Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It was first played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts . It spread across the United States , in large parts via women's college competitions, and has since spread globally. As of 2020, basketball is one of the most popular and fastest growing sports in the world.
111-636: The Netball Super League is a top level netball league featuring teams from the United Kingdom . The league is organised by England Netball but features teams based in England , Wales and Scotland . The league was commenced playing at the 2005–06 season, replacing the Super Cup as the elite netball competition in England. From 2016 -21 the league was sponsored by VitalityHealth and, as
222-641: A 12-team league in 1997 but disbanded before 1997 season. The WBA played a 15-game schedule and games were broadcast on Liberty Sports of Dallas. When FOX Sports purchased Liberty Sports and the WBA, they disbanded the league. In 1996, two professional women's leagues were started in the United States. They were the American Basketball League and the WNBA . The American Basketball League
333-457: A college is spending $ 400,000 per year on athletic scholarships and half of the athletic participants are women then half of that amount, $ 200,000, should be funding athletic scholarships for women (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008, 299). The gender equity rule entails that a school must prove that it “meets the interest of the gender that is underrepresented” (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008, 107) which happens to be women. The historical progress rule entails that if
444-490: 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. She 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
555-423: 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
666-493: A fair manner. To ensure that schools comply with Title IX, they face the consequence of losing federal funding for any violation (Sadker, 2001). The proportionality rule entails that a school provides opportunities proportional to its enrollment. As an example, if a school is 55% male and 45% female then the athletic participation should be 55:45 (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). Not only does the proportionality rule apply to athletic participation, but it also addresses scholarships. “So if
777-463: A jersey or tank top with a skort or shorts. Players may alternatively wear specialist one-piece netball dresses, particularly at higher levels. These are accompanied by socks and trainers. Specialist netball dresses and jerseys usually have Velcro to attach a fabric patch bearing their position letter(s), which can instead be worn on bibs when wearing clothes without Velcro. Netball's early development emerged from Clara Baer 's misinterpretation of
888-538: A knee-length skirt, these early pants were replaced soon after by loose bloomers over stockings. Despite men being forbidden from watching these collegiate games, the attire still drew public ridicule. Originally exclusively intramural, the first intercollegiate women's basketball game was played between teams from Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley , on April 4, 1896. Berenson herself opposed intercollegiate play for women, and prioritized
999-659: A new domestic competition in 2011 called Netball Grand Series. It features eight regional teams from South Africa and is aimed at increasing the amount of playing time for players. It runs for 17 weeks and replaces the National Netball League , which was played over only two weeks. According to Proteas captain Elsje Jordaan, it was hoped that the competition would create an opportunity for players to become professional. The Americas Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) hosts two tournaments each year:
1110-470: A pullout section for the women’s NCAA March Madness tournament" (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008, 109). Professional women's basketball has been played in the United States. There have been several leagues, the most recent of which is the WNBA . The first attempt was the Women's Pro Basketball League . The league played three seasons from the fall of 1978 to the spring of 1981. The league is generally considered to be
1221-970: A result, it was known as the Vitality Netball Superleague . Since 2022 it has been known as the Netball Super League. Historically the league's most successful teams are Team Bath , who have won five titles, and Saracens Mavericks , who have played in seven grand finals. In more recent times, Surrey Storm won successive titles in 2015 and 2016 and Wasps have played in three successive finals, winning two titles, between 2017 and 2019 . In 2019 Manchester Thunder won their third title. Umpire Gary Burgess made history in 2018 by umpiring his 10th consecutive Netball Superleague final between Manchester Thunder and Surrey Storm. Loughborough Lightning won their first title in 2021, beating Team Bath , following this up with their second title in 2023. Source : Sky Sports are
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#17327768979481332-544: A school is unable to provide proportional opportunities then they must put forth an effort to create more opportunities for the underrepresented gender (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). Between 1971 and 2000, Title IX has proven to have had a huge impact on female collegiate sports. Sports participation among college women has risen from 372 percent over that time, from 32,000 to more than 150,000 women (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008, 108). Also now 33.5% of female students participate in sports (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). The issue still remaining
