When watching a game of netball, you might recognize many characteristics that relate to the sport of basketball. This is due to the fact that basketball was the first form of women’s netball. Netball continues to be a very popular sport, especially in Australia. Both males and females participate, but women are seen more often playing in a netball match.
The overall concept of the sport is to get the ball to the other end of the court so that the ball can be shot into the goal. Each position that is being played has a different set of approved actions. Therefore, each team-mate is taking different routes, but their main goal is to get the ball in the net.
The sport of netball first became popular in 1990, and during this time period, there were around 105,930 sports enthusiasts playing the game. However, the sport was actually invented in 1891 by a man named James Naismith.
Naismith organized the game for his students at the School for Christian Workers. This later became known as the famous YMCA. Many of the female teachers at the school became curious and made their own versions for girls to play. The new movements for girls had to have some minor tweaking due to the fact that the outfits required for girls to play kept them from executing moves such as running or dribbling.
There are a total of seven positions for each player that include the goal shooter, the wing attack, the goal attack, wing defence, goal defence, centre, and goal keeper. There are also three quarters or sections on the court. In the centre of the middle quarter is a circle that the centre player has to step into before they can pass the ball. The centre can also move anywhere in the court except for the semi circle.
The rules for netball are just as specific as they would be for any other sport. For example, when a player has the ball, they are not allowed to take a step. Once again, this sounds very familiar to basketball. Another rule that is similar to basketball is the fact that if you have the ball, then you have to pass it to another team-mate within 3 seconds. However, one rule that is different is the fact that you cannot bounce or dribble the ball. This might be due to the fact that the sport was designed for women who were unable to run or dribble in the earlier stages of the sport.
In addition to the basic guidelines, there are also etiquette rules by which all netball players have to abide. These include no taking the ball from another person, refraining from getting into arguments with the umpire or other players, no foul play such as pushing, and no rude comments to other players. In most cases, if a team-mate on one team breaks one of the rules, a free pass throw will be given to the other team. Also, many umpires will send you off the court if you argue with them.
