also created the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball.

What was netball commonly called in Australia before the name was officially changed in 1970?

The Australian Basketball Union offered to pay for the name change but the netball body initially refused.

Where was the first World Netball Championships (then the World Tournament) held in 1963?

Eleven nations competed at the Chelsea College of Physical Education.

At which Commonwealth Games did netball make its debut as an official sport?

It had been a demonstration sport in 1990, when Australia beat New Zealand in a one-off match.

In which year did the International Olympic Committee formally recognise netball's governing federation?

Recognition came after 20 years of lobbying, but the sport has never been played at the Olympics.

Which nation shared the 1979 World Championship title with Australia and New Zealand?

All three finished level on points in the round robin, and there were no finals.

In which year was the World Netball Championships renamed the Netball World Cup?

Since 1991 the tournament has used semi-finals and a final rather than a pure round robin.

Which city was chosen to host the 2027 Netball World Cup?

From 2027 the tournament was set to move to a two-year cycle ahead of the first Men's Netball World Cup.

Who scored the winning goal in the last second to give England Commonwealth gold over Australia in 2018?

England won 52-51 and became only the third team ever to win the title.

Who scored the winning goal for New Zealand in double extra time in the 2010 Commonwealth Games final?

The 66-64 epic against Australia lasted 84 minutes.

Which Australian shooter scored 49 from 53 to clinch the 2014 Commonwealth Games final?

Australia beat New Zealand 58-40 for their third Commonwealth title.

Which coach guided Australia to the inaugural Commonwealth Games netball title in 1998?

Australia beat New Zealand 42-39 in the final.

What nickname does the Australia national netball team go by?

They are regularly ranked number one in the World Netball Rankings.

What is the nickname of New Zealand's national netball team?

They first topped the world rankings in January 2011 after winning the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Who captained New Zealand to their fifth world title at the 2019 Netball World Cup?

New Zealand had dropped to fourth in the world rankings only weeks before.

Which Australian Prime Minister called the 1991 World Championship final the best contest he'd seen?

Australia beat New Zealand 53-52 after a match-saving intercept by Roselee Jencke, in a game broadcast live on Network 10.

What is the name of the annual netball series contested only by Australia and New Zealand since 2010?

Australia won seven series in a row between 2013 and 2019.

Which four nations traditionally contest the Netball Quad Series?

When one of the four drops out it is replaced by the Netball Nations Cup, as in 2020 and 2024.

Which shooter for South Africa and New Zealand is the world's most-capped netball international?

She scored 5,917 goals from 6,572 attempts at 90% across her international career.

How many players per side take the court in Fast5 netball?

The format began as a seven-a-side game in 2009 and was cut down ahead of the 2012 series.

How long is each quarter in Fast5 netball?

Coaches can shout instructions from the sideline and substitutions are unlimited.

What happens during a team's nominated "power play" quarter in Fast5?

Attackers can also shoot two-point goals from outside the circle, so a single shot can be worth four.

What was the Fast5 format originally called when introduced for the 2009 World Netball Series?

The rules had been trialled by the England team over the previous year.

Which team were the inaugural Super Netball champions in 2017?

Coached by Noeline Taurua and captained by Geva Mentor, they beat Giants Netball 65-48 in the grand final.

Which Super Netball club withdrew after the 2023 season amid financial distress?

The vacant licence went to the Sports Entertainment Network for a team in south-east Melbourne.

Which club has won the most Netball Super League titles in the UK, with five?

Manchester Thunder are next with four.

Which health company sponsored the UK Netball Super League from 2016 to 2021?

The league began in the 2005-06 season, replacing the Super Cup.

In which English city is World Netball, the sport's governing body, based?

Its offices are at MediaCityUK.

What was the sport's world governing body called between 2012-13 and 2021?

It was founded in 1960 as the International Federation of Women's Basketball and Netball Associations.

For which Olympic Games did World Netball and Netball Australia bid for inclusion?

An earlier bid for the 2020 Games was unsuccessful.

What is Netball Australia's modified game for 8- to 11-year-olds, with rotating positions?

It allows six seconds to pass the ball instead of three.

In High Five Netball, what is a player expected to do when she is not on court?

The All England version for 9- to 11-year-olds has four six-minute quarters and players swap positions.

How many seconds may a player hold the ball in walking netball?

Running and jumping are forbidden, and an extra step with the ball is allowed.

When did World Netball announce the introduction of the first Men's Netball World Cup?

Men's netball began growing in Australia in the 1980s, with the first men's championship held in 1985.

What is the diameter of a netball goal ring?

The rings sit on 3.05 m posts with no backboards, a key difference from basketball.

Roughly what is the circumference of a netball?

The ball weighs 400 to 450 grams and may be made of leather, rubber or similar materials.

How wide is a standard netball court?

The court is 30.5 m long and divided lengthwise into thirds, with a semi-circular shooting circle at each end.

In which country was netball's first national governing body established, in 1924?

The sport had spread rapidly through school systems, and school leagues and domestic competitions emerged in the first half of the 20th century.

Between which years was South Africa barred from international netball because of apartheid?

South Africa had been one of five founding delegations at the 1960 rules meeting in Sri Lanka before the ban.

In which city were the first World Youth Netball Championships held in 1988?

The youth event has been held roughly every four years since, alongside the senior championships.

In which year was the first men's netball championship held in Australia?

Men's and mixed teams remain largely self-funded; England's men's and mixed association, EMMNA, was only founded in 2019.

What was the sport's world governing body originally called when founded in 1960?

The name reflected that in Australia 'women's basketball' still meant netball until the official rename in 1970.