England Netball is clearly doing something right. In the past two years, the number of young people in England (aged between 16 and 25) who play netball at least once a week has grown from 59,200 to 88,400. The achievement – representing a 33 per cent increase – is spectacular, not least when you take into account that a huge majority of netball players are female – and traditionally less likely to take part in sports than men.

The impressive increases are the result of a clear strategy and hard work, according to Paul Clark, CEO of England Netball. “The 16 to 25-year-old age group is an area which we’ve really focused on,” he says. “We want to make sure that we’re able to deliver a product which keeps those in higher and further education engaged with the sport.”

ATTACKING THE GOAL
As part of England Netball’s action plan to attract the crucial demographic of young adults, it has established a network of University Netball Officers (UNOs) to encourage young people to try out – and keep playing – the sport.
In 2012, four universities were selected for a pilot to establish whether student-led activity could drive an increase in netball participation at their university.

Now in its third year, the network has grown to cover 30 universities, all of which are working with England Netball to deliver a range of programmes to attract new participants to the game. Based on a volunteer model, each UNO is empowered and supported to deliver sessions and drive netball opportunities at their university – including identifying and providing formats of the game which will engage students.

The UNO scheme is, however, just one of England Netball’s successful programmes growing the game at grassroots level. Over the past four years the organisation has worked hard on tailoring its marketing and commercial activity so it appeals to a wider audience – ranging from those aiming to play at elite level to those who simply wish to get active and socialise with peers.

“A few years ago we began a journey to discover what current and future players wanted from their netball experience,” Clark says. “We looked into what motivates players, what they want from the game and how we can support them to ensure that they get the best experience possible. We found that there are a number of different groups of netballers, with different aims and needs. So we listened and responded.”

The engagement programmes spawned by the research include Big Summer of Netball and Netball Now. The two schemes are designed to keep players active throughout the summer months – the traditional off-season for netball.

Before the two programmes were introduced, the summer saw huge drops in participation each year, not because of lack of interest, but purely through lack of opportunities for games.

Other schemes established so far include one called ‘1621’, which is aimed at those aged between 16- and 21-years-old and still in education; ‘Into High 5’, which has been designed to introduce those under the age of 11 to the sport; and Netball Youth Camps which have been established across the country to cater for girls aged between nine and 16 years old. 

REAPING THE REWARDS
The organisation’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. For Clark, the Sport Governing Body of the Year award marked an important milestone in the organisation’s journey. “The BT award highlights the incredible progress that we continue to make,” he says. “We’ve been one of the most innovative organisations in attracting more people to play the sport.”

Clark’s use of the term ‘journey’ is an appropriate one. By its own admission, England Netball was a relatively low-profile NGB just five years ago, with a club-centric business model and a tight focus on its members. Recognising its responsibility to reach out to everyone involved in netball, during 2009, England Netball launched a research programme to identify the needs of those engaged in the sport.

The research highlighted the many different participants engaging in the game and England Netball’s wider role and responsibility for the development of netball in England. It also provided valuable insight into the needs and expectations of all netball players and changed the philosophy of the business, as well as the way England Netball does things on a day-to-day basis.

Published in 2010, England Netball’s strategy – entitled Your Game, Your Way – places players and coaches at the very core of all actions. Designed to establish England Netball as a top performing, financially stable NGB which promotes a ‘Netball for Life’ ethos, the strategy has been a success. In its first four years it led to a 34 per cent increase in adult participation, 2,688 newly qualified coaches and a 600 per cent increase in primary school affiliations.  

CASTING THE NET
Another area of importance highlighted by the strategy was the need to increase netball’s visibility. As part of this, a deal was agreed with Sky Sports which will see 17 live Superleague games being broadcast each season – as well as all England’s home international games. According to Alex Sexton, England Netball’s communication manager, the Sky deal is crucial to promoting netball as a competitive sport.

“As with all minority sports, it’s vital that netball is afforded the chance to appear on broadcast television,” he says. “The reach that comes with a partnership such as the one we currently have with Sky Sports is invaluable in both promoting the sport at grassroots level and recognising the achievements we make at elite level.” 

The work towards increasing interest in netball is, however, rendered pointless if there aren’t enough facilities for people to play the sport. Netball is traditionally played on outdoor courts with educational sites being the most highly used by volunteer-run leagues and club training. There is also an increasing demand for indoor facilities, as the average recreational netballer prefers to play indoors – while performance focused netball also tends to be based at high quality indoor venues.

In some areas, access to indoor facilities can be a real challenge and cost can be a barrier, especially if there is a high demand from other sports for a peak time slot. “High quality, accessible and affordable venues are key to England Netball’s ambitions for increased growth and improving participant experiences,” says Sexton. He adds that in order to help identify future needs – and chart the current state of the infrastructure – a national facilities strategy will be produced during 2015-16.

“We don’t currently have accurate figures on how many courts there are in England. With that in mind, we’re currently analysing data to assess the number of venues which are used for club-related activities, recreational programmes, leagues, competitions and workforce development. This information will be available later in the year.”

While a wider strategy is still in the works, there are a number of programmes which aim to increase the number of courts – indoor and outdoor – and opportunities to play netball at all levels. These include Nets – a grassroots initiative to establish caged netball arenas to support a new, accessible form of the game – and the Intensive Netball Training Centres (INTC), which sit at the top of the elite performance pathway.

Nets is a fast, non-stop version of netball with a heavy emphasis on the tactical aspect of the sport. Played using a regulation ball on a traditional court layout, player movement is restricted in a different way from that of traditional netball. The initiative also looks to attract mixed teams, further expanding the player base from the traditional female-only core.

The three INTCs are based in Manchester (across three sites), Bath University and Brunel University. The centres are designed to provide the highest quality coached training and supervised strength and conditioning programmes for England senior and U21 athletes.

FORWARD PLANNING
For Clark, the work is never done and the organisation is constantly looking for new ways to involve new players and to keep existing ones. “Our success has been the result of the new, innovative approach we have adopted that puts the netballer at the centre of everything we do,” he says.

The most recent scheme to expand the game, launched in January 2015, is another example of how England Netball wants to expand its horizons. Called Netball in the City, the programme will be piloted in eight cities and aimed at the corporate market. It will encourage staff to take time away from work and get involved in teambuilding activity using netball as a twist.

It will be marketed as a “fantastic chance to develop teamwork and communication skills” and will use the element of competition to make itself appealing for businesses and staff. The new phase in the organisation’s development will be led by interim Joanna Adams, who replaced the retiring Clark on 5 January 2015.

Adams is no stranger to the sport, having joined England Netball’s commercial team in 2009. “Netball is a sport with huge potential,” she says. And we’ll be working with our stakeholders to fulfil it.”