Case Study: National Sports Leagues (DP IB Geography)

National Sports Team

• Netball is played with two teams of seven players on each side

• Worldwide, the game is played in 80 countries and has over 20 million players

• Recognised as an Olympic Sport in 1995

• Netball was introduced in Australia in 1897

• Netball is the most popular women's sport in Australia

  • Over 1 million players play netball nationwide

• Founding members of the game were New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia in 1927

• Tasmania joined national tournaments in 1933, the Australian Capital Territory in 1975 and the Northern Territory in 1977

• The organisation became officially known as Netball Australia in 1993 

• The organisation has a governing body which has representatives from every state and territory in Australia

• The National Domestic League in Australia is called Suncorp Super Netball

  • Eight teams make up the Super League: Thunderbirds, Giants, Mavericks, Vixens, Swifts, Firebirds, Lightning and Fever

  • This league replaced the ANZ Championship, which previously included New Zealand in 2017

  • Lightning won the first league title in 2017 and the following year

  • Collingwood Magpies were also a member of the league but withdrew due to a lack of financing in 2023

  • The season begins in March and ends in July

• The average salary for a player in this league is $89,221 

Location & Distribution of National Sport Team Supporters

• Supporters are largely drawn from each of the States

• When supporters move away to university or for a job, this may extend the sphere of influence

• In 2023, over 265,000 fans attended a match during the home and away season

• Games are televised for people who are not able to afford a ticket to enter or travel to a match

• Games are televised on sports stations around the world or on YouTube

• More teams are located in the east of Australia

• This reflects the location of the main urban areas in Australia

Netball Venues in Australia