Netball

The Hon. AILEEN MacDONALD (18:28:20):

How great is netball? Australia won the 2023 Netball World Cup on 6 August. First held in 1963, the tournament is 60 years old and Australia has won 12 titles in total. Back in June some of my colleagues from both Houses and I ventured to Ken Rosewall Arena to play netball against the New Zealand parliamentary team. However, in contrast, our training did not appear to make any difference to the final score so I will leave that story for another day.

Later that day, almost 10,000 people packed the arena to see the NSW Swifts and the Giants play a brilliant, fast, action-packed game of netball. The players were fierce and energetic throughout the four quarters of the afternoon, and audience participation was inspiring. What pleased me the most was seeing families, netball teams and young girls all turned out to support their team. During the quarter breaks, the cameras would pan the crowd looking for audience members who were cheering loudly, dressed in team colours, doing the netball moves and being proud supporters. The hairs on my arms tingled when I saw young fathers with their daughters, encouraging them to support their teams and the game they love.

The break ended and the audience then cheered and barracked for their favourite player and team. The third quarter was a bit of a nailbiter as the score tightened. The roar of the crowd grew louder and the pressure mounted on each team member to perform at their best. They did not let us down. We were kept on the edge of our seats to the final seconds of the game. I felt privileged to be an audience participant, watching the athletes compete at the top of their game, inspiring the next generation of girls to achieve their sporting endeavours. The girls were seeing their idols and then later, I imagine, reliving the experience on netball courts across the nation.

It is particularly pleasing that the netball participation rate has grown steadily over the past three years. In fact, just last year data from AusPlay revealed that there are over 874,000 women and girls participating in netball across Australia, and that more boys and men are picking up netball as a sport. More than 126,600 men and boys participated last year alone. That is remarkable when we consider that, just three years ago, we were in the grips of a pandemic, which hindered community sport in so many ways.

Netball NSW commenced in 1929 from humble beginnings, and now New South Wales alone boasts over 115,000 members playing netball at all levels of performance and all across the State, from the city to regional New South Wales. Netball is now the third most popular team participation sport in Australia. Would members believe that netball participation is overtaking Australian rules football? I am sure that Active Kids vouchers assisted with the popularity of the game.

It is not hard to understand why netball has such a huge following and such great grassroots participants and supporters when the rules of netball are basically equal opportunity, fair play and respect for an opponent's skill and safety. I have never seen a cross word on the sidelines of a netball court. With those rules at its core, one could say that netball is a platform for empowering our young girls. Experience tells us that girls encounter major obstacles and discrimination in their lives, and they experience them early. From netball grew the Confident Girls Foundation. The data explains that girls are more likely to experience domestic violence, less likely to play sport as they get older, and experience other barriers based on their gender.

Netball has the power to change lives and inspire communities. It promotes the empowerment of women and girls through inspirational role models and award-winning development programs. Statistics reveal that over 50 per cent of females stop playing by the time they are 17 years old. Whilst there are many reasons for that, the main reason is that they think they are not good at it. Seeing netball role models and the popularity of the sport will empower young women to keep at it and be the next Liz Ellis or Diamonds team member.

Prior to that recent game, it had been 10 years since I last watched a netball game that I was really excited about, and that was watching my daughter play centre for her school team on countless weekends at the Armidale netball courts. For her, there was no pressure. She was able to enjoy being with her school friends, playing a sport that she adored. I loved the action then and I loved it on that day, even more so now when I see how it empowers our young women. Go the Diamonds!

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