Uncomfortable, costly or culturally insensitive netball uniforms are turning players away from the game overseas and Netball New Zealand acknowledges that their traditional game needs to change with society if it is to keep being a sport of choice.
Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Netball in New Zealand has experienced a resurgence in playing numbers in stark constrast to what was happening with close rivals Australia.
Netball Australia released a wide-ranging report this week that showed the organisation continued to battle with ways to remain relevant.
While Netball New Zealand's head of community netball Ruth Stanley acknowledged the some of the issues facing her counterparts could be applied to a local context she also pointed out some of the ways that her organisation was doing it differently.
"We do get people dropping out of netball, so we do want to be able to retain them and uniform could be one of those things that they don't want to wear a short, tight dress, they'd rather play in a format that's more relaxed on uniform, more relaxed on the actual format of the game," Stanley said.
Across the Tasman the Australian netball community's long-running debate over uniforms has yet to be resolved.
Former Australian great Liz Ellis spearheaded an independent report into netball in Australia titled State of the Game review.
The views of 10,000 respondents from the netball community via a survey as well as 100 hours of interviews with various stakeholders contributed to the 54-page report that took five months to compile.
The report highlighted "opportunities to grow customer satisfaction along with revenue by making it easier and more enjoyable for people to play more often, wearing clothes they feel comfortable in".
Liz Ellis, centre, was a champion Australian netball player who is now looking into how to move the game forward in Australia. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Ellis said feedback showed some people do not want to play because they do not like the traditional dress or skirt uniform.
"The uniform is just a small component of what the sport can do better but it is an important component for some people, they want to be able to wear clothes that either are more comfortable or that suit their religious requirements or their lifestyle requirements, so it's just about making sure that we communicate with our grassroots deliverers to say you need to think about being more relaxed and agile," Ellis said.
Short and tight-fitting netball uniforms came under fire in 2007 after a report commissioned by Netball Australia showed a drop in participation numbers was linked to women's body image and the prevalence of short netball skirts and all-in-one Lycra bodysuits.
Recommendations were made at that time by members of the grassroots side of the game to be able to wear shorts or leggings - as long as teams were all in the same attire.
Australia has not taken the same approach as New Zealand.
Stanley said Netball New Zealand did not have a steadfast policy around uniform outside of national or international events.
"There are a lot of different parameters around participation, for example, if you play in Whangārei versus Invercargill there's going to be different considerations around warmth and climate, there's going to be different demographics around the country as well so we don't make a blanket rule. We allow centres to have the ability to determine [the rules]."
Community feedback was taken into account in some instances, Stanley said.
"They may allow junior players to wear thermals because it's freezing down south and the poor little kids are shaking or they might have had some feedback around their social competitions where people actually just want to play in tights, so those are the things that we give the centres the leeway to determine what's best for their community - and to be fair some are more flexible than others."
Stanley said guidelines around appropriate playing attire were in place for a reason.
"Bottom line is that the main consideration is around safety, so not only for the warmth factor but we can't really have people participating in sport with huge big flowing garments on that people might catch fingers in or trip over, so it's got to be balanced."
The State of the Game report also highlighted issues that were not unique to Australia, Stanley said.
"A lot of the things that I read in that report also resonated for things that we've identified in our new strategy as well particularly around that diversity and inclusiveness area.
"As a country we are changing and we are changing quite quickly and our demographic is changing and we all have to be a little bit more open to different cultures and different needs and I think we could be more inclusive and our goal is we want to work towards being as inclusive as possible so that everyone can find a place in netball.
"We can't sit on our laurels and think that netball doesn't have to change and move with the times."
Including more options for men and boys to play netball is part of Netball New Zealand's future plans. Photo: Photosport
Netball New Zealand set out their future direction in February this year in the Poipoia Strategy Plan and inclusivity was one of the core values outlined.
Part of the plan details "embracing all of New Zealand's diversity within fun, safe and welcoming environments. Being local, affordable and accessible".
Work was being done on including men, Maori and Pacific communities, Stanley said.
"Netball is a traditional sport and we've got a strong history so it's about challenging ourselves to retain the strength that we've got and what people love about the game but understanding how we can build on that," she said.
"Whatever things we can change to ensure that it is fit for purpose for everyone is really important and some of things are little minor tweaks that make it way more accessible or easy for people to participate."