1443-401: A smaller ball is used. Netball Australia also runs a modified game called Netta aimed at 8- to 11-year-olds. The goal height and ball size are the same as for adults, but players rotate positions during the game, permitting each player to play each position. Netta was created to develop passing and catching skills. Its rules permit six seconds between catching and passing the ball, instead of
1554-575: A yard in the WNBA and 0.9 m in FIBA play. Under NCAA rules, the three-point distance is 22 ft 1.75 in (6.7501 m) for most of the width of the court, with a minimum distance of 1 yd (0.91 m) from the sidelines. The WNBA, FIBA, and NCAA all use a block/charge arc near each basket, with the NCAA using an arc identical to the radius of the basket, the WNBA setting it at 4 ft (1.2 m) from
1665-442: A young "physical culture" director at Smith, taught basketball to her students, hoping the activity would improve their physical health. While for men, basketball was designed as an indoor addition to existing team sports such as baseball and football, basketball became the first women's team sport, followed shortly after by hockey, rowing, and volleyball. Basketball's early adherents were affiliated with YMCAs and colleges throughout
1776-413: Is 94 by 50 feet (28.65 by 15.24 m), while the FIBA standard court is slightly smaller at 28 by 15 m (91 ft 10.36 in by 49 ft 2.55 in) . For most of its distance, the three-point line is 6.75 m (22 ft 1.75 in) from the middle of the basket under both FIBA and WNBA rules. Near the sidelines, the three-point line runs parallel to the.sideline, at a distance of exactly
1887-410: Is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. The primary objective is to shoot a ball through the defender's goal ring while preventing the opposing team from shooting through their own goal ring. It is one of a few sports created exclusively for women and girls and remains primarily played by them, on indoor and outdoor courts, especially in schools and most popularly in
1998-443: Is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly with five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball through the defender's hoop. The rules for women's basketball are almost identical to the rules for men's basketball. The most noticeable differences are the circumference and mass of the women's basketball, with the circumference being one inch (2.54 cm) and
2109-401: Is a variation of netball, played exclusively indoors, in which the playing court is often surrounded on each side and overhead by a net. The net prevents the ball from leaving the court, permitting faster play by reducing playing stoppages. Different forms of indoor netball exist. In a seven-per-side version called "action netball", seven players per team play most standard rules, except a game
2220-815: Is affiliated with the General Association of International Sports Federations , the International World Games Association and the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations . It is also a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code . Netball is a popular participant sport in countries of the Commonwealth of Nations . Non-Commonwealth entities with full IFNA membership include Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Argentina, Bermuda,
2331-622: Is also an Asian Youth Netball Championship for girls under 21 years of age, the seventh of which was held in 2010. The major netball competition in Europe is the Netball Superleague , which features teams from England, Wales and Scotland. The league was created in 2005. Matches are broadcast on Sky Sports. Netball has been featured at the Pacific Games , a multi-sport event with participation from 22 countries from around
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#17327768979482442-575: 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
2553-633: Is divided into two conferences, the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Each of the 12 teams plays a 34-game regular season schedule, beginning in June and ending in mid September. Although the WNBA is divided into conferences for scheduling purposes, it has used a single table for purposes of playoff qualifying since the 2016 season. The eight teams with the best overall records, regardless of conference affiliation, compete in
2664-588: Is split into fifteen-minute halves around a three-minute break. This version is played in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and England. A six-per-side version of the sport is also played in New Zealand. Two Centres per team can play in the whole court except the shooting circles; the remaining attacking and defending players are each restricted to one half of the court, including the shooting circles. The attacking and Centre players may shoot from outside
2775-511: Is split into two levels. Division 1 is as close to professional as women's sport gets in the United Kingdom, with teams such as Rhondda Rebels and Sheffield Hatters bringing in players from the US and Europe. The Nottingham Wildcats make up the trio of clubs that helped establish the women's league and remain amongst the top three or four places. The gap between these top teams and the rest of
