Netball Australia welcomes AusPlay data showing rising participation

Netball Australia has welcomed AusPlay data showing that community participation in the sport is thriving with participation levels exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

Recent data released by the Australian Sports Commission and collected between July 2021 and June 2022 reveals 964,100* people playing netball.

The figure is an increase from the past two-yearly data collection points, when Australian sport and participation was significantly affected by the global coronavirus pandemic.

The data collected in 2019/20 and 2020/21 shows 934,900 and 875,400 people playing netball respectively.

Internal registration data from Netball Australia shows a 9% increase in registrations for junior and senior competitions in 2022 compared to 2019. It marks the highest registration data reported by Netball Australia since AusPlay records began in 2015.

These latest participation figures show the strength and passion of the grassroots and community netball network.

AusPlay data also reveals netball has kept its place as the most popular team sport for women and girls with a total of 838,478 women and girls participating, 397,385 more participants than the next sport. Netball ranks fourth overall for team sports.

Welcoming the sport defying participation trends, Netball Australia Chief Executive, Kelly Ryan stated “these numbers are a credit to our Member Organisations, netball clubs, associations and volunteers.

“Netball has long been known for its far reaching and passionate grassroots community, that is the heartbeat of our great game. Despite increasing economic considerations, the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic and other headwinds, these recent results show that netball continues to be one of Australia’s most loved sports.

“This year was history making for netball in Australia, when the Australian Men’s Team played against New Zealand and England for the first time. Seeing men play on the international stage will no doubt have a positive impact on men and boys’ participation moving forward.”

Sources
• Australian Sports Commission, AUSPLAY, National Sport and Physical Activity Participation Report 2021/22, 2020/21 and 2019/20
• Internal registration data provided by netball registration platforms PlayHQ and World Sport Action, year 31st October.

Image: Netball Australia's NetSetGO partnership with retailer Woolworths.