Netball Rules of the Game

Lessons

Senior 6 · Physical Education

Netball Rules of the Game

3 lessons

Lesson 2 of 3

Court zones and player positions

25 min

Seven players, seven maps

A footballer may go anywhere on the pitch; a netballer may not. The letters on each bib describe a map: the areas of the court where that player may move. Breaking that map is offside, and sending the ball through a third without anyone touching it is over a third. Coaches use the same maps to plan where each player should stand at a centre pass and how the ball should travel into the circle. This lesson sets out the court under Rule 1 of the Rules of Netball, 2024 edition, the areas of each position, the centre pass (Rule 8), offside (Rule 14), out of court (Rule 15) and the tactics that follow from them.

Definition

Transverse lines: the two lines that divide the court into three equal thirds: two goal thirds and a centre third.

Goal circle: the semicircle of radius 4.9 m at each end; only the Goal Shooter and Goal Attack may shoot, from inside it.

Offside: entering, with or without the ball, a court area not allowed for your position.

Throw-in: the restart when the ball goes out of court, taken from outside the line where it went out.

Possession: the action awarded for simultaneous or mutual infringements, to the team that last had the ball.

The court

Item	Specification (Rule 1)
Court	30.5 m × 15.25 m (100 ft × 50 ft), firm and level, preferably sprung wood; three equal thirds
Circles	Goal circles: semicircles of radius 4.9 m centred on the middle of the outside of each goal line. Centre circle: 0.9 m in diameter
Lines	50 mm wide and part of the area they enclose; a line between two areas belongs to both
Court surround	3.05 m wide all round; with the court it forms the field of play
Goalposts	3.05 m high, padded, at the middle of each goal line; ring 380 mm inside diameter on a 150 mm bar; net 380 to 457 mm long
Ball	690–710 mm round, 400–450 g

Positions and their areas

Position	Areas allowed	Main role
Goal Shooter (GS)	Attacking third, including the goal circle	Scores; holds position in the circle
Goal Attack (GA)	Attacking and centre thirds, including the attacking circle	Feeds and scores; second shooter
Wing Attack (WA)	Attacking and centre thirds, not the circle	Takes the centre pass, feeds the circle from its edge
Centre (C)	All three thirds, but neither goal circle	Takes the centre pass; links defence and attack
Wing Defence (WD)	Defending and centre thirds, not the circle	Marks the WA; blocks the centre pass
Goal Defence (GD)	Defending and centre thirds, including the defending circle	Marks the GA; intercepts feeds
Goal Keeper (GK)	Defending third, including the goal circle	Marks the GS; defends shots; collects rebounds

A player touching a line of her area, but not over it, is not offside. She may reach over and pick up or lean on a ball in an offside area as long as she does not touch the ground there. If two opponents go offside one after the other, the first is penalised. Sanction: free pass where she went offside.
Out of court: the ball is out when it touches the ground outside the court, or a person or object touching the ground outside, or when a player catches it and lands partly or wholly outside. The opponents of the player who last touched it take a throw-in, standing with one foot within 15 cm of the line and passing into the court before stepping on.
Simultaneous or mutual infringements: since 2024 there is no toss-up; possession goes to the team that last had the ball.

The centre pass

Play starts at each quarter and after every goal with a centre pass, taken alternately by the two teams' Centres, whoever scored.
When the whistle blows, the Centre with the ball has at least one foot wholly inside the centre circle; the opposing Centre is in the centre third; every other player is in her goal third and may not enter the centre third until the whistle.
The Centre must release the ball within 3 seconds, and the pass must be caught or touched by a player standing wholly in the centre third, or landing first in it. Otherwise: free pass to the opponents in the goal third by the transverse line.

Using the zones: tactics

Centre pass attack: the WA, GA and C each "drive" into the centre third from different angles, so the Centre has at least one free option; a second option holds the space behind.
Feeding the circle: the WA and C work the edge of the circle (they may not enter it), so the GS and GA hold positions close to the post to receive short, safe feeds.
Defending: the WD and GD block the attackers' lines to the centre pass; inside the circle the GK and GD front or guard the shooters to deny the feed.