2886-443: Is that women's sports beyond college do not benefit from Title IX. As a whole, they make less income than men in professional sports which Title IX cannot do much about. However, due to Title IX some women have gotten recognition as a result of the debate. "Women athletes receive greater respect today but relatively skimpy media attention. Thank Title IX for…the growing visibility of women's college basketball that has USA Today producing
2997-679: Is the Netball World Cup (previously known as the World Netball Championships), held every four years. It was first held in 1963 at the Chelsea College of Physical Education at Eastbourne , England, with eleven nations competing. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australian and New Zealand teams, which hold ten and four titles, respectively. Trinidad and Tobago
3108-557: Is the WNBA . The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament feature top national teams from continental championships. In the US, the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship is also popular. The strongest European women's basketball clubs participate in the EuroLeague Women . Women's basketball began in the fall of 1892 at Smith College . Senda Berenson , recently hired as
3219-668: Is the highest women's professional club basketball competition in Hong Kong . The Indian National Basketball Championship for Women is a professional basketball tournament in India for women The Women's Japan Basketball League is a premier women's basketball league in Japan . The Lebanese Basketball League or FLB League is the top-tier professional basketball league in Lebanon . The Women's Philippine Basketball League
3330-535: Is the only other team to win a championship title. That title, won in 1979, was shared with New Zealand and Australia; all three teams finished with equal points at the end of the round robin, and there were no finals. The Fast5 Series is a competition among the top six national netball teams, as ranked by the INF World Rankings . It is organised by the INF in conjunction with the national governing bodies of
3441-626: Is worth double points and the centre pass is taken by the team that conceded the goal. Netball has been adapted in several ways to meet children's needs. The rules for children are similar to those for adults, but various aspects of the game (such as the length of each quarter, goal height, and ball size) are modified. Fun Net is a version of netball developed by Netball Australia for five- to seven-year-olds. It aims to improve basic netball skills using games and activities. The Fun Net program runs for 8–16 weeks. There are no winners or losers. The goal posts are 2.4 metres (7 ft 10 in) high, and
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3552-748: The 1980 Summer Olympic Games severely impacted the league's viability, and it collapsed at the end of its third season in 1981. The next major development in women's basketball occurred in 1982 when the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began to sponsor the sport. . After several failed attempts at women's professional leagues in the U.S., the NBA founded the WNBA in 1996. The first nationally televised championship game occurred in 1979. Ivy Kirkpatrick of Stephen F. Austin State University coordinated
3663-612: The Commonwealth Games in 2006. Basketball (for both men and women) is one of the sports that the host nation of the Island Games may select for competition. Wheelchair basketball, one of the original eight events of the Paralympic Games, also has a women's wheelchair basketball championship program. AfroBasket Women is the women's basketball continental championship of Africa , played biennially under
3774-578: The Commonwealth of Nations . 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:
3885-636: The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup . The event, renamed from "FIBA World Championship for Women" after its 2014 edition, is currently held in even-numbered non-Summer Olympic years. Berenson's freshmen played the sophomore class in the first women's collegiate basketball game held on 22 March 1893. University of California and Miss Head's School , had played the first women's extramural game in 1892. Also in 1893, Mount Holyoke and Sophie Newcomb College , coached by Clara Gregory Baer (the inventor of Newcomb ball ) women began playing basketball. By 1895,
3996-1014: The International Olympic Committee recognized the International Federation of Netball Associations. Three years later netball debuted at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur . Other international competitions also emerged in the late 20th century, including the Nations Cup and the Asian Netball Championship . The sport was created for girls and women and remains most popular among this demographic, with women's netball at elite and national levels receiving outside funding. Though male netball teams exist in some areas, men's and mixed-sex teams are largely self-funded. Men's netball started to grow in Australia during
4107-849: The Summer Olympics , politicians and administrators have been campaigning unsuccessfully to have it included. Its absence from the Olympics has been seen by the netball community as a hindrance in the global growth of the game by limiting access to media attention and funding sources. Some funding sources became available with recognition in 1995, including the International Olympic Committee , national Olympic committees, national sport organisations, and state and federal governments. Women%27s basketball There are multiple professional leagues and tournaments for professional women basketball players. The main North American league
