An extensive study into the impact of non-traditional sports on participation numbers in netball is set to aid Netball SA in its efforts to retain and increase participation for years to come.
Incorporating interviews and feedback from across the netball community, the Final Report created by the Sport, Health, Activity, Performance and Exercise (SHAPE) Research Centre at Flinders University has now been released.
More than two years in the making, the report has provided clear quantitative and qualitative research results and outlined 13 key recommendations for Netball SA.
Netball SA’s GM of Netball Megan Wooldridge said the project stemmed from anecdotal feedback from the community that female participation in non-traditional sports (namely AFL) was impacting their participation rates.
“We were certainly hearing from our community that their participation numbers were being affected, particularly with the rise of AFLW,” Ms Wooldridge said.
“We felt it was important to quantify this feedback, so I wrote a summary paper explaining the feedback we were receiving and then we applied for funding through the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing to undertake a study.”
From there, the SHAPE Research Centre at Flinders University was engaged to begin their investigation in consultation with the netball community.
“Netball SA was responsible for creating a link between Flinders Uni and the netball community to facilitate interviews, including players from a wide-range of age brackets,” Ms Wooldridge said.
“A survey was also distributed to the entire community, from players and parents to staff and volunteers, to ensure everyone had the opportunity to contribute.”
Now that Netball SA has the recommendations, Ms Wooldridge said the next step was to explore the most effective way to implement each step to ensure tangible outcomes for netball.
“The report creates an incredibly valuable framework for our decision making,” Ms Wooldridge said.
“When we are looking at ways to maintain and increase our participation numbers, it will support us in making sure our offerings are best practice and what women and girls want.
“This report will also complement the State of the Game Report released today and we’ll look at these concurrently.”
One key recommendation highlighted in the report was the support and promotion of cross-code athletes.
“One recommendation that stood out to me was to develop a specific campaign around promoting players that are juggling cross-code commitments and ensuring our sport is flexible to allow it,” Ms Wooldridge said.
“From the feedback obtained from interviews with players, it became clear that netball must be willing to adapt further to support athletes who wish to play multiple codes.”
To read the full report, including all 13 recommendations, click here.
To read the State of the Game Report, commissioned by Netball Australia, click here.
Moving forward, Ms Wooldridge said Netball SA would explore further opportunities to work with the SHAPE Research Centre to remain informed of the ever-changing landscape of women’s sport.
“Our partnership with SHAPE and Flinders Uni has been invaluable,” Ms Wooldridge said.
“We will continue to look at ways to work with them in the future as our time with them has been extremely fruitful.
“We’re also very grateful to the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing for their funding which helped to get the research off the ground.”
