Netball deserves more recognition

Netball has been a Commonwealth Games sport since 1998 but has never been included in the Olympic Games.

In an interview with ABC News, Netball Australia CEO Kelly Ryan said the sport deserved to be included on the world stage.

“We want our junior netball fans to dream of Olympic glory in the sport they love,” Ryan said to the ABC.

The game is currently played by more than 20 million people in more than 80 countries worldwide.

This year the 2021 Suncorp Super Netball League attracted six million viewers.

An AusPlay national report released in the last twelve months also found high national participation rates among Australians.

The ball sport is one of the fastest growing participation sports and is enjoyed by both females and males.

Riley Richardson grew up in North West Victoria and spent most of his childhood at the local netball court.

“I really fell in love with netball, but I wasn’t able to compete. There were no competitions for me except for social mixed competition tournaments but even then there was nothing where I lived in Warracknabeal,” he said.

“Growing up there wasn’t a lot of interest in the sport from young boys because there was no exposure. I understand why parents would sign their kids up for basketball and footy.”

“How can you continue to play netball if there is no league to sign up for?”

Teenage boys living in the country have no choice but to move to Victoria to play netball.

“I remember doing some Google searching as a teenager to try and find a league. I came across the Victorian men’s league on the Internet and my parents drove me down to the state trials in Melbourne so I could try out for the squad,” he said.

 “It was the first team I was part of. After that I made a lot of junior Australian teams. It wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t move to Melbourne.”

As a male netballer Riley admits there was a noticeable stigma when he started playing the sport over ten years ago.

“I think a big part of that was that there was no exposure. There was no competition or pathway for athletes and that was a barrier. People would always joke about netball being a girls’ sport or joke about wearing a skirt.”

 “I do believe that netball has a better profile now. I think it is losing the connotation that it’s a girly sport or a soft sport because the athletes are just incredible.”

In Australia it is common for competitors to be cross code athletes and dedicate their time to multiple sports.

A Sport Australia Ausplay netball report found that netball participants invest their time in other sports and physical activities.

In fact, Ashleigh Brazill is an Australian netballer and an AFLW player, playing both sports concurrently for the Collingwood Magpies.

She told the Athlete's Voice that she had to choose between netball and football when she was fifteen years old.

Today, she doesn't have to decide on one sport and can thrive as a multi-sport athlete.

SEDA College high school teacher Maddie Carter runs the netball program for students in Burnley.

The students complete their Year 11 and 12 VCAL studies and have the opportunity to develop their skills in netball.

“Most of the class have had netball as a hobby their whole life and enjoy learning and competing. We train a few times a week and they develop content that they deliver in primary schools on behalf of Netball Victoria,” she said.  

This year there are only females in the class.

“In my opinion the biggest determining factor of why we don’t see many boys in the sport is due to the lack of competitions. Once they reach a certain age they can’t compete at their club and they are told to go elsewhere,” she said.

 “So, I think that's probably big because unless you live in metro Melbourne where there is a designated league, you have to stop playing netball and you can't play anymore with the girls."

Inspire Netball have recently partnered with the Victorian Men’s and Mixed Netball Association to create a new official pathway program to feed into the Victorian State Team program.  

Their aim is to engage with more young athletes and provide more opportunities for boys.

In the last ten years there has been greater awareness of the men’s game and the women’s game has significantly expanded.

In September this year Australia’s netballers received a pay rise. Netball Australia, the Australian Netball Players’ Association and the eight Suncorp Super Netball clubs agreed to a new pay deal.

The average potential maximum salary for two years has increased from $75, 167 to $91, 500.

 “Netball has really come a long way. It’s great that you can now see women on TV regularly getting paid a reasonable amount,” said Maddie.

 “It was undervalued when I played the sport and a lot of women had to have another job on the side to support themselves.”

 

Riley said it’s gratifying to see netball being taken to the next level by women.

“I’m hopeful that Netball Australia has a similar pathway on the agenda for us,” he said.

“I think it’s really important to stress that every male who is involved in netball does it for the love of the sport.”

 “Everything we do is to promote the women’s game as well as our own game because we really want to foster that success and we want everyone to see how great the sport is.”