Netball Etiquette

October 1, 2022 - 2 years ago

Urban Rec’s point of difference from almost all other sport providers, is that we care about the experience had by absolutely everyone involved within our leagues, including our staff.

As with all Urban Rec leagues, we do not tolerate disrespectful or rude humans. We are inclusive, and welcome all levels of ability, and as a consequence – we are tough on any team or player who goes against our culture. 

To make things super clear, we have compiled a list of Urban Rec Netball player etiquette. Keep these points in mind, when playing in any of our competitions. It’s the Urban Rec way… 

DON’T

• Defend your opposing player face to face outside the goal circle, it's an old school netball tactic an it's way too intense for social netball.
• When defending a shot, if you lose balance, don’t use this as an opportunity to intimidate the shot. 
• Go for a pass like it's an AFL catch, if there is contact on a pass/catch like this, our Event Hosts will always award posession to the attacking team.
• If you are the team who hit the ball out of play, be the team to collect it...doesn’t matter if it’s not your throw in. 
• Trash talk the opposition or your own team! Goes without saying. Don’t be a rude.  
• Make calls or question a call of one of our hosts – this creates a shitty atmosphere and ruins our staff members evening and other players evenings. Wait till quarter time and have an adult conversation about your concerns. 
• Don’t make passive aggressive calls under your breath, talk to your host at quarter time. 
• Be way too competitive that it could be mistaken as aggression.

DO’s 

• Always put the enjoyment and respect of your opponents, ahead of your desire to win.
• Remember your Event Host is not a referee.  
• Socialise with other teams, they are not the enemy.
• Be honest – if you stepped, or contacted a player by accident, step out of play and let the opponent take a pass.
• Support and coach players that seem to be struggling.
• Play to the ability of your opposition, give beginner players and extra second, but compete when you see a player who knows the game/rules well. 
• Win and lose graciously – its fine to be good and its fine to win, but don’t enjoy dominating a team so bad that it spoils their game (points for and against is NEVER used in our standings). Same goes when you are on the losing side, its fine to lose and it really doesn’t matter if you’ve lost so do so with a smile on your face, you can still have a good time surrounded by mates.
• Cheer for the opposition if they pull off something spectacular.
• Always shake your oppositions hands

Do you play in our Netball leagues? Do you think we have missed something? Is there any behaviour or bad etiquette you would like to see abolished? Send us a message to [email protected] or contact your League Manager.