Men's netball

Local mixed netball game in Brisbane, Queensland.

On the club, national and international level, men's netball teams exist, but attract less attention than women's netball.^[1] Mixed teams are not uncommon in Australia and are very popular.^[2] Men's national teams do exist for countries including Canada, England, Fiji, Jamaica, Kenya, Pakistan and the UAE emirate of Dubai.^[1] In 1997, in England male participation comprised 0.7% of the total netball playing population within schools.^[3] Unlike women's netball at elite and national levels, men's and mixed gendered teams in countries like Fiji, Australia and New Zealand are largely self-funded.^[4] When administrators attend conferences for men's and mixed gendered netball, they also have to pay most of their own costs.^[4]

History

Netball started to become popular for male players in Australia during the 1980s as men started to watch the sport that their wives and girlfriends were participating in.^[4] In Australia, the sport began to be played with the appearance of mixed gendered social teams.^[4] In 1985, the first Australian men's championship was held.^[4] The levels contested included: Open, Open Reserves, 21 and Under, 19 and Under, 17 and Under and Masters.^[4] The South Australian Mens Netball Association was founded in 1998.^[4] In 2000, the national organisation basically collapsed because of a lack of interest.^[4] In 2001, the South Australians tried to recreate the national organisation under their own state organisation, calling it the Australian International Mens and Mixed Netball Association.^[4] The new organisation held its first Australian Championships in 2002 for mens and mixed teams.^[4] In 2003, New Zealand entered a national team in the Open Mens Division and won.^[4] In 2004, New Zealand and Fiji sent teams to compete in the Australian Mixed and Men's National Championships.^[4] On 6 August 2004, the men's national organisations for Fiji, Cook Islands, New Zealand and Australia attended a meeting where they agreed to form the International Men's and Mixed Netball Association.^[5] The following day, the organisation's first official meeting was held.^[5] The group decided that the International Men's and Mixed Challenge in August 2006 would be the first event they would organise, and that the event would be held in Fiji.^[5] The 2009 International Challenge Men’s and Mixed Netball Tournament was held in the Cook Islands.^[6] Currently, the International Federation of Netball Associations only recognises women's netball.^[4] The 2011 International Challenge Men’s and Mixed Netball Tournament was run by the Western Australian Men's and Mixed Netball Association (WAMMNA).^[6] It is the major international competition for men's and mixed gendered national netball teams.^[6] In the 2011 competition held in April, men's national teams from Samoa, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand and the Cook Islands are a few that will compete.^[6]

References