netball netball 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 among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. the sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifically played in schools. netball is most popularly played in commonwealth nations. netballmalawi (red) playing fiji (blue)at the 2006 commonwealth gameshighest governing bodyworld netballfirst played1897 (1897), england, united kingdomregistered players561,000+characteristicscontactlimitedteam membersseven on-court players per team- all-female teams- all-male teams- mixed teamstype- team sport- ball sportequipmentnetball, bibvenuenetball courtpresenceolympicioc-recognised federation, 1995world games1985–1993 a common misunderstanding of netball's origins has resulted in the mistaken belief that netball was created to prevent women from playing basketball. however, netball's development traces back to american sports teacher clara gregory baer's misinterpretation of the basketball rule book in 1895. baer's modifications proliferated and were later officially ratified into the rules for women's basketball by 1899. martina bergman-österberg had also introduced basketball to her female students at her physical training college in england in 1893. in the beginning it was also described as 'women's basketball' but by 1897 it started to evolve into a distinctly separate sport based on modifications developed at bergman-österberg's college combined with baer's rules. the first codified rules of bergman-österberg's new sport, netball, were then published in 1901. by 1960, international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the international federation of netball and women's basketball, later renamed world netball, was formed to be the sport's international governing body. netball differs greatly from its 'sister' sport of basketball. perhaps the most noticeable change was the removal of the backboards from the hoop or goal ring. netball also bars dribbling, bouncing, and running while in possession of the ball. physical player contact is more controlled than in basketball. in addition, netball not only identifies the different positions of its players, but also defines where and in which areas of the court specific players are allowed to be when they compete. as a consequence, netball more heavily emphasizes accurate passing and positioning than basketball. according to world netball, the sport is played by more than 20 million people in more than 80 countries. 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, netball became an international olympic committee recognised sport federation, but it has not been played at the olympics. overview games are played on a rectangular court with raised goal rings at each end. each team attempts to score goals by passing a ball down the court and shooting it through its goal ring. players are assigned specific positions, which define their roles within the team and restrict their movement to certain areas of the court. during general play, a player with the ball can hold on to it for only three seconds before shooting for a goal or passing to another player. the winning team is the one that scores the most goals. netball games are 60 minutes long. variations have been developed to increase the game's pace and appeal to a wider audience. description and rules a netball court's dimensions. the court is divided into thirds and shooting circles are at each end. 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. 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. 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). a normal game consists of four 15-minute quarters and can be played outdoors or in a covered stadium. each team is allowed seven players on the court. each player is assigned a specific position, which limits their movement to a certain area of the court. a "bib" worn by each player contains a one- or two-letter abbreviation indicating this position. only two positions are permitted in the attacking shooting circle, and can therefore shoot for a goal. similarly, only two positions are permitted in the defensive shooting circle; they try to prevent the opposition from shooting goals. other players are restricted to two-thirds of the court, with the exception of the centre, who may move anywhere on the court except for a shooting circle. at the beginning of every quarter and after a goal has been scored, play starts with a player in the centre position passing the ball from the centre of the court. these "centre passes" alternate between the teams, regardless of which team scored the last goal. when the umpire blows the whistle to restart play, four players from each team can move into the centre third to receive the pass. the centre pass must be caught or touched in the centre third. the ball is then moved up and down the court through passing and must be touched by a player in each adjacent third of the court. players can hold the ball for only three seconds at any time. it must be released before the foot they were standing on when they caught it touches the ground again. contact between players is only permitted if it does not impede an opponent or the general play. when defending a pass or shot players must be at least 90 centimetres (35 in) away from the player with the ball. if illegal contact is made, the player who contacted cannot participate in play until the player taking the penalty has passed or shot the ball. if the ball is held in two hands and either dropped or a shot at goal is missed, the same player cannot be the first to touch it unless it first rebounds off the goal. history netball's early development emerged from clara