Back in the UK and fresh from their Commonwealth Games success, the sights of the England netball team are now firmly focused on the Netball World Series taking place this weekend.
This year the series will be held at the Liverpool Echo Arena from November 19-21, and, as with last year’s inaugural event in Manchester, it will showcase some of the world’s greatest netball, promising a fast, ferocious and vibrant competition.
With a number of rule changes to the classic game of netball, the Series will see the new format of FastNet in play once again, which tests the fitness, technical ability and tactical awareness of the best players in the world.
The changes were introduced with the aim of raising the profile of the sport and the successes are clear to see, with the demand for FastNet competitions spreading around the world. During last year’s three day event more than 17 thousand spectators attended and an income of over £1.3million was produced.
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The six countries competing in this year’s competition, in International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) World Ranking order, are Australia, New Zealand, England, Jamaica, Malawi and South Africa. With everything to play for, this year’s competition is set to be a thrilling battle for top spot, with England eager to add to their Commonwealth bronze success with a World Series win.
But just what is it about the new FastNet rules that makes this competition so gripping?
FastNet… Fast what?
Having been compared to the world famous Twenty20 cricket, FastNet is a new format of netball formed for the World Series.
Developed by the IFNA, the rules are designed to create faster and more energised tactical and technical play, hooking both current and prospective netball participants and spectators alike. Since last year’s event the new rules have been adopted by teams at all levels worldwide.
The rules
- Matches are split into six minute quarters with 3 x 2 minute breaks.
- Substitutions are made in a ‘rolling substitution’ format whilst the game is still in play. An unlimited number of subs per team per quarter are allowed.
- After a goal is scored, the game restarts from a centre pass taken by the team who conceded the last goal.
- During the game, but before the start of the quarter, each team may elect one quarter as a Power Play, where any goals that are scored are doubled.
- Coaches are able to coach from the team bench or coaching area.
- Shooters are also now allowed to shoot from both inside and outside the goal circle, with all goals scored outside the circle worth double.
England netball star Tamsin Greenway explains the game’s appeal: “What you get is a really fast, short, sharp netball game, really exciting! It’s great for the players to get involved because obviously we’re out there to win but it’s a bit of fun as well and it’s something different for us. We got quite a big fan base from it last year because people loved the short sharp games and the fact that they’re so close.
“Obviously netball has been around for a long time and we harp on about elite level netball, how great it is to watch, how exciting it is, but this is the chance to get all the top six nations in one place for all the best players in the world to be showcased.
“We get the kids up to watch to see how great it is, get male audiences in there as well so they can see how fast and exciting the game is, so it’s a great showcase for us to get out there and play.”
The teams
By far one of the most exciting elements of the World Series is not only seeing such fast and ferocious game play, but also seeing the World’s top players battle it out, as Tamsin agrees: “We always love playing against Australia and New Zealand, that’s what we train for, they’re the top two teams in the world and they’re far away!
“You don’t often get the chance to get them both in the same place and play against both of them! It’s always a great battle and it always brings out the best in your game so we’re really looking forward to playing these guys.”
England is currently ranked third in the world, so let’s see who else they’re up against.
Australia
The Australian Diamonds have traditionally been regarded as the most successful team in international netball having won nine of the 12 Netball World Championships and ranked number one on the IFNA World Rankings.
They recently claimed Silver at the Commonwealths ahead of England after losing out to world number two New Zealand 66-64 in a nail-biting clash.
New Zealand
Formed in 1938 as a representative New Zealand team to tour Australia, the Silver Ferns have been one of the most dominant national netball teams in the world and are currently ranked second in the world according to IFNA World Rankings.
They have competed at every Netball World Championship since it began, winning it four times and are the current reigning Commonwealth champions.
England
The England netball team is currently ranked third in the IFNA World Rankings and is continually becoming an incredibly strong force to be reckoned with. They most recently competed against Jamaica in the Co-operative International Netball Series, co-captained by Sonia Mkoloma and Karen Atkinson, and won all three matches.
Fresh from their Commonwealth Games success where they secured the bronze behind the world’s top two teams, Australia and New Zealand, they will be looking to beat last year’s result where they lost out to Jamaica in the semi finals. Players to watch include Eboni Beckford-Chambers, Stacey Francis and Serena Guthrie.
Jamaica
The Sunshine Girls are the national netball team for Jamaica, ranked fourth in the world by IFNA World Rankings. Last year’s World Series saw them defeat England in the semi-finals only to be knocked out by New Zealand in the final.
Veteran defender Althea Byfield, who recently returned from playing in the ANZ championship with the Central Pulse, is a major addition to the ‘Sunshine Series’ squad, which also features three U-21s.
Malawi
Currently ranked fifth in the world, the Malawi National Squad has had a large impact on the world stage since attending the Commonwealth Games for the first time in 2006 where they stopped reigning champions New Zealand in the tracks with 67 passes in a row.
Captain Peace Chawimba and 38-year-old GA Mary Waya act as role models for overlooked women and girls across Malawi, where netball is the most popular sport.
South Africa
The South Africa national netball team are nicknamed the ‘Proteas’ and are ranked the sixth team in the IFNA World Rankings. They recently defeated Barbados and the Cooke Islands at the Commonwealth Games, but lost 47-59 to Malawi leaving them in sixth place.
Netball is the second most popular sport in South Africa behind football, and the most popular women’s sport, providing a number of role models for women in the country.
The three day competition is to commence on Friday November 19 and will conclude on Sunday November 21 with a celebratory Gala Dinner on the Sunday evening.
Being on home soil, it’s an exciting event you can get involved with too, something Tamsin agrees: “It’s so exciting! Standing there listening to your national anthem with everyone singing, you can’t beat playing in front of a home crowd. We always get such huge support and it would be really nice to continue that on.”
Why not join them this year? See www.worldnetballseries.com for more information and for tickets.
Jessica Whittington, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