4218-411: The basketball rule book in 1895. The book had lines of patrol drawn on it and Clara interpreted this to mean that players had to stay in those zones. 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
4329-519: The 1970s and the introduction of Title IX . While Senda Berenson 's desire to limit competition was not realized forever, her larger goals were. College basketball and other women's college sports impacted the American cultural mindset around women and women's rights at the turn of the century, and colleges played a large role in enabling women to participate in athletics at all levels. Though in 1900 only 2.8% of American women were enrolled in college,
4440-593: The 1980s, with the first men's championship being held in 1985. Other countries with men's national teams include Canada, Fiji, Jamaica, Kenya, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. In 2004, New Zealand and Fiji sent teams to compete in the Australian Mixed and Men's National Championships. By 2006, mixed netball teams in Australia had as many male participants as rugby union . An all- transgender netball team from Indonesia competed at
4551-869: The 1994 Gay Games in New York City . The team had been the Indonesian national champions. At the Gay Games VI in Sydney in 2000, netball and volleyball were the two sports with the highest rates of transgender athletes participating. There were eight teams of indigenous players, with seven identifying as transgender. They came from places like Palm Island in northern Queensland , Samoa , Tonga and Papua New Guinea . Teams with transgender players were allowed to participate in several divisions including men's, mixed and transgender; they were not allowed to compete against women's teams. Indoor netball
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4662-641: The 2011 tournament. The AFNA Senior Championship includes Canada and the US along with the Caribbean nations. The tournament serves as a qualifier for the World Championship. Jamaica, with its high ranking, does not have to qualify; this leaves two spots to the other teams in the tournament. The Asian Netball Championship is held every four years. The seventh Asian games were held in 2009 and featured Singapore , Thailand, Maldives, Taiwan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka , Hong Kong, India and Pakistan. There
4773-715: The Caribbean Netball Association (CNA) Under 16 Championship and the AFNA Senior Championship. The CNA championship involves two divisions of teams from the Caribbean islands. In 2010 five teams competed in two rounds of round robin matches in the Championship Division, while four teams competed in the Developmental Division. Jamaica, which has lost only once in the tournament, decided not to play
4884-567: The Cayman Islands and the United States, along with former Commonwealth members Zimbabwe, Ireland and Hong Kong. According to the IFNA, over 20 million people play netball in more than 80 countries. International tournaments are held among countries in each of the five IFNA regions, either annually or every four years. School leagues and national club competitions have been organised in England, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica since
4995-564: The Division for Girls and Women in Sport (which later developed into the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women ) was changed to allow and encourage women's intercollegiate competition. In 1971 the five-player, full court game was adopted, followed by the Women's Sports Foundation, which was formed in 1974. Women's college basketball remains very popular throughout North America , with
5106-620: The Games. The Confederation of African Netball Associations organises a major African tournament, which invites teams from Botswana , Namibia, Zambia, Malawi , South Africa , Kenya, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and the Seychelles to take part. The tournament is hosted by a country within the region; senior and under 21 teams compete. The tournament has served as a qualifier for the World Championships. South Africa launched
5217-612: 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
5328-533: The NBA Board of Governors on 24 April 1996, the creation of the WNBA was first announced at a press conference with Rebecca Lobo , Lisa Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes in attendance. While not the first major women's professional basketball league in the United States (a distinction held by the defunct WBL), the WNBA is the only league to receive full backing of the NBA. On the heels of a much-publicized gold medal run by
5439-600: The NCAA changed the rules to 10 minute quarters from 20 minute halves. High lobs or tip-ins can be attempted with up to 0.3 seconds left in the period per the Trent Tucker Rule . A WNBA rule removed the jump ball at the start of the second half. Women's basketball is governed internationally by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Since 1953 FIBA has hosted a world championship tournament for women, currently known as