Worked example 1: area decisions

The WA receives on the edge of the goal circle and her front foot lands inside the circle line: offside (WA may not enter the circle). Free pass to the opponents where she entered.
The GK leans out of her circle, without stepping, and picks up a loose ball lying in the centre third: legal, as long as she does not touch the ground in the centre third.
The C passes from the defending third straight to the GA in the attacking third; nobody touched it in the centre third: over a third. Free pass to the opponents at the transverse line where the ball entered the third incorrectly.
The GS and her GK each step out of court at the same moment while contesting a loose ball: a simultaneous infringement, so possession to the team that last had the ball.

Worked example

Worked example 2: planning a centre pass. The opponents' WD is fast and always blocks your WA.

Give the Centre two other options: the GA drives to the centre third on the opposite side, and the WA runs a decoy towards the side line.
Teach the WA to hold her drive until the whistle, then change direction: the WD must not enter the centre third before the whistle either.
Remember the time limit: the Centre has 3 seconds, so the first option must be free quickly.

Video: "#LearnNetball Theory: Episode 1 | The court, the players and their boundaries", The Netball Academy. Name each position's areas before the presenter does.

Warning

Common mistakes. The Centre may go in all three thirds but never into either goal circle. Lines belong to both areas they separate: standing on a transverse line is not offside. The centre pass must be touched in the centre third. The ball going over a third and the ball going offside are different infringements, with the free pass taken in different places.

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Practice

Give the dimensions of the court, the radius of the goal circle and the height of the goalposts.
Which positions may enter the attacking goal circle? Which may enter the defending one?
Which position may enter all three thirds, and where may she still not go?
Where must the players be at the whistle for a centre pass?
The GD steps into the attacking third. Decision and sanction?
A throw-in is taken from the goal line. Into which part of the court must it be passed?
At a centre pass, the WD runs into the centre third just before the umpire blows the whistle. What is the decision?
Design the positions and first two passes of a centre pass for your team against a strong WD.

Show answersHide answers

30.5 m × 15.25 m; 4.9 m; 3.05 m.
Attacking circle: GS and GA. Defending circle: GK and GD.
Only the Centre; she may not enter either goal circle. GA, WA, WD and GD each have two thirds; GS and GK one.
The Centre with at least one foot wholly in the centre circle; the opposing Centre in the centre third; all others in their goal thirds, not in the centre third until the whistle.
Offside: free pass to the opponents where she entered the attacking third.
Into the goal third.
Only the two Centres may be in the centre third before the whistle: free pass to the opponents in the centre third, by the transverse line where she entered.
Any sound plan with roles and timing, for example: GA drives hard to the centre third on the right as the first option, WA decoys left then cuts back as the second, C passes within 3 seconds; then a quick pass from the receiver to the WA on the circle edge, who feeds the GS.

Remember

Court 30.5 m × 15.25 m in thirds; goal circle r 4.9 m; centre circle 0.9 m; posts 3.05 m.
GS: attacking third. GA, WA: attacking + centre (WA not the circle). C: all thirds, no circles. WD, GD: defending + centre (WD not the circle). GK: defending third.
Offside and over a third: free pass. Out of court: throw-in. Simultaneous: possession to the team last in possession.
Centre pass: alternate; only the Centres in the centre third before the whistle; touched in the centre third.

Sources and credits

Rules of Netball, 2024 edition, World Netball: Rules 1, 3, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15 and 20 summarised, not copied.
Netball, Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Adapted by Ganzaa.
Photo: Kyangwaali netball tournament in Kikuube district.38, Samson Ssemakadde, Wikimedia Commons, released under CC0.
Video: "#LearnNetball Theory: Episode 1", The Netball Academy, embedded from YouTube.
Court diagram, tables, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1Seven players, seven maps

2The court

3Positions and their areas

4The centre pass

5Using the zones: tactics

Seven players, seven maps

The court

Positions and their areas

The centre pass

Using the zones: tactics