Australian netball in crisis ahead of AGM

The management of netball in Australia has been plunged into crisis, with Netball Australia board Chair Anne-Marie Corboy standing down after less than a year in the post and subsequently having been ousted as a Director at a special general meeting called by the member organisations last week.

The annual general meeting will be held in Canberra on Friday, at which three board vacancies - including, now, Corboy's - will be filled from among five candidates. Netball Queensland in particular, under President Jane Seawright, and Netball NSW are believed to be leading the push for more power to be returned to the state associations.

The board position of Experienced administrator and former Australian Diamonds player Kathryn Harby-Williams, who is backed by the Australian Netball Players’ Association (ANPA), is also reportedly under threat.

Having long been regarded as a model of good governance in Australian sport, there are fears about the potential loss of board independence and business acumen, with the sport’s decision-making process potentially being hijacked by parochial state-based interests.

The Sydney Morning Herald quoted an unnamed senior industry figure as stating "basically, the sport will go back 30 years."

Amid concern that new members to the Netball Australia board are considering rolling back the widely praised pay and conditions for elite players revealed last September, this weekend’s Super Netball fixtures are under a cloud as players contemplate strike action.

The Players’ Association is also threatening to boycott Australian Diamonds matches and form a breakaway domestic competition.

Resentment among state associations reportedly results from the decision to axe the longstanding ANZ Championship and unhappiness that the most successful teams in the new Super Netball competition are aligned with AFL clubs and not state associations

ANPA foard member and former Diamonds vice-captain Bianca Chatfield told Fairfax Media “there just seems to be this real bitterness around the member organisations not having a say on the teams coming into their homeland, now that they have to share sponsorship and they have to fight for members, fight for players.”

A letter by the Association sent to Netball Australia Chair Paolina Hunt, said the non-election of Harby-Williams for “well-meaning individuals who contribute little” would demonstrate a failure to be willing to take the game forward.”

A statement from Netball Australia advised “the sport is in total agreement around the need to move forward collectively, with a focus on the most critical issues impacting netball, including fully leveraging the recent commercial and broadcast inroads that have been made with the inception of Suncorp Super Netball.

“The players are key stakeholders and their views help shape the future of netball.There is no intention to roll back player entitlements, in fact it is our collective ambition to be the first sport to deliver fully professional female athletes in Australia with the best terms and conditions.”

It is believed the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) is closely monitoring the situation from a governance standpoint, with ASC Chief Executive Kate Palmer, who as Netball Australia Chief Executive oversaw the pay deal and the creation of the new Super Netball competition before talking on her current role, having a particular interest.

Images: The launch of Super Netball in February (above) and the ousted Anne-Marie Corboy (below).

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