5550-531: The Netball Superleague's official broadcast partner and they broadcast live matches throughout the season. In November 2016 England Netball and Sky Sports signed a four-year deal which saw every live match made available to all Sky TV customers on Sky Sports Mix . A "multi-year deal" was reached in 2021, which expanded Sky's coverage to allow for all matches to be either televised on Sky Sports or streamed via YouTube . Netball Netball
5661-507: The Newcomb College Basketball Rules, published in 1908. Despite participating in the first intercollegiate women's basketball game, Stanford's faculty athletic committee banned intercollegiate competition for women, first in team sports like basketball and later extending to all sports, and Cal (as well as many other prestigious colleges at the time) followed suit. In many cases, such bans were not lifted until
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#17327768979485772-532: The Second Divisions, with the top playing the bottom of the other pool. This year (2006/7) saw several new teams join the second division, showing the continual growth of the women's game. These included the SevenOaks Suns, Enfield Phoenix, Taunton Tigers and Bristol Storm. Professional women's basketball exists in Australia in the form of the Women's National Basketball League . The league
5883-473: The South Pacific. The event is held every four years and has 12 required sports; the host country chooses the other four. Netball is not a required sport and has missed selection, particularly when former French or American territories host the games. The ANZ Championship was a Trans-Tasman competition held between 2008 and 2016 that was broadcast on television in both New Zealand and Australia. It
5994-763: The USA women's national team at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games, the WNBA began its first season on 21 June 1997 to much fanfare. The league began with eight teams. The first WNBA game featured the New York Liberty facing the Los Angeles Sparks in Los Angeles and was televised in the United States on the NBC television network. At the start of the 1997 season, the WNBA had television deals in place with NBC , ESPN and Lifetime Television Network . The league
6105-491: 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. Clara Baer was a sports teacher living in New Orleans when she wrote to Naismith asking for
6216-511: 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"
6327-575: The United States, and the game quickly spread throughout the country. However, Berenson was taking risks simply in teaching the game to women. Nineteenth-century Victorian culture stressed the frailty of women and prioritized the status of women in the home, and Berenson expressed concern about the women suffering from "nervous fatigue" if games were too strenuous for them. In order to keep it acceptable for women to play at all within Victorian ideals of refinement and gentility, she taught modified rules. She increased participation to nine players per team, and
6438-399: The association between athletics and college was able to make sports acceptable and a central part of the image of progressive women in the early 1900s. Women's basketball continued to grow in universities across the country, expanding especially rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s as the Equal Rights Amendment raised awareness of unequal treatment in college athletics and the official position of
6549-411: The athletes. The women's branch of the National Amateur Athletic Foundation was founded in the 1920s, and the organization's goals included keeping women's sports non-competitive by discouraging travel and awards, discouraging publicity, and keeping women coaches and administrators in charge of women's sports. From 1895 until 1970, the term "women's basketball" (or, in New Zealand, "outdoor basketball")
6660-427: The auspices of FIBA, the basketball sport governing body , and the African zone thereof. The tournament also serves to qualify teams for participation in the quadrennial FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup and the Olympic basketball tournament . The Women's Chinese Basketball Association ( WCBA ) is a professional women's basketball league established in 2002. The Women's Hong Kong Basketball Association
6771-451: 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
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#17327768979486882-490: 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 ,
6993-632: The center of the basket and FIBA using a marginally wider radius of exactly 1.25 m (4 ft 1 in). The WNBA shot clock was changed from 30 to 24 seconds, which has been in FIBA play since 2000, and has been used by the NBA since the shot clock was first introduced in 1954 . Both men's and women's NCAA college basketball use a 30-second shot clock; the men's clock was introduced in 1985 at 45 seconds, lowered to 35 seconds in 1993 , and 30 seconds in 2015 . Most high school games are played with four 8-minute quarters, while NCAA, WNBA, and FIBA games are played in four 10 minute quarters. In 2015–2016
7104-415: The collaboration between NBC Sports and the AIAW. Only the title game was televised with Old Dominion University defeating Louisiana Tech University. Thereafter the Women's Final Four has been televised as an annual event. The recent Iowa-UConn women's Final Four match in April 2024 was the most-watched basketball game in ESPN history with an audience peak at 17 million and is expected to feature as one of
7215-399: 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
