“Hey, what sports do you play?”
“Oh well, my favourite sport is Netball,”
“Oh ha, that’s not a sport, you barely run.”
Ten Reasons Why Netball Is a Sport
The definition of a sport is “an activity involving physical exertion and
skill, in which an individual or team competes against another, or others, for
entertainment,” all of this applies to netball.
One could argue it is harder than sports it is frequently compared to because it is
much more strategic due to the various positions, the restrictions of where you
can run and the fact that there is no backboard, like basketball.
You can actually fit three basketballs in one hoop, and only one in a netball hoop,
therefore, you have to be much more precise when you’re shooting.
A lot of the rules that are in netball make the game much harder, for example what’s
known as the three-second rule, meaning you can only hold the ball for three
seconds. This means you have to run more because you don’t get a break.
Netball involves a lot of jumping, landing, and changing of direction; this builds
muscle and strengthens bones, which builds agility.
Because of the restrictions on the court, you have to create different strategies like
“stacking” and “splitting.” Stacking is a way to organise players for the “first centre
pass,” and splitting is a way to get closer to the hoop to shoot without breaking the
rules.
Netball is very fast-paced. Which makes it very easy to sprain ankles.
Because you can’t run with the ball in netball and can get called for footwork, this is
when you take multiple sports. Netball players will try to land relatively hard on the
ground, this can result in knee injuries like dislocated knee caps and arthritis in the
knee, this is a lifelong condition. This proves that netball is not a childish sport.
Netball is known by netball players as a non-contact sport, although shoulder to
shoulder pushing is incredibly common and as long as the player doesn’t have the ball
and doesn’t end up on the ground, it is considered okay.
Netball courts are actually longer and wider than basketball courts. The netball
courts we have in the Jura and Vaud gym aren’t actually full-sized.
Netball is a hard sport and just because it is mostly played by women doesn’t mean it can’t
be recognized as a sport.
By Caitlín Daly, year 7
The Update 