Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball (680 to 710 millimetres (27 to 28 in) in circumference) through the defender's goal ring (380 millimetres (15 in) in diameter mounted 3.05 metres (10.0 ft) high to a goal post at each end of the court) while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own goal ring. It is one of a few sports created exclusively for women and girls and remains primarily played by them, on indoor and outdoor courts, especially in schools and most popularly in the Commonwealth of Nations.
According to World Netball, the sport is played by more than 20 million people in more than 80 countries.[13][14] World Netball comprises more than 70 national teams organized into five global regions. Major domestic leagues in the sport include the Netball Superleague in Great Britain, Suncorp Super Netball in Australia and the ANZ Premiership in New Zealand. Four major competitions take place internationally: the quadrennial World Netball Championships, the Commonwealth Games, and the yearly Quad Series and Fast5 Series. In 1995, the International Netball Federation (now known as World Netball) became an International Olympic Committee recognised sport federation, but netball has not been played at the Olympics.
The objective of a game is to score more goals than the opposition. Goals are scored when a team member positioned in the attacking shooting circle shoots the ball through the goal ring. The goal rings are 380 millimetres (15 in) in diameter and sit atop 3.05-metre (10.0 ft)-high goal posts that have no backboards.[16] A 4.9-metre (16 ft)-radius semi-circular "shooting circle" is an area at each end of the court. The goal posts are located within the shooting circle. Each team defends one shooting circle and attacks the other.[16] The netball court is 30.5 metres (100 ft) long, 15.25 metres (50.0 ft) wide, and divided lengthwise into thirds. The ball is usually made of leather or rubber, measures 680 to 710 millimetres (27 to 28 in) in circumference (≈22 centimetres (8.7 in) in diameter), and weighs 397 to 454 grams (14.0 to 16.0 oz).[17][18] A normal game consists of four 15-minute quarters[17][19] and can be played outdoors or in a covered stadium.