7326-457: The court specific players are allowed to be when they compete. 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"
7437-401: The court was divided into three areas. Three players were assigned to each area (guard, center, and forward) and could not cross the line into another area. The ball was moved from section to section by passing or dribbling, and players were limited to three dribbles and could only hold the ball for three seconds. No snatching or batting the ball away from another player was allowed. A center jump
7548-449: 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
7659-416: 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
7770-441: The early twentieth century. Franchise-based netball leagues did not emerge until the late 1990s. These competitions sought to increase the profile of the sport in their respective countries. Despite widespread local interest, participation was largely amateur. Netball was first included in the 1998 Commonwealth Games and has been included ever since; it is currently one of the "core" sports that must be contested at each edition of
7881-443: The first American professional women's basketball league to be founded. The second women's professional league to be created in the United States was the WBA . The league played three seasons from the summer of 1993 to the summer of 1995. The league is considered to be the first American professional women's basketball league to be successful as a summer league, like the WNBA. The league played three full seasons with plans to play as
7992-538: 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
8103-611: 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,
8214-414: The game had spread to colleges across the country, including Wellesley , Vassar and Bryn Mawr . The first intercollegiate women's game was on 4 April 1896. Stanford women played California, 9-on-9, ending in a 2–1 Stanford victory. Clara Gregory Baer published the first book of rules for women's basketball in 1895 she first called the game 'Basquette', a name later dropped in her first revision of rules,
8325-476: The health and fitness benefits for a larger goal: she believed that women, newly entering the workforce and seeking paid jobs outside the home, were at a health-related disadvantage to men, which she saw as limiting women's opportunities and the possibility for equal wages. For much of the early 20th century, other coaches and administrators felt similarly, due in part to an increasing sentiment that men's college sports were becoming too commercialized and exploitive of
8436-464: The league has remained, but gradually as the women's game has developed, the gulf in results has been reduced, and each year there have been more competitive games. Promotion from Division 2 has always reinforced the gap between the two leagues, as the winner of the Division 2 promotion play-offs has found the step-up difficult. The Division 2 play-offs take the top four teams from the North and South of
8547-453: The mass two ounces (56.70 g) less than the men's basketball. The smaller ball was introduced for NCAA play in the fall of 1984. The regulation WNBA ball is a minimum 28.5 inches (72.4 cm) in circumference, which is one inch (2.54 cm) smaller than the NBA ball. This is a standard size 6 ball. As of 2008, this size is used for all senior-level women's competitions worldwide. The standard court size in U.S. college and WNBA play
8658-456: The men's sport happens to be a contact sport in which the rule will not necessarily apply (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). In 1978, colleges and universities were forced to apply Title IX's rules and regulations. Athletic departments had to adhere to one of three requirements which were the proportionality rule, the gender equity rule, or historical progress rule (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). Each of these requirements addressed Title IX and its regulations in
8769-468: The notice of the International Olympic Committee , which added women's basketball as an official sport of the Olympic Games in 1976; the men had debuted in 1936. Throughout the 1970s, funding for (and interest in) women's basketball began to dramatically increase as schools receiving federal funding began to come into compliance with new laws mandating a lack of discrimination based on sex. The sport
8880-413: The organisation was initially called the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball. The INF is responsible for compiling world rankings for national teams, maintaining the rules for netball and organising several major international competitions. As of July 2019, the INF has 53 full and 19 associate national members in five regions. Each region has an INF regional federation. The INF
8991-429: The percentage of total college graduates who were women had increased to 36%, as colleges increased in number, size, and accessibility to larger portions of the population. The cultural significance of these college graduates exceeded their numbers, as college-educated women comprised the bulk of progressive professionals of their era. Women who played sports were able to craft a new image of femininity and athleticism, and
9102-438: 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. Aside from the court and nets, netball uses a ball that is around 70 cm in circumference and weighs 400 to 450 grams. Balls are made from leather, rubber, or similar material. A player typically wears
