Netball is a dynamic sport that requires a high level of agility and frequent changes in speed and direction. These demands can place a significant amount of stress on the ankles, knees and hips. As a result, it is important for players to wear appropriate footwear that is specifically designed for the sport. The use of casual or running shoes on a netball court can lead to injury and is not recommended.
This project involved the refurbishment of an existing outdoor Netball Court Specialists located at a local school. The work included excavation, groundwork and lateral and perimeter drain installation. A twin layer open textured macadam base and surface course was laid prior to colour coating to netball 75 grip standards. The finished product was completed with line markings to meet high competitive standards.
Netball is one of the most popular women’s team sports worldwide. Since the sport gained professional status, there has been a substantial growth in research within the applied sports science and medicine of the game. A scoping review of the available literature would help practitioners and researchers to better understand the current scientific knowledge base to support on-court performance, player welfare and reduce injury.
The purpose of this scoping study was to assess the available evidence regarding the incidence and risk factors for injuries in community-level netball players, including noncontact knee ligament injuries. A systematic search of the electronic databases Cinahl, Medline, Embase, Cochrane, Informit Health and Scopus was conducted to identify peer-reviewed studies published up to 20th January 2020. A secondary search of the reference lists of included articles was also undertaken.
In this study, all athletes were classified into their positional group (goaler, defender and midcourter) for the purposes of analysing player workload data; however, most athletes play more than one court-position during a full season, making comparisons between practice and competition match-play difficult to interpret. Furthermore, the majority of injuries reported in this study occurred during practice, and it is possible that the high levels of activity observed during training sessions could have contributed to the increased injury rate.
The aim of this scoping study was to evaluate the available evidence regarding the incidence and risk factors of injuries in community-level netball players, with particular emphasis on noncontact knee ligament injuries. A systematic search was conducted of the electronic databases Cinahl, Medline, Cochrane, Informit Health, Scopus and SPORTDiscus to identify peer-reviewed studies published up until 20th January 2020. A secondary search of reference lists of included articles was also conducted to identify additional papers for inclusion. The results indicate that noncontact knee ligament injuries are a common problem in community-level netball, and screening procedures may help to target players at high risk of injury. The results also highlight the need for further research in the area of injury prevention strategies in netball. This should include an evaluation of the effectiveness of specific exercise regimens and the role of the netball coach in identifying predisposed players and developing injury prevention programs for them.