Tuesday 23 June 2020

The Day the Netball Died


Not a very long time ago
I can still remember how
That netball used to make me smile
And I knew that if I had my chance
That I could see my team in the big dance
And we’d be all happy for a while

But February made me shiver
With ever facebook comment I’d deliver
Bad news on the doorstep
Netball AUS had to make one more step
I know that I was outraged
When I heard that fans were betrayed
Something touched me deep inside
The day the netball died

So
Bye, bye my Beloved Swifts
Revoked my Swiftees membership ‘cause the game I loved was changed
And administrators in Victoria were celebrating wild with joy
Singing we won’t listen to our fans oh boy.

At just after 11AM today, Netball Australia dropped the most fundamental bombshell in Australian women's sporting history with their decision to change the entire principles of the game. Sadly it's not the first time they've made some spectacularly ridiculous changes but this one takes the cake.


Changing the Principle

Netball isn't a fundamentally complex sport. In fact apart from the rules regarding where certain players can go on court, it can be summarised pretty easily:
  • 7 players on a team
  • After a goal is scored, the game restarts at the centre circle and each new session of play is alternated between the teams (regardless of who scores the goal)
  • Goals can only be shot from within the goal circle
  • Contact is not allowed
  • You can't run with the ball
  • You can't bounce the ball
  • 4 quarters of 15 minutes are played
  • The team with the most goals at the end of regulation time is the winner
Well, until today. In the most bloody-minded move by an Australian sporting administrator this year (and we've had a few), Netball Australia decided to change the entire premise of the game with their introduction of the "Suncorp Super Goal."

The rules state that in the final 5 minutes of each quarter, a magical zone will appear and if you shoot a goal from within it, it's not longer a goal, it's worth 2 points. So the very basic principle of the game: the most goals wins isn't even true anymore. In Australia.

I say in Australia, because in the rest of the world this isn't the case. You see, netball is a global sport played predominantly by women in the Commonwealth. The two biggest tournaments, the Netball World Cup and Commonwealth Games are each played every 4 years. There are a series of international test matches between leading countries every year. The Constellation Cup routinely pulls 40,000+ people for it's 4-test match series between Australia and New Zealand. And when Australia plays in those tournaments, yep, you guessed correctly, the proper rules will apply.

A Unilateral Decision

This decision has been on the cards for a while. In fact at least the last two years, Netball Australia has polled fans on this proposed rule. And comprehensively, time and again they were told no. In fact, so much so that the official competition website carries this article:



A concept that sparked a conversation with more than 14,000 fans and kicked off a healthy debate on the 2-point shot and whether it should be introduced in the Suncorp Super Netball league.


And boy did you make your feelings known. We now know exactly where you stand on the matter and it’s definitely not within the outer edges of the goal circle.


Sure, there were there a couple of you who could see the potential in the two-point shot, believing it could take the game to new heights, but these few were overwhelming outnumbered at the post. In most of your eyes, the 2-point shot, just isn’t an option.

So, let's get it clear. The Fans didn't like it in March when that was published. And it's not like they didn't know what they were talking about. In fact, just days before they were asked they witnessed a charity fundraising match between the Australian National Team (The Diamonds) and a team composed of other players from the competition (The All-Stars) where this was introduced as a gimmick.

In my view, it was some of the scrappiest, least entertaining netball I've ever seen. I've seen 7 years olds play more entertaining netball games. Instead of creative play to create space, the shooters stood on the circle edge and threw the ball in hope. There were hands everywhere and it looked amateurish.

I wasn't the only one:



These aren't isolated examples, from players or fans. I don't have the space here, nor the patience to go through every player's twitter but believe me the majority of the players didn't like it either. So the message was clear. DON'T DO IT!

So clear that the league's own website made it clear that they had heard the players and fans: DON"T DO IT!

So lo and behold, 11AM Tuesday 23rd June 2020 rolls around and I was alerted to breaking news from Netball Australia. The Suncorp Super Goal was here to stay. So the know-alls in Netball Australia and it's Suncorp Super Netball Commission decided, unilaterally to bring the rule in. When I say unilaterally, I mean it. Not fans, not even the clubs and players were consulted!




Why have Netball Australia insisted on this change?

Next question. Seriously, nobody knows! There's internet rumours that it's to try and draw in more TV viewers. But really who, that doesn't watch it now, is going to start because for 1/4 of the time certain goals are worth two? Surely nobody is that stupid to believe people will. Nobody I've spoken to today, and trust me my colleagues and family have all heard about it, has said they would start because of that.

The justification on the SSN website is about increasing the so-called "long bomb," but here's the thing. If you make them so common, they will lose what makes them exciting. You fundamentally shift the risk/reward dynamic and instead of a free flowing exciting game, you get the stodgy and scrappy nonsense we saw in the Bushfire Relief match.

Oh, and remember, it's been tried and found wanting.

Why do I care?

Proper stewardship of a sport and an elite competition is about evolution, not revolution and certainly not destruction which is what this is.
I care because I like netball. I've liked it since I first played it in Year 3, that's 26 or so years ago. The last couple of years I've been able to attend Swifts games on a regular basis. I love it. I love the atmosphere, and I love the competition that has hitherto been excellent. With my team I've felt the joy of victory, the agony of defeat and the frustration of a draw. We've missed the finals twice in succession and then come through and utterly dominated the competition.

I care because Netball is a great way for young people, especially girls, to keep fit, build friendships and grow passionate. They see their sporting heroes playing the same game they do (well did) and know that with hard work and a passion, there's every chance they could be in the same boat.

I care because everything about this decision is fundamentally wrong. You shouldn't be able to change the fundamental tenets of a sport. Yes you can fiddle around the edges in the way that Big Bash has a bat toss not a coin toss, that Indycar racing awards double points for the Indianapolis 500, that NASCAR doesn't allow a race to finish under a yellow flag or that field hockey changed the penalty shoot-out to resemble ice hockey not soccer. But a sport that has 100 years or so of history has a basic principle of how it works. Proper stewardship of a sport and an elite competition is about evolution, not revolution and certainly not destruction which is what this is.

How much do I care?

I care so much that within 2 and a half hours of this being announced I had already informed the management of the NSW Swifts that I will not be renewing my membership for next season and that if, as originally suggested, reimbursement of membership costs for this coming season is available once the revised schedule is released, I will be requesting that too. It hurts. But I feel on this I have to take a stand. Yes, I'm but one member of the Swifts but at the same time, I wore my jumper around the UK for an entire fortnight after the girls won the premiership last year-a game I got up at 4AM to watch. I feel like I've got some skin in this game and I'm not going to be pushed over lightly.




What can we do?

As far as I can tell there are only two pathways to change, one is massive push back by the state associations who are the constituent members of Netball Australia. Netball NSW, QLD, SA, VIC & WA all have financial skin in the game. If they were consulted, why did this not filter through to their teams? If they did know, why did nobody inform the Lightning and Magpies who are privately held professional sporting teams? Normal members of the state associations can have a say via their clubs. The only option for people who are only members of the team, is to vote with their wallets and eyeballs.

The second is to threaten not to spend your dollars and then actually hold to that pledge unless they back down. You can be guaranteed if there's a massive reduction in income they will change their tune. This is what happened in the 1980s with "New Coke." The Coca-Cola Company thought they knew better than their customers in 1985 and reformulated their product in the USA. It lasted 3 months before they were forced to go back to the original formula. Netball Australia doesn't have the funds to handle 3 months of New Coke so maybe this cautionary tale can be a precautionary tale, maybe wiser heads will prevail. Heaven knows I hope so.
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