Netball is growing as a sport throughout the world. This is due in part to the fact that it can be played by both genders. It is a non-contact sport where speed timing and guile are needed and because the physical element is removed it means that a mixture of sexes can compete. However it is still mainly the domain of woman where it is played from an early age starting at primary school. The game is similar to basketball, it’s more masculine cousin, as it is played on a rectangular court featuring rings at each end for scoring. It is fast past as the player with the ball can only hold it for a maximum of three seconds otherwise they incur a foul. They have to pass to another player or shoot at the goal ring depending on their place and position. You can learn more about the skills of the game by watching netball drill video like the ones you can find at https://www.sportplan.net/drills/Netball/
The game began in the 1890’s and it was pioneered by Martina Bergman-Osterberg. Bergman-Osterberg was keen to find a sport that would push her students to the physical limit but she wanted to move away from simple dance, movement or athletics. Bergman-Osterberg wanted her charges to learn that team competitive sport was not only of physical benefit but would also develop their social skills and make them better leaders. She had rejected the traditional team sports of football and rugby as being too physical plus her superiors would question the lack of a genteel nature involved. On a holiday in the USA Bergman-Osterberg had chanced upon the game of Basketball recently invented by James Naismith. Bergman-Osterberg theorised that if she removed the aggressive movement element of moving the ball but kept the passing part she could manufacture a game for her students to play. And so, two years after basketball came into being Bergman-Osterberg had created Netball. The game went through many changes eventually becoming and outdoor grass game somewhat removed from the hard-court indoor affair that we see today.
Because the whole physical contact aspect was removed the Victorians were able to approve of this new game for women in all social classes. It was also different enough to be considered a game purely for girls. It was soon taken up throughout the then British Empire which enabled its popularity to be cemented in the school system. It also allowed for the development of internationally recognised rules and competitions.
