Match Rules

Player Rules

5-a-side

Short Pass

When a player passes the ball there must be sufficient space on the court for an opposing player to be able to deflect or intercept the ball as it moves from the hands of the passer to those of the receiver.

If two players from the same team gain possession of the ball in quick succession, the player who gained possession of the ball first must remain in possession and the hands of the player who gained possession of the ball second must be removed. If the player who gained possession of the ball second finishes in possession of the ball, the pass will be deemed to be a short pass.

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[World Netball Rules update 2024]

Over a Third

The ball cannot be thrown over a complete third of the court without being touched or caught by a player on either team (i.e. it cannot cross two transverse lines).

A free pass will be awarded and taken from the area where the ball crossed the second transverse line, should this infringement occur (i.e. where the ball shouldn’t have been).

The Team

Each team consists of 7 players. There must be at least 5 players, including one as Centre, to allow the fixture to go ahead.

There are seven playing positions in a team:

Goal Shooter (GS): To score goals and to work in and around the circle with the GA
Goal Attack (GA): To feed the GS and also be a secondary scoring option
Wing Attack (WA): To feed the circle attackers and give them shooting opportunities
Centre (C): To take the centre pass and to link the defence and the attack
Wing Defence (WD): To look for interceptions and prevent the WA from feeding the circle
Goal Defence (GD): To win the ball and reduce the effectiveness of the GA/GS
Goal Keeper (GK): To work with the GD in preventing the GA/GS from scoring

Substitution

Substitutions can be made either at the end of a quarter, or a tactical substitution may be made during a quarter. If a player is injured during the game, a replacement can be brought on as soon as there is a stoppage in play. There is no limit to the number of substitutions that a team can make.

If you start a match with less than 7 players and more members of your team arrive after the game has started, they must wait until the next centre pass before being allowed to join the game.

Centre Pass

The first centre pass is awarded to the first team ready on court. The centre passes then alternate between the teams, regardless of which team has scored.

Before the whistle on the centre pass, all players must start in the goal thirds except the two Centres. The Centre with the ball must be completely within the centre circle and must obey the footwork rule after the whistle has been blown.

The opposing Centre can stand anywhere within the centre third and is able to move freely. However the 3 feet rule is still applicable.

After the whistle the centre pass must be caught, or touched, by a player standing in or landing wholly within the centre third.

A player must not break at the centre pass, which is moving either of their feet into the centre third before the whistle is blown for the centre pass.

Players must get onside (in the appropriate part of the court) quickly at the centre pass. The Centre with the ball must hurry back to the centre circle and step-in immediately. If they wait for their players to get back onside, this is called “delaying play”.

Should any of the infringements above occur, a free pass is awarded to the opposing team.

Throw in

A throw in is taken from the point where the ball went off the court. It is out of court when it contacts anything outside of the court area (except the goalpost).

When taking a throw in, a player places their foot up to, but not touching, the sideline or baseline of the court. The lines are part of the court. If any part of your foot is touching the line, or you step onto the court in the process of taking the throw in, this is deemed to be a foul throw. This includes walking on the court to pass the ball to another player if you decide that they should take the throw in. In this instance, you should leave the ball on the floor outside the court for the player to then pick up.

You have 3 seconds from when you take up your position at the side of the court in which to throw the ball. You do not need to wait until all players are back on the court before taking the throw in. A player must not step behind any offside area whilst still in possession of the ball.

If any of the above occurs, the opposing team will be awarded a throw in.

Penalties Against Player

“The penalised player must stand beside and away from the player taking the penalty so as not to impede this player in any way.

The penalised player may not move or attempt to take part in play either physically or verbally until the ball has left the hands of the thrower.”

Free Passes & Penalties

You have 3 seconds from setting the free pass/penalty in which to take it. If you decide that you would prefer another player to take the free pass/penalty, you must place the ball back on the floor.

Do not walk towards a team-mate to pass it to them, as you will be penalised for footwork. Similarly, if you hand it to them, you will be penalised for a short pass.

Any player on the team the penalty was awarded to may take the free pass/penalty, as long as the offside rule is still observed.

Contact

“When attacking, defending or playing the ball, a player must not engage in physical contact with an opponent that unfairly interferes with the opponent’s play, whether accidental or deliberate.”

Therefore players are not able to:

Move into the path of an opponent who’s committed to a particular landing space
Position so closely to an opponent that the player is unable to move without contacting (this refers to when a player is being double marked, usually a shooter).
Push, trip, hold or lean on an opponent or use other forms of physical contact.
Place a hand or hands on a ball held by an opponent or knock or remove the ball from possession of an opponent
While holding the ball, push it into the hands of an opponent.

