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The history of netball

Netball can be traced back to 1891, when Dr. James Naismith invented the game of basketball. Although basketball was originally designed for men, it was adapted for female students in 1892 in order to preserve female etiquette. The modified version of women's basketball quickly gained popularity, and by 1895, it had spread in various forms across the United States. The gradual transition from basketball to netball was first made at Madame sterberg's college (in Dartford, England) in 1897. An American teacher invented a game that used basketball rules and an outdoor court, but instead of basketball hoops, it used basic netted rings with no backboards. The sport was renamed 'netball' as a result of the equipment change.

Netball was first played in England in 1895 at Madame Ostenburg’s College. In the first half of the 20th century, Netball’s popularity continued to grow, with the game being played in many British Commonwealth countries. There were no standard rules at that time with both nine-a-side and five-a-side versions of the game.

During an Australian tour of England in 1957, discussions took place concerning standardising the rules of the sport and this led to representatives from England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and The West Indies meeting in Sri Lanka in 1960, to establish The International Federation of Women’s Basketball and Netball. Formal rules were established at this inaugural meeting and it was decided to hold World Championship tournaments every four years, beginning in Eastbourne, England, in 1963. In 1995 Netball became a “recognized” sport of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and one of the Federation’s objectives is to ensure this status is retained and to encourage the International Olympic Committee to include Netball in the Olympic Games Programme in the future. Additionally, As the sport has evolved so has the international governing body as the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA), now named World Netball, has also moved with the times in what is an ever changing and challenging global environment

Refences

Netball - an overview and history of the sport - Netball - factfile - GCSE Physical Education Revision - OCR - BBC Bitesize

History of Netball - World Netball