Case Study: National Sports Leagues (SL IB Geography)

• Netball is played with two teams of seven players on each side
• Worldwide, the game is played in 80 countries and has over 20 million players
• Recognised as an Olympic Sport in 1995
• Netball was introduced in Australia in 1897
• Netball is the most popular women's sport in Australia
  • Over 1 million players play netball nationwide
• Founding members of the game were New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia in 1927
• Tasmania joined national tournaments in 1933, the Australian Capital Territory in 1975 and the Northern Territory in 1977
• The organisation became officially known as Netball Australia in 1993 
• The organisation has a governing body which has representatives from every state and territory in Australia
• The National Domestic League in Australia is called Suncorp Super Netball
  • Eight teams make up the Super League: Thunderbirds, Giants, Mavericks, Vixens, Swifts, Firebirds, Lightning and Fever
  • This league replaced the ANZ Championship, which previously included New Zealand in 2017
  • Lightning won the first league title in 2017 and the following year
  • Collingwood Magpies were also a member of the league but withdrew due to a lack of financing in 2023
  • The season begins in March and ends in July
• The average salary for a player in this league is $89,221 

• Supporters are largely drawn from each of the States
• When supporters move away to university or for a job, this may extend the sphere of influence
• In 2023, over 265,000 fans attended a match during the home and away season
• Games are televised for people who are not able to afford a ticket to enter or travel to a match
• Games are televised on sports stations around the world or on YouTube
• More teams are located in the east of Australia
• This reflects the location of the main urban areas in Australia

Map showing location of main netball teams in Australia

Netball Venues in Australia