Indoor netball

Sport


imagesize =
caption =
union = World Indoor Netball Association
nickname = Indoor
(cf "outdoor" netball)
first =
registered =
clubs = Worldwide
contact = Non-contact
team = Six or seven players per team on court
mgender = Mixed, ladies or mens
category = Indoor ball sport
ball = Netball
olympic =

Indoor netball is a variation of netball, played exclusively indoors, in which the playing court is surrounded on each side and overhead by a net. The net prevents the ball from leaving the court, reducing the number of playing stoppages. This gives indoor netball a faster pace than netball.

There are two main types of indoor netball, "6-a-side" and "7-a-side". Indoor netball has a larger focus towards mixed-gender matches than netball does, although ladies' games, and to a smaller extent men's games, are ever-present. While the sport does not have as large a following as netball does, its popularity is growing in countries such as England, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The sport is administered at an international level by the World Indoor Netball Association (WINA).

Overview

The rules of indoor netball are similar to that of netball, with two teams aiming to score as many goals as possible. An indoor netball game usually consists of four quarters of 10 minutes. There are two umpires one for each half of the court. The winning team is the one with the most points at the end of the match.

6-a-side

In this version the court is divided into halves rather than thirds, and there are six players per team rather than seven. The team is made up of two centre players, two attack players, and two defence players. The two attack players are located in one half and the two defence in the other with the centre players running the full court excluding the circles. Scoring is also different, with a successful shot inside the circle scoring 1 point and outside the circle scoring 2 points (much like 3-pointers in basketball). Because of the 2-point line this changes the game play significantly, with the attack players working to set up the centre players for the 2-point shot.

7-a-side

This version is a lot like original netball, with the court in divided into thirds and with seven players similarly positioned. Only 1-point shots are possible, and only from inside the shooting circle.

International competition

Internationally Australia and New Zealand have contested the Trans-Tasman Shield on a number of occasions. Following this series, South Africa joined the World Indoor Netball Association, and plans were put in place for the 2001 Indoor Netball World Cup in Australia. In June 2002 Australia and England travelled to South Africa for the WINA Tri-Series. Again Open Ladies, Open Mixed and Open Men were contested at this tournament.

In 2003 New Zealand hosted the World Cup in Auckland, contested between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. This was the first time that 21-&-Under Ladies was contested at a World Cup level, which has appeared in all subsequent Open events. Also at the 2003 World Cup, the World Indoor Netball Association introduced Over-30 Ladies, Over-30 Mixed and 18-&-Under divisions to their calendar of tournaments. In February 2004, Selected Masters & 18's Australian teams travelled to South Africa. The tour was a success and set the foundations for bi-annual tours to continue, with the next International series being held in 2006.

In 2007 a squad of netball players was selected by the (English) Indoor Netball Association (INA) to represent England at the Tri-Nations Cup, which was held in November 2007 in South Africa. Teams were entered in the U-19, Open Ladies and Open Mixed Categories. Australia won at all three levels of the tournament. Australia hosted the 2008 Indoor Netball World Cup in June on the Gold Coast in Queensland, where all four countries played the inaugural World Cup Series.

National competitions

Australia

In Australia there are two national championships held annually, the Open National Championships and the Aged National Championships. The Opens have four divisions: Men's, Ladies, Mixed and Under-21 Ladies, whilst the Aged Nationals have three divisions: Over 30 Ladies, Over 30 Mixed and the Under 18 Ladies. From these tournaments the respective All Star teams are chosen as a reflection of the best players in Australia in each division.

New Zealand

In New Zealand there are three major tournaments, held annually: the Northern Superleague competition (based in Auckland, also including Hamilton), The Central Superleague competition (based in Wellington, also including Manawatu and Palmerston North) and the Southern Superleague competition (based in Christchurch).

At the end of these seasons there is a National tournament which the best teams from these three competitions enter. This competition consists of a Mixed Grade, Ladies Grade, Over40's Grade, Over35's Grade, Over30's Grade, Under21's Grade and an Under19's Grade. This takes place the first weekend of March each year.

References

External links

New Zealand Links
* [http://www.nzindoorsports.org.nz/ New Zealand Indoor Sports]

National Bodies
* [http://www.indoornetball.org.au/ Indoor Netball Australia]
* [http://www.actionsportuk.com/ Indoor Netball Association England]

Australian State Bodies
* [http://www.infq.com.au/ Indoor Netball Federation of Queensland]
* [http://www.indoorsportsnsw.org.au/ Indoor Sports New South Wales]
* [http://www.indoorsportsvictoria.com.au/ Indoor Sports Victoria]
* [http://www.indoorsportswa.com/ Indoor Sports Western Australia]