Netball in the Cook Islands and Mixed Netball Tournament. A demonstration of the Cook Islands success can be found by looking at the national team: It is one of the top ranked in the world. Netball has grassroots support and plays an important part in the life of women on the islands. There are over 15 netball clubs. Beyond club competitions, the game is played at schools and at national festivals like the Manea Games. The game's reach extends beyond traditional gender boundaries and is also being played by some Cook Islander men. Netball has benefited from several high visibility players and administrators, who have
History of the Cook Islands Mendaña in 1595 who called it "San Bernardo" (Saint Bernard). Portuguese-Spaniard Pedro Fernández de Quirós made the first recorded European landing in the islands when he set foot on Rakahanga in 1606, calling it "Gente Hermosa" (Beautiful People). British navigator Captain James Cook arrived in 1773 and 1777. Cook named the islands the 'Hervey Islands' to honour a British Lord of the Admiralty. Half a century later the Russian Baltic German Admiral Adam Johann von Krusenstern published the "Atlas de l'Ocean Pacifique", in which he renamed the islands the Cook Islands to honour Cook. Captain Cook navigated and mapped much