The umpire’s role is to watch the game and determine which player is “causing contact to occur”. The umpire is there to judge whether it’s the attacker or defender who is committed to a particular space on court and therefore which player is causing contact to occur.

The umpire will inform the teams who the penalty was against and that a penalty pass/shot has been awarded.

The umpire swill stand at the position at the side of the court where they want the penalty to be taken from. If you’re ever unsure where to take the penalty from, you need to look at the positioning of the umpire for guidance. Failure to set the penalty correctly in this way will result in a reversal of the penalty and a free pass to the opposing team.

A lot of contact disrupts the flow of the game. It also puts your team at a tactical disadvantage because when a player is taken out of play on a penalty, they are not able to contribute to the team’s defence, either physically or verbally. It’s far better to pull out of a challenge if you think you’re going to contact the player and concentrate on defending the next pass instead.

Replayed Ball

A player may not replay the ball, which means they are not able to:

lose control of the ball and pick it up again if it has not been touched by another player (or the goalpost)
catch a rebound from their own shot on goal if the ball has not touched the goalpost or another player
toss the ball into the air and catch it again without it being touched by another player.

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Incorrect playing of the ball - A player may not: strike the ball with a fist; roll the ball to another player; pass or shoot while kneeling, lying or sitting. Any of the listed actions result in a free pass being awarded to the opposition team.

[World Netball Rules update 2024]

Offside

A player, with or without the ball, cannot move into an area of the court that is not designated for their position. This will result in a free pass being awarded to the opposing team.

Footwork

A player is able to receive the ball:

With both feet grounded or by jumping to catch the ball and landing on two feet simultaneously. They may then take a step in any direction with one foot (but not both) and pivot on the spot with the other foot. Once one foot is moved, the other is considered to be the landing foot.
With one foot grounded or by jumping to catch the ball and landing on one foot. The landing foot cannot be moved, other than to pivot on the spot, whilst the other foot can be moved in any direction. Once the landing foot is lifted, it must not be re-grounded until the ball is released.

A player is not able to hop or to drag the landing foot.
The footwork rule still applies on the centre pass. As soon as the Centre steps into the circle, their leading leg becomes their landing foot and the footwork rule then applies. That is, if they lift or move their landing foot and place it back down again, a free pass will be awarded to the opposing team due to footwork.

Any violations of the footwork rule will lead to a free pass being awarded for the opposing team.

Obstruction

Of a player not in possession of the ball:

Your arms may be outstretched when you are a marking a player off the ball if you are trying to:

catch, deflect or intercept a pass
obtain a rebound from an unsuccessful shot at goal
momentarily signal for a pass or indicate the intended direction of movement

Under any other circumstances outstretched arms when marking a player will be classed as obstruction and the offending player will be penalised.

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Of a player in possession of the ball:

A player attempting to intercept or defend the ball must be at least 3ft (0.9m) away from the landing foot of the player with the ball. The defender may jump to intercept or defend the ball from this 0.9m (3ft) feet distance, but they must ensure that they don’t shorten that distance, either by jumping and landing within 3ft and then continuing to defend the ball, or by moving their foot within 3ft of the opposing player, whilst continuing to defend the ball.

Should a player be obstructed as described above, a penalty pass will be awarded against the offending player.

Shooting

Only the GS and GA are able to score goals for your team. If any other player on your team throws the ball and it goes through the net, play continues! The GS and GA must be wholly inside the goal circle to shoot.

General 5-a-side Rules

The basic idea is the same as regular netball: get the ball through the hoop! Many of the rules are the same as regular netball: obstruction, contact, travelling, offside, replayed ball, etc. but there are a number of fundamental differences…

There are only 5 players* on court for each team – GS, GA, C, GD, GK.
Players rotate positions each time their team scores a goal. The GS goes to GA, GA to C, C to GD, GD to GK and GK to GS. The team that has conceded a goal do not rotate.
It’s played indoors at our Highbury venue on a half-sized basketball court and the basketball hoop is used to score – yes, you can use the backboard!
The game is played as two 18 minute halves with a two minute break at half time.
There are no outs at the end of the court, so the ball can bounce off the walls (although you can’t bounce it to yourself)
The centre pass must be received in the centre third. After this there is no “over a third” rule

*Substitutes can also be used so that the GK goes to the sub position (off court) and the player who was the sub goes straight into the GS position.

Each player can only go in the same areas of the court as they would expect to if they were playing netball, the centre pass still rotates each time a team scores, three feet is still three feet and three seconds is still three seconds (even if it still feels like less!).

Rules of Netball

Match Rules

Player Rules

5-a-side

Full World Netballl Rules

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