28 July: Netball

The Netball world cup starts on this date in 2023. 10 things you might not know about netball:

1. Netball is a ball sport played on a rectangular court by two teams of seven players. It’s similar to Basketball; you could say it’s a “sister” sport of that game, arising from modified rules which made it easier for women to play basketball given the long skirts and restrictive clothing women were wearing in the 1890s. Between 1901 and 1970, netball was called ‘Women’s Basketball’ in Australia and New Zealand.

2. The differences? The hoop or goal ring in netball has no back board. Netball also bars dribbling, bouncing, and running while in possession of the ball.

3. Another difference is that the different positions have proscribed areas on the court where they are allowed to be during the game. This arose from a mistake. Clara Baer, a sports teacher in New Orleans, wrote to Naismith asking for a copy of the rules, which he duly sent. He included a diagram of the court divided into thirds to illustrate where players might best patrol, but she misinterpreted that as restrictions.

4. The first codified rules of netball were published in 1901 by the Ling Association, later the Physical Education Association of the United Kingdom.

5. The first netballs were made from Brown leather. Today they are made from White rubber.

6. According to World Netball, over 20 million people play the game, in more than 70 countries.

7. While it remains a popular sport for women, men’s and mixed teams do exist. Men's netball started to grow in Australia during the 1980s, with the first men's championship being held in 1985.

8. The first-ever international netball match was played in 1938 between Australia and New Zealand. Those countries still dominate the Netball World Cup, taking the top two places virtually every time so far. Though in 1979, the contest ended in a three way tie: Australia, New Zealand and Trinidad and Tobago. The reigning world champions at time of writing are New Zealand, who defeated arch-rivals Australia by one goal in the 2019 final.

9. In 1995, netball became an International Olympic Committee recognised sport federation, but it has not yet been played at the Olympics. Netball enthusiasts are keen for it to be included in order to attract more attention and funding.

10. Netball is often called a non-contact sport, although a more accurate description might be a ‘fair contact sport’ which means if two players do make contact while both going for the ball they don’t get penalised just for that.

Character Birthday

Mindstorm. A somewhat disorganised, absent-minded and clumsy young man who was discovered to be a genetic variant when he went with a friend who was going to be tested as moral support. The friend turned out to be normal, but Draper was identified as a variant. He underwent tests with Unicorn and it was found he had a minor psionic power but it proved too weak to be useful. Draper was disappointed, and when Dr Chaos offered him the chance to try out a helmet which could enhance his power he jumped at the chance. Before he'd finished training and reached his full potential, he worked out that Chaos was planning to use him for criminal purposes and left, taking the helmet with him.

After this he had a string of menial jobs, many of which he lost because of poor timekeeping or lack of commitment. This record went against him when he answered the ad for combat team fighters. All four teams rejected him and even Combat Team Epsilon were concerned he could be a liability. However, their ethos was to give everyone a fair chance. They were surprised and relieved to discover that the helmet had the additional effect of helping Draper focus.