baer's misinterpretation of the early rules of james naismith's new sport of basketball (which he developed while studying in massachusetts) and eventually evolved into its own sport. basketball was invented in 1891 by naismith in the united states. the game was initially played indoors between two teams of nine players, using an association football that was thrown into closed-end peach baskets. naismith's game spread quickly across the united states and variations of the rules soon emerged. at the same time, physical education instructor senda berenson developed modified rules for women in 1892. berenson's rules eventually gave rise to women's basketball, and separate intercollegiate rules for basketball for men and women developed around the same time. however, though related to basketball's early formation period, netball emerged as an entirely separate sport. clara baer was a sports teacher living in new orleans when she wrote to naismith asking for a copy of the rules for his game of basketball. once she received them, they included a diagram of the court with lines across it which were meant to show the areas various players could best patrol. however, baer misinterpreted the lines and believed they marked out restricted areas of play which players could not leave. her mistake marks the beginning of netball. baer's version for the rules of women’s basketball defined these areas as restricted zones, an error which then became ratified into the rules for women’s basketball in 1899 and proliferated. martina bergman-österberg introduced a version of basketball in 1893 to her female students at the physical training college in hampstead, london. the rules of the game were modified at the college over several years: the game moved outdoors and was played on grass; the baskets were replaced by rings that had nets; and in 1897 and 1899, rules from women's basketball in the united states were incorporated. österberg's new sport acquired the name "net ball". the first codified rules of netball were published in 1901 by the ling association, later the physical education association of the united kingdom. from england, netball spread to other countries in the british empire. variations of the rules and even names for the sport arose in different areas: "women's (outdoor) basketball" arrived in australia around 1900 and in new zealand from 1906, while "netball" was being played in jamaican schools by 1909. women in england playing netball on a grass court, 1910 a goal is scored at a women's netball game in new zealand, circa 1920s. from the start, it was considered socially appropriate for women to play netball; netball's restricted movement appealed to contemporary notions of women's participation in sports, and the sport was distinct from potential rival male sports. netball became a popular women's sport in countries where it was introduced and spread rapidly through school systems. school leagues and domestic competitions emerged during the first half of the 20th century, and in 1924 the first national governing body was established in new zealand. international competition was initially hampered by a lack of funds and varying rules in different countries. australia hosted new zealand in the first international game of netball in melbourne on 20 august 1938; australia won 40–11. efforts began in 1957 to standardise netball rules globally: by 1960 international playing rules had been standardised, and the international federation of netball and women's basketball, later the international netball federation (inf), was formed to administer the sport worldwide. representatives from england, australia, new zealand, south africa, and the west indies were part of a 1960 meeting in sri lanka that standardised the rules for the game. the game spread to other african countries in the 1970s. south africa was prohibited from competing internationally from 1969 to 1994 due to apartheid. in the united states, netball's popularity also increased during the 1970s, particularly in the new york area, and the united states of america netball association was created in 1992. the game also became popular in the pacific island nations of the cook islands, fiji and samoa during the 1970s. netball singapore was created in 1962, and the malaysian netball association was created in 1978. in australia, the term women's basketball was used to refer to both netball and basketball. during the 1950s and 1960s, a movement arose to change the australian name of the game from women's basketball to netball in order to avoid confusion between the two sports. the australian basketball union offered to pay the costs involved to alter the name, but the netball organisation rejected the change. in 1970, the council of the all australia netball association officially changed the name to "netball" in australia. in 1963, the first international tournament was held in eastbourne, england. originally called the world tournament, it later became known as the world netball championships. following the first tournament, one of the organisers, miss r. harris, declared,england could learn from the mistakes in the past from the empty stands at eastbourne. to get the right publicity and the right status desired, the game must emerge from the school playground. netball should be part of a sports centre where social events could also be held. the world netball championships have been held every four years since then. the world youth netball championships started in canberra in 1988, and have been held roughly every four years since. in 1995, the international olympic committee recognized the international federation of netball associations. three years