I caught a little bit of the Commonwealth Games on TV at a bar last night. Women were playing a sport that resembled basketball, but with some obvious differences. I found out (through Google, of course) that this game is called Netball. From what I could tell watching it, there’s no dribbling, minimal contact, and the most interesting thing to me was that the person taking the shot would stop under the basket, take her time, and make a nice “set” shot, no jump shots (at least I didn’t see any). Oh yeah, and the basket doesn’t have a backboard either.
My question is, is this a popular sport around the world? Do men play too? Why no jump shots (or aggressive blocking - I saw them raise their hands but that was about it)? I am pretty well-traveled, but have never seen this sport on TV before.
Oh yeah, they wore skirts, too, so I think I could definitely get into this game!
Netball is a popular game, though mostly played in Commonwealth countries, having originated in England. It’s a modified form of basketball for females, and obviously men cannot take part (in organised netball matches, of course). If a man wants to play netball he can do so.
British game played by girls at school. Once called “women’s basketball”. Fans argue it is not a lame version of basketball, but a more subtle one. Once you have the ball you can take one step and must then stay put with both feet on the ground.
FWIW, basketball strikes me as pretty dull, as the freaks of nature who play it score so effortlessly that the games are usually basically draws, with the last team to score in the game winning by 88-86 or whatever. Can’t say I’m an afficionado of netball either, though I found this…
It’s the biggest women’s participation sport in Australia and I would guess in the top 5 overall. There are lots of mixed competitions too. Even ignoring the skirt factor, it’s a very attractive game - not so much in the shooting, but the off-the-ball running and passing.
“The game of netball originated as an offshoot of the game of basketball. Basketball began in the USA in the 1890’s. Basketball was taken up as a sport in England as well, and by 1897 ladies were playing the game on grass courts. In 1898 some changes were made to basketball and this resulted in the first appearance of the game of netball.”
"Netball originated in the United States of America, and was introduced to the Caribbean by Physical education officers from England who came to the Islands on teaching assignments. Althought the game is played in the USA , it is not popular, whereas it is popular in the United Kingdom. "
Each player has a playing position that is determined by the areas on the court where she may move or play. The playing position is shown by identification letters worn above the waist, on the front and the back of the player, for example GA, C, GK.
The major aim of the game is to score as many goals as is possible from within an area called the Goal Circle, which is a semi-circle, centred on the goal line and measuring 4.9 metres in radius (16 feet). Only two players from each team may score goals, the GS and GA.
The team in possession of the ball is called the attacking team and the team trying to intercept or gain control of the ball is the defending team. Each team has specialist attacking and defending players even though each player both attacks and defends throughout the game.
The winners of the game are the team that has scored the most goals within the alloted time."
Is Netball played at all in the USA ? . I would have thought that the similarity to Basketball would have made it popular with American women , or do they play Basketball instead. I must say I have never seen American women’s Basketball on this side of the pond.
I used to play, it’s really fun, and you don’t have to worry if you can’t shoot. I played centre and wing attack, which involve a lot of running around, and no shooting.
There are also positions specifically for defending, which are obviously good for tall people.
This Yank sports fan, for one, has never heard of netball being played in the US. American women play basketball, with the same rules as the men, although with some stylistic differences. There was a basketball variant, now recently extinct, though, played only in Iowa high schools, which had 6 girls on each side, 3 on each side of the half-court line, which they were not allowed to cross.
Several stories I’ve read about the professional WNBA say the women can make more money playing basketball in Europe. Maybe just not in England?
