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Players Positions:
The Court - You need a properly marked out court
to play netball. This is because many of the rules involve how the court is divided up. The court is divided up into three
sections: the defensive third, the centre third and the attacking third. Also marked on the court is a centre circle and at
each end two goal circles.
GK - Goal Keeper is the last line of defence.
They guard the goal circle and the defensive third and must stop the goal shooter from scoring. They have to stay alert so
they can collect rebounds after goal attempts & intercept passes. Goal Keepers are also responsible for taking throw-ins
from the goal-line.
GD - Goal Defence patrols the defensive
third, the goal circle and the centre third. They must stop the opposition scoring and get the ball out of the danger
area. The GD marks the other team's goal attack. They must have good skills of anticipation so they can block passes
and get the ball out to their own attacking players.
WD
- Wing Defence can go in the centre and defensive
thirds, but not in the attacking third or the goal circle. Their main job is to stop the ball reaching the opposition's
goal circle. They must intercept passes and feed them back to the attacking areas. As well as getting the ball forward they
have to mark the opposite wing attack.
C - Centre can move in the whole court, apart
from the goal circles. They
help out in defence and attack. They are mainly relied upon to shift
the ball away from the defensive area into attack. Centres also restart
the game each time a goal has been scored. They do this by making a
pass from the centre circle.
WA - Wing Attack is the key playmaker of the team. They need to create as many goal-scoring chances as possible by passing the
ball to the shooters. The WA can move in the attacking and centre third but
not in the goal circle or the defensive third. They need to have
solid passing and collecting skills and the ability to 'open up' space
on the court.
GA - Goal Attack can play in the centre third, the attacking third and the goal circle but not the defensive third.
The goal attack's primary role is scoring and setting up goals. They feed balls to the goal shooter, but if the GS is marked then they will often shoot from nearer the edge of the goal
circle. The GA must have strong passing and shooting skills.
GS - Goal Shooter is only allowed in the
attacking third and the goal circle. The GS must have sharp shooting skills as their main job is to score goals! They
have to be able to stay focused and react quickly, dealing with fast passes and reaching wide for rebounds.
General Rules of Netball:
- Contact - Netball is a non-contact sport. Players
cannot make physical contact with one another on the court. If a player makes physical contact with another player and disrupts
play, then a 'penalty pass' is awarded.
- The 3ft Rule - Defenders have to stand 3ft (0.9m) away
from the player with the ball. From this distance a player can try and win the ball back, but only when it has
left the players hands.
- Obstruction - Players can defend a member of the other
team who does not have the ball but they cannot touch them or snatch the ball from them.
- Moving the goalposts - If a player is caught leaning on a
post then a 'free pass' will be given. But if a player deliberately moves the post, then the opposing team will be awarded
a 'penalty pass'.
- Three second rule This means players have only
three seconds between catching the ball and making a pass
- Ball Control - To gain control of the ball, a player
can bat or bounce the ball once, but they CANNOT bat and bounce the ball, or do either more than once. It is
also against the rules to push the ball into the air before batting or bouncing it. A
player has to be standing before they throw the ball - it is illegal to chuck the ball when you're kneeling down.
- Making Space - The player holding the ball must leave
enough room for another person to move between their hands and those of the catcher, otherwise a 'Short Pass' penalty will
be given. This rule effectively stops the ball being handed from one player to the next.
- Footwork - One of the trickiest things in netball is getting
your footwork right. Players are not allowed to run with the ball or dribble it. If a player catches the ball with only
one foot on the ground then that foot is called the 'landing foot'. A player can then choose to step with the other foot,
lift the landing foot and throw the ball before the landing foot returns to the ground. Or they can pivot on the landing foot
and move the other foot any number of times - But they are NOT allowed to move or hop on the landing foot until they have
thrown the ball. A player can also jump, switching from the landing foot to their other one, and then jump again to throw
the ball. If a player has both feet on the floor when catching
the ball they will choose their landing foot and follow the rules as above.
- Court boundaries - Each player is only allowed in certain
areas of the court and if they stray out of position then they are 'offside'. A player can still be offside even if they
don't have the ball. The ball must be handled in each
third of the court. e.g. A player cannot throw the ball from the defensive third to the attacking third.
- Toss ups -When 2 opposing players come into simultaneous
contact with the ball, the umpire will use a 'toss up' to restart the game. The two players face each other while the umpire
stands in between them. The umpire then throws the ball (no more than two feet) into the air from just below the shoulder
height of the shorter player. The first player to grab the ball wins possession. Toss ups also help solve incidents on the
court when the umpire is unsure exactly what happened.
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