Tips for Beginners who Want to Succeed in Men, Women, or Mixed Netball Competitions
Sports February 24, 2020
Are you a rookie in the court of netball? Do you want to know more about the game? If yes, then you can get all the important information about the game from this article. Netball is one of the most popular games in Australia, England, and New Zealand, where several domestic teams fight against each other to win the country’s highest titles.
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| Mixed Netball |
Now, come with the important part. We are going to tell you about the ABCD of netball and hope this will help to understand the game precisely.
Learn About the Basics
Before you learn anything about the game, just understand the court. A netball court comes with a centre third and two goal third. Players on each side enjoy seven positions within the court and each of the players shows his or her position with a bib.
Just like soccer and hockey, in netball, each side comes with a goalkeeper (GK), whose job is to keep the ball away from their respective goal post. Another position is called goal defence (GD), where the player (GD) defends the attack initiated by opponent. The role of GD remains same even in the mixed netball competitions.
Learn the Art of Defence
Like GD, Wing Defence (WD) also plays a major role in protecting the goal from the attacking moves of the opponent. The Wing Attack plays around the goal circle along with the goal third and the centre. WD often plays on the instructions of circle defenders and provides back up for the attackers.
Now, learn about the Centre position. The player act as a link between the goal third and defence third. Centre can play in both defensive and attacking mode, as they have the power to play across the entire court even in the mixed netball competitions, where both men and women play together.
Be the Shooter
The job of Goal Attack (GA) and Goal Shooter (GS) is almost same, as both of them can score goals for their team. GA can play around the centre third and the goal third and receives the ball from Wing Attack (WA), whose responsibility is to deliver the ball to both GA and GS. The main job of the GS is to score goals and is allowed to play in goal third area.
The goal shooter should have proper knowledge about space and position so that he or she can beat the opponent’s defence and shoot the ball into the goal. In mixed netball competitions, both men and women play against each other.
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| Mixed Netball |
Duration of the Game
The overall duration of the game is around one hour, and the time is divided into four quarters. Players enjoy a three-minute break between each of the quarters, while the half-time comes with a five-minute break. In the beginning, the umpire whistles to notify players to start the game from the first centre pass. Once a goal is scored, players from the opposite side take over a new centre pass.
The umpire also blows his whistle when a goal is scored. A GA or GS throw the ball into the goal ring to secure a goal for their respective side. No matter whether it is a men, women, or mixed netball competitions, the rules of netball suggest equal opportunity and respect for one’s skill and experience in the game.
Conclusion
Netball is one of the most popular games in Australia, where men, women, and mixed netball competitions held in school, colleges, university, and national level. If you are an Australian, you can enjoy greater opportunity to gain success in this game.
