My little girls like to play netball but l have no idea of rules of the game. Where can l get information on the rules and positions?

Rules of Netball

POSITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Each position has a main role to play:

GS
To score goals & to work in & around the circle with the GA

GA
To feed & work with GS & to score goals

WA
To feed the circle players giving them shooting opportunities

C
To take the Centre Pass & to link the defence & the attack

WD
To look for interceptions & to prevent the WA from feeding the circle

GD
To win the ball & reduce the effectiveness of the GA

GK
To work with the GD & to prevent the GS from scoring goals


RULES SUMMARY
COURT AREAS

Offside: Player moving out of own area, with or without ball (on a line counts as within either area)

Over a Third: Ball may not be thrown over two transverse lines without being touched

Out of Court: Ball is out of court when it contacts anything outside the court area (not the goalpost). The ball is returned into play by a Throw-In taken from a point outside the line where the ball left the court. The player stands with foot close to the line, & the ball must be thrown onto the court within three seconds.


Major & minor rules

The rules of netball r pretty straightforward, & fall into two basic categories: minor (or ''technical'') rules & major rules.

If a player breaks a minor rule the opposition is awarded a free pass, which is a pass taken from the same spot where the rule was broken.

Breaking a major rule is more serious, & results in the opposing team being awarded a penalty pass.

A penalty pass is similar to a free pass, except the player who broke the rule must stand out of the way until the pass is taken.

If a player gives away a penalty pass in the goal circle then the shooter can take a free shot at goal.

MINOR RULES

Ball control
When a player receives a pass they have to act quickly, but they r not allowed to run with the ball or dribble it.

To gain control of the ball, a player can bat or bounce the ball once, but they CANNOT bat & 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.

And do not think u can get away with untidy play either.

A player has to be standing before they throw the ball - so no chucking the ball when you're kneeling down or sprawled on the floor of the court!

Three second rule
To make sure the game stays pacy & competitive there is the three second rule.

This means players have only three seconds between catching the ball & making a pass

Making space
This rule aims to cut down on short passes between team members, & effectively stops the ball being handed from one player to the next at close range.

The player holding the ball must leave enough room for another person to move between their hands & those of the catcher.

This gives the opposition a chance to get the ball!

Footwork
One of the trickiest rules to remember in netball is getting ur footwork right.

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 & throw the ball before the landing foot returns to the ground.

Or they can pivot on the landing foot & move the other foot any number of times - depending on how flexible the player is!

But they r 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, & 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 & follow the rules as above.

If a player breaks the footwork rule it is usually called stepping & a free pass is awarded.

Court boundaries
Each player is only allowed in certain areas of the court & if they stray out of position then they r offside.

A player can still be offside even if they do not have the ball.

Long ball tactics that work so well in basketball & football also wo not get u very far in netball!

That is because the ball must be handled in each third of the court.

A player cannot throw the ball from the defensive third to the attacking third, for example.

At least two passes also have to be made before a player can have a shot on goal.

Toss ups

There r 14 players on a netball court, so u can occasionally expect two players to get tangled up reaching for the ball at the same time!

This is called simultaneous contact & 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 & both players try & catch it.

You might think taller players would always win toss ups.

But the umpire throws the ball no more than two feet into the air from just below the shoulder height of the shorter player.

Toss ups also help solve incidents on the court when the umpire is unsure exactly what happened.

MAJOR RULES:

Physical contact
Netball is a non-contact sport, & players cannot make physical contact with one another on the court.

A good thing about this rule is that it stops taller & bigger players using their size to unfair advantage.

Defenders have to stand 0.9m (3ft) away from the player with the ball.

From this distance a player can try & win the ball back, but ONLY when it has been thrown into the air.

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 under their nose!

If a player makes physical contact & disrupts play then a penalty pass is awarded.

But remember to be careful, because even if u trip over ur shoelaces & knock another player over by accident - the referee will still give a penalty pass!

Moving the goalposts
No-one would notice if u just moved that 3m (10ft) goalpost just a little nearer would they?

Well, if a player is caught leaning on a post then a free pass will be given.

But if u try & move the thing then u will give the other side a penalty pass. So moving the goalposts is definitely not allowed!