Few Important Things You Need To Know About Netball

Netball was invented in the year 1891 by a Canadian immigrant to the USA. During its early days, Netball was quite similar to basketball, and over a period of time, it evolved into the game it is now known today. The first recorded game of Netball was played in England in 1895, and after 103 years, it was included in the Commonwealth games. Over more than 100 years, Netball has come a long way; however, it is still considered to be an amateur’s sport. Even though more than 80 countries from all over the world plays netball, and many of them have an international netball team, this sport is yet to achieve recognition on the world stage. Though the International Olympic Committee has recognized Netball as a global sport; however, it is yet to be included in the Olympics.

Australia- One Of The Formidable Netball International Teams 

Like in many other sports, Australia has left its mark on Netball as well with a formidable and well-trained netball team. They were the first world netball champions of the tournament, which was held in England in the year 1963. Since 1971, Australia went on to win seven consecutive Netball World Championships till 1999. In the year 2003, at the world netball championships, held in Kingston, New Zealand managed to break the winning streak of Australia.

Some of the best international netball teams 

Though Netball has gained tremendous popularity over a period of time; however, only a handful of countries have managed to stamp their mark with a professionally trained netball team when it comes to the world standard. Here are some of the most dominating international netball teams that are considered as forces to reckon with.

1. Australia

2. Barbados

3. Fiji

4. England

5. Malawi

6. Jamaica

7. Northern Ireland

8. New Zealand

Apart from these leading nations, the names of Scotland, South Africa, Wales, and Uganda are worth mentioning.

Importance of Netball as a team Sport 

Netball helps build the upper body strength, develop leg muscles, and promote the cardiovascular mechanism. It is a very fast-paced and intense game, which is designed in such a way that it helps to boost the fitness level very quickly. Some of the other benefits of netball include.

1. It helps to improve the flexibility of the body and muscle parts.

2. Proper hand-eye coordination is required in order to be successful in this game.

3. Netball is a team sport. It helps create a team spirit and, at the same time, teaches the skills to be successful as a team.

4. It also improves strategic thinking capabilities.

When it comes to increasing the fitness level, netball has proven to be very effective. In this context, it needs to be mentioned that in many other international sports, netball sessions have been incorporated to enhance the fitness level of the players. The fact that it is a very fast-paced sport helps to increase the players' speed and, at the same time, adds to their stamina and power of endurance.

The International Netball Federation has been trying for a long time to include this particular sport in the Olympics. As mentioned, it was recognized by the Olympic committee in the year 1995; however, it has not yet been incorporated into the Olympic Games. Also, men’s netball team from any country is non-existent which also contributes to the misconceptions surrounding the game like it is easy or not much hard work is involved. In order to get recognized at a global standard and as a professional sport, netball needs to be a part of the Olympic event. With the growing popularity of this sport worldwide, the chances are most likely that netball would be introduced as one of the major Olympics events in the years to come.