9213-488: The programs and earned financial support and popularity and did not want to throw that down the drain (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). In 1974, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare issued Title IX regulations regarding intercollegiate athletics (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008). Title IX implies that if a school has a specific sport's team for boys then they must have a team in that same sport for girls. This will occur unless
9324-513: The quadrennial World Netball Championships , the Commonwealth Games , and the yearly Quad Series and Fast5 Series . In 1995, the International Netball Federation (now known as World Netball) became an International Olympic Committee recognised sport federation , but netball has not been played at the Olympics. Netball's development traces back to American sports teacher Clara Gregory Baer 's misinterpretation of
9435-573: 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
9546-593: The semi-finals; the winners face each other in the Grand Final. The competition features modified fastnet rules and has been likened to Twenty20 cricket and rugby sevens . A new format featuring shorter matches with modified rules was designed to make the game more appealing to spectators and television audiences. The World Netball Series was held annually in England from 2009 to 2011. Netball's governing federation gained Olympic recognition in 1995 after 20 years of lobbying. Although it has never been played at
9657-430: The shooting circle for a two-point goal. A five-per-side game is also common in indoor netball. Players can move throughout the court, with the exception of the shooting circles, which are restricted to certain attacking or defending players. Fast5 (originally called Fastnet) is a variation on the rules of netball designed to make games faster and more television-friendly. The World Netball Series promotes it to raise
9768-424: The six competing nations, UK Sport , and the host city's local council. The All England Netball Association covers air travel, accommodation, food and local travel expenses for all teams, while the respective netball governing bodies cover player allowances. It is held over three days, with each team playing each other once during the first two days in a round-robin format. The four highest-scoring teams advance to
9879-653: The sport being sponsored by all of the major college athletic associations: the NCAA , the NAIA , and the NCCAA for U.S. four-year schools; the NJCAA and CCCAA for U.S. two-year schools; the CCAA for Canadian colleges (equivalent to U.S. junior or community colleges); and U Sports for Canadian universities. NCAA Division I is considered the highest level of college competition, with
9990-510: The sport's profile and attract more spectators and greater sponsorship. The game is much shorter, with each quarter lasting only six minutes and only a two-minute break between quarters. The coaches can give instructions from the sideline during play, and unlimited substitutions are allowed. Like six-per-side indoor netball, attacking players may shoot two-point goals from outside the shooting circle. Each team can separately nominate one "power play" quarter, in which each goal scored by that team
10101-400: 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
10212-504: The three seconds permitted in the adult game. Most players under 11 play this version at netball clubs. A version called High Five Netball is promoted by the All England Netball Association . It is aimed at 9- to 11-year-old girls and includes only five positions. The players swap positions during the game. When a player is not on the court, she is expected to help the game in some other way, such as being
10323-512: The timekeeper or scorekeeper. High Five Netball has four six-minute quarters. Walking netball is a slower-paced version of netball designed to encourage participation by older or less fit players. The rules forbid running or jumping, and allow an extra step with the ball and 4 seconds, rather than 3, to hold the ball. The recognised international governing body of netball is World Netball , based in Manchester , England. Founded in 1960,
10434-538: The top 50 primetime telecasts of 2024. In the most recent 2024 season, the WNBA consisted of 12 teams across the United States . A 13th U.S. team will start play in 2025, with two more (one each from the U.S. and Canada ) starting play in 2026. A new 3-on-3 league, Unrivaled , will start play in January 2025, giving WNBA players a U.S.-based competitive outlet during that league's offseason Basketball
10545-587: The winner of the annual Division I championship game declared "national champion". There have been professional leagues established in numerous countries. Women's basketball has been contested in the Summer Olympics since 1976 . In addition to the Olympics and Women's World Cup, women's basketball is also contested in the Pan American Games and the Central American and Caribbean Games . Women's basketball made its first appearance at
10656-405: The woman athlete's dignity and femininity. While upper-class women had been playing sports at country clubs since the mid-nineteenth century, they were able to participate in activities such as tennis and croquet in full-length skirts and corsets. However, similar attire was impractical for a more active sport like basketball, so the first trousers for women were worn. Initially loose and covered by
