More Indigenous women in the Illawarra region have been attracted back to netball thanks to a national program supported by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) that takes that extra step.

More than 50 Indigenous women over the age of 27 attended a ‘come and try’ netball session with modified rules that feature extended breaks between quarters and allowances to take an extra step before being penalised.

These modified rules make it simple and easy for older players to give the game a go.

The program started as part of the ASC’s Indigenous Sport Program, a national scheme aimed at giving Indigenous people opportunities to play, organise and manage community-based sport.

It developed into a six-week competition involving Indigenous netball players from the Illawarra region.
Ray Smith, Indigenous Sport Development Officer with NSW Sport and Recreation, said the program ensured that players, through undertaking coaching and officiating courses, were equipped with the skills and knowledge to help run the competition.

Smith said women were initially attracted to the program because they were ‘sick of having to run against 17-year-olds’ in other competitions.

‘Some women had played the sport regularly, but others hadn’t been on a netball court in 25 years,’ Smith said.

The competition’s success was due to a number of factors, including accessibility to local courts, a playing time convenient for busy mothers, providing activities for their children, and training and support for coaching, umpiring and administration.