About Us:
The Los Angeles Waves Netball club is dedicated to promoting participation in netball in Los Angeles and boosting its profile as a competitive sport in the USA. Founded in 2002 by the Club President Maxine Lewis, the Waves Netball club is the largest in California and is one of the fastest growing netball clubs in the United States. Our club currently holds both the 2005 California State Champions title and highly-prized 2005 USANA National Champions title; a first for our club and a first for California.
The majority of active members (over 40) are ex-patriots of traditional netball playing countries. Due to the large number of ex-patriots living in and around Los Angeles, club membership has experienced accelerated growth along with the increasing popularity of the sport in the local community. Our club has held a number of exhibition matches at Venice Beach and in each instance spectator turn out was much greater than expected and interest in the sport was evident.
The Waves Netball club meets each Saturday all year round to train together. Apart from participating in netball tournaments and events, the Waves also:
- Run coaching clinics specifically for new players who are new to the sport and want to develop their playing skills.
- Co-ordinate umpire training and exams. While there are plenty of good netball players, there is a dearth of good netball umpires. At the Waves, we encourage our players to take umpiring training to increase numbers and to lead the way in raising umpiring standards.
- In response to increasing interest from male players, our club also has held mixed exhibition matches and encouraged male players to join our training sessions. Mixed netball is a huge phenomenon especially in Australia. Our aim is to bring that same enthusiasm for mixed netball to California… and then to the US.
Netball 101 - What is Netball?
Netball is a non-contact team sport typically referred to as the “ladies version” of basketball. But don’t be fooled because netball is a fast-paced and skillful game. Netball is played on a similar size court to basketball. And like basketball the aim is the shoot more goals than the opposition team. This is where the similarities end. Some key differences to basketball are:
- 7 players can take the court at any one time.
- Players have a specific position (marked on bibs), each being restricted
to a certain area of the court.
- No backboard on the goal hoop
- The ball is smaller and lighter than a basketball
- Players may not run with or dribble the ball
- Players can only hold the ball for 3 seconds before passing
- No bodily contact with any opposing player. A contact results in a penalty and may result in a turnover.
- Opposition players must be at least 3 feet from the player with the ball. An obstruction (inside 3 feet) results in a penalty.
- Only 2 of the 7 players may shoot a goal (Goal Attack and Goal Shooter)
- Goals may only be shot from within the semicircle around the posts
- Each goal is worth 1 point
- Play starts with a center pass with players in their starting positions in the diagram below.
- After each goal, play re-starts with a center pass alternating regardless of the team that scored the last goal. The red team is attacking in the direction of the red arrow and the black team is attacking in the direction of the black arrow.
Player positions:
C - Center
GS – Goal Shooter
GK – Goal Keeper
GA – Goal Attack
GD – Goal Defense
WA – Wing Attack
WD – Wing Defense
Who plays Netball?
Believe it or not, netball actually began here in the United States in 1895 as a version of women’s basketball. Today, netball is played in over 70 countries by over 7 million people, from as far and wide as Australia & the Pacific, the United Kingdom to Asia, Africa and the Caribbean. It has also grown to be the most popular women’s team sport in the world. Its growing popularity is reflected by its inclusion in the 2004 as an official Olympic sport in the Athens Summer Olympics games.
The International Netball community is governed by the International Netball Federation (“IFNA”). Every four years IFNA holds the World Netball Championships, showcasing the netball talent internationally. The last World Championships were held in 2003 in Kingston, Jamaica where New Zealand beat Australia in a clincher (49-47). The next World Championships will be held in Suva, Fiji in 2007.
USA Netball Association
The USA Netball Association (“USANA”) is the official governing body of the
North American netball community. Founded in 1992, USANA is committed
to building the US as a world-class netball authority. While netball is still
new here, there is definitely no shortage of talent. In the 2003 World
Championships the USA team catapulted to a ranking of 9th in the world
(previously 15th) as a result of their strong performance. A great result for a
country where netball is still a fringe sport. The Waves are proud to have 4
of its members in the current USA National squad.
USANA currently has over 30 netball clubs across 15 participating states. Given their recent success in hosting the 2005 World Youth Netball Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and the increase in media interest in the sport, this participation rate is expected to accelerate over the next couple of years.
California Netball Association
At the state level, the governing body for the Californian netball community is the California Netball Association (“CNA”). There are currently 4 member clubs; Thousand Oaks Comets, San Francisco Southern Stars, San Diego United and of course the Los AngelesWaves. Apart from the countless friendly matches and club duals, each September the Californian clubs get together to celebrate the anniversary of the CNA. At the last tournament the San Francisco Southern Stars were too good for the Waves in the Grand Final thus claiming the 2004 title. This year the tournament will be hosted by the Waves Netball club at Santa Monica.
The big event as far as state level tournaments is the Annual California State Netball
Championship held each May at Thousand Oaks. The last state championships
showcased impressive netball talent from all clubs. Eventually, the Waves fought off a
tough Comets outfit in the Grand Final to take out the 2005 Champions title- the second
in as many years.
At every tournament and “friendly” match, regardless of the results there is an
unmistaken camaraderie amongst the Californian players, stemming from their common
goal to boost the profile of netball on the West Coast.