10767-686: The women's counterpart to the National Basketball Association , and league play began in 1997. The regular WNBA season is June to September (North American Spring and Summer). Most WNBA teams play at the same venue as their NBA counterparts. Most team names are also very similar to those of NBA teams in the same market, such as the Washington Wizards and Washington Mystics , the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Lynx . Officially approved by
10878-706: Was a women's basketball league in the Philippines The Women's Korean Basketball League ( WKBL ) is the premier women's basketball league in South Korea The Women's Super Basketball League is the highest women's professional club basketball competition in Republic of China Before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the Russian Women's Basketball Premier League was the dominant league in Europe (largely because it
10989-444: Was also gaining attention at the collegiate level, under the auspices of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW). America's first professional basketball league for women was founded in 1978 as the Women's Basketball League . The WBL competed for three seasons, launching in 1979 with 8 teams. The league expanded to 14 teams in 1980. Financial issues, poor marketing, and the cancelation of America's participation in
11100-487: Was also used to refer to netball , at the time a women's only sport broadly derived from basketball, which evolved in parallel with modern women's basketball . The first professional women's basketball team were the All American Red Heads . They were founded by C. M. "Ole" Olson in 1936. The popularity of women's basketball grew steadily around the world for decades. By the 1970s, the sport had attracted
11211-525: Was being played in Jamaican schools by 1909. 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
11322-539: Was contested among ten teams from Australia and New Zealand. It began in April 2008, succeeding Australia's Commonwealth Bank Trophy and New Zealand's National Bank Cup as the pre-eminent netball league in those countries. The competition was held annually between April and July, consisting of 69 matches played over 17 weeks. The ANZ Championship saw netball become a semi-professional sport in both countries, with increased media coverage and player salaries. The competition
11433-490: 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
11544-441: Was eliminating this discrimination in academic and educational processes. “Title IX is today generally viewed as having fixed the problem of gender inequality of sports, at least in educational settings” (McDonagh, Pappano, 2008, 79). It started out as simply involving education but then shifted in a debate to sports. Some groups such as the NCAA fought to keep things the way they were in reference to men's sports. The NCAA had built up
11655-464: Was formed to be the sport's international governing body . Netball differs in many ways from basketball, principally in the absence of the backboards from the hoop or goal ring and the prohibition of 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
11766-579: Was founded in 1981 as a way for the best women's basketball teams in the various Australian States to compete against each other on a regular basis. Today the WNBL is the premier women's basketball league in Australia. One of the major important events in the development of women's basketball in the United States was Title IX . Title IX was passed in 1972 to end sexual discrimination and stereotyping in admission to colleges and also in academic subjects ( McDonagh , Pappano, 2008). Therefore, Congress' original goal
11877-414: Was founded in 1996 during an increase in the interest in the sport following the 1996 Summer Olympics . The league played two full seasons (1996–97 and 1997–98) and started a third (1998–99) before it folded on 22 December 1998. The Women's National Basketball Association or WNBA is an organization governing a professional basketball league for women in the United States . The WNBA was formed in 1996 as
11988-587: 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
12099-634: Was replaced by new leagues in 2017, the Suncorp Super Netball (Australia) and ANZ Premiership (New Zealand). There are four major international netball competitions; the Netball World Cup , Netball at the Commonwealth Games , Netball Quad Series and Fast5 Netball World Series . Netball is also played at large regional multi-sport events such as the Southeast Asian Games . Netball's important competition
12210-513: Was required after each score. Variations of Berenson's rules spread across the country via YMCAs and women's colleges, where educated middle-class women were following the prevailing trend in men's games of playing intercollegiate sports. Early basketball was played with peach baskets and soccer balls, similarly to the men's game, but women's uniforms again reflected the Victorian culture of the times and were designed to be practical, yet maintain
12321-609: Was the main attraction of the WNBA players during the off-season). Other notable leagues are the Italian Serie A1 , the Spanish Liga Femenina and the Turkish Super League . In England, the Women's English Basketball League is a semi-professional and amateur competition. The league has grown steadily over recent years, and has now reached a level of thirty national league sides. The league
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