yes fess - that just about sums up the situation doesnt it!! LOL

I am at a loss to see how Netball can pull such crowds.

It's a shocking spectator sport.

Its great spectator sport, especially at an elite level. Basketball is in more trouble than everyone thinks.

Saying netball is boring is about as dumb as it gets. People need to do more for basketball than can other sports as netball already get more than its fair share of our better athletes.

All you guys who cant see how this is going to challenge womens basketball are the reason basketball remains a non event in terms of Australian sport.
Money will now flow to netball and netballers will at last get remuneration which means a direct challenge to basketball. Wake up.
We will lose even more girls to netball. Only morons would consider this a non event.

Then why do 10 times more girls play netball?

Netball has the better central venue , a more professional body overseeing it, a wider pool of talent and now has money being invested in it and yet 'head in the sand' comments still prevail.
Netball will pose a serious theat to basketball if enough money is invested in it and a career path is excavated.
More people play it than basketball in Australia and like soccer it matters little where basketball sits world wide when you are growing up in Australia. Comments on this forum denigrating Netball seem strange given the possibilities of the netball threat and Basketball Australia have reason to be nervous.
IMO, It would be much easier to market the athletic abilities and bodies of netballers than their counterparts in basketball.

The me gen says it all, so bloody egotistical that he or she doesn't even know what the problem is.

fess, how many at a lightning game, 500 tops when at wayville and they tried the dome as a second billing on the sixerscard with no overall attendance increase for the games.
So if your getting 3 times as many to a thunderbirds game, I fail to see the significance of proportional discussions.
Netball will win out uless BSA and BA get their act together.

Fess,given the low numbers turning out for state trials in BBall, I think its basketball that has the issues.
The sixers coach is enough for a significant few to not continue attending and the players have no star appeal.
SA continually dawdles along hoping things will get better and all the while, other sports go ahead of us.
The success of Adelaide United is also a threat and the poor perception of basketball here in SA is of a second string sport hobbling along with no direction.
BSA and BA have promised much and delivered nothing new and we have drop off rates that will be increased by the advent of Netball's bold initiative.
The basketball world may know the names you mentioned but to most they are non events in a non event sport.
If basketball wants to gain success it needs to be procative, set agendas and not remain sitting on its hands ot it will continue to attract the second string athletes who couldnt cut their footy or netball or whatever.
Junior BBall is below par as a district comp where clubs come before development, heat policies cant be agreed on, games are scheduled in the boon docks under the guise of spreading success yet we are playing in country areas, like MT Barker and Gawler. How long before the authorities wake up to the fact that they are responsible for the decline of their sport by not having a central areana to host pure district comps? DIV 1 teams should all play at the central venue which would rid the comp of stupid distances in a world of excessively priced petrol.Its supposed to be an elite district sport!
Basketball will continue to reduce in numbers despite the claims of the mighty clubs who boast their 50 and 60 teams of Div 88's as long as the directions remain blinkered.
Netball will succeed because they dare to 'do'.
Junior sport is the growing fields of basketball and its in drought and we need to feed the parents who support their kids with direction and hope and value for money for them to continue. At present parents are the last people considered by bSA and BA and it will turn out to be their achilles heel.

anon,

Nice way to push your own agenda onto a topic that has nothing to do with what your talking about.


And please tell me one sport which has a central venue for all its competitions? Apart from Netball, every sport runs home and away based junior and senior competitions apart from one. I hardly think that is a reason why basketball is struggling.

They don't play country venues in a metro comp and what's my agenda?.

fess,
You cant compare apples with oranges by comparing thunderbirds with the 36ers. IMO, the 36ers are faced with more than a few problems in their own right, but the issue is women's sport and the comparison with netball and BBall.
My point is more the competition to bball in this state is always disregarded and very little proactive is done to promote the game.
Fewer older girls are staying in the game and most U21 comps are a farce and senior women is well below par.
There is no competition in the ABL?ABA womens comp and most teams make up the numbers for the few , very few, top teams.If netball starts a viable and rewarding comp at the elite level, many athletes with choice, will choose netball over BBall because of that procativity.
I would not like that to happen and Im critical of BSA and BA for sitting on their hands. I also see the future of BBall starting with the juniors in a stronger and more real district comp.
If I have an agenda it is to see BBall become a better product and sold to the buyers, the parents, in a more solid package as now it is so all over the place that the parents give up and influence the child's decisions.
Many don't see any problems and continue to say , its always been like this and always will be, but I feel that is to ignore all the warning signs that are lit up for us to see.
If more sports are out there and more choices that require less effort by the mums and dads then they will take them. If petrol keeps going up and the district comp ignores the cost factor of travelling huge distances, from Mt Barker to Gawler to Southern then simple economics will force people out.
Many of the talented juniors I come across don't play because of these factors and others and I do see this as reflecting poorly on our sport which by any standard is an expensive sport to play.
Seniors have no interest in the junior problems despite being subsidised by junior participation and if juniors continue to attract more div 5's than div 1's the real growth of BBALL is Zero.
Any discussions I have had on this topic are responded to by the "she'll be right mate' attitude and 'look how strong sturt and F'ville, norwood are'.
I cant ever remember any male saying he enjoyed women's basketball or met many who went to womens or girls games so if men's basketball is unsupportive of the women's game , where's the future?
Surely a higher premium should be placed on women's bball by the BSA and BA.

Netball....yaaawn! Lawn bowls anyone?

I have had to "endure" my daughter playing netball, as that is what you do for your kids, but I have to say every time, thats EVERY time I have been at ETSA park (or what ever its called) I speak with 3-4 other parents who cannot wait for their kids games to end because they find the game soooooooooooooooo boring!

Thankfully the duaghter has given it the flick, why? In her words its "to easy & not as much fun as Bball"

Good luck netball, I hope it works for you.

Yeah and a Div 4/5 boy or girls basketball game is so exciting!

(#124350) I would take a Div 4/5 boy or girls basketball game any day of the week over a game that has multiple players on the court, but only a couple from each team can actually score.

Also whats the deal with signaling the end of a netball game, doesnt the time keeper actually have to catch the eye of the ump; interesting and a little quaint, dont you think?

I hear they torture POW's these days by making them watch state netball games!

Yep give me div4/5 any day of the week.

#538
Both games are fantastic, take your attitude to the stands because you obviously don't or shouldn't play either. You win the small award!

I will add it to my collection, thank you.

Netball is a way better spectator sport than basketball. I'm sorry but I don't want to watch 5 girls run backwards and forwards down the court from one hoop to the other with no actual defence or play until they reach the key. At least in netball it is a true team sport with skill and tactics required to actually get the score, and every team member participates!