History of netball

The history of netball can be traced to the early development of basketball. A year after basketball was invented in 1891, the sport was modified for women to accommodate social conventions regarding their participation in sport, giving rise to women's basketball. Variations of women's basketball arose across the United States and in England. At the Madame Österberg Physical Training College Dartford, England, the rules of women's basketball were modified over several years to form an entirely new sport: "net ball".^[1] The sport was invented to encourage young females to be physically active and energetic. The first codified rules of netball were published at the start of the twentieth century, and from there the new sport spread throughout the British Empire.

From the beginning, netball was widely accepted as a sport suitable for women. Domestic netball competitions arose in several countries during the first half of the 20th century. Starting from the 1920s, national associations were formed to organise the sport in netball-playing nations. International matches were played sporadically in the early 20th century, but were hampered by varying rules in different countries.

By 1960, the rules of netball were standardized internationally and an international governing body was formed to oversee the sport globally. Initially called the International Netball Federation (INF), the organization was later renamed World Netball. The second half of the 20th century saw international competition expand, with the sport's premier international competition, the INF Netball World Cup, starting in 1963. Netball has also been contested at the Commonwealth Games since 1998.

Today, netball is popular in Commonwealth nations, and also in the Republic of Ireland, and is reportedly played by over 20 million people worldwide. It remains primarily a women's sport. Further developments to the sport are being trialed, including a shortened version of the game played in a World Series format; netball groups are also seeking inclusion in the Olympic Games.