Basic Netball Rules

3-second Rule

Players have only three seconds between catching the ball and passing it.

Footwork

If a player catches the ball with only one foot on the ground that foot is referred to as the landing foot. The player can then choose to step with the other foot, lift the landing foot and throw the ball before the landing foot returns to the ground. Alternatively, they can pivot on the landing foot and move the other foot any number of times. But they are NOT allowed to move or hop on the landing foot until they have thrown the ball.

If a player has both feet on the ground when catching the ball they can choose their landing foot and follow the rules as above.

Physical Contact (3 Feet)

Netball is a non-contact sport, and players cannot make physical contact with one another on the court. Accordingly, defenders have to stand 3 feet (0.9m) away from the player with the ball. From this distance a player can try and win the ball back, but ONLY when it has been thrown into the air.

Players can defend a member of the other team who does not have the ball but they cannot touch them or snatch the ball away from them.

If a player makes physical contact and disrupts play, a penalty pass is awarded.

Short Pass

The player holding the ball must leave enough room for another person to move between their hands and those of the catcher.

Centre Passes and Passes on the Court

A centre pass must be touched or caught in the centre third. This means that at least two passes have to be made before a player can attempt to shoot a goal.

The ball must be handled in each third of the court, for example, a player cannot throw the ball from the defensive third to the attacking third.

Offside

Each player is only allowed in certain areas of the court and if they stray out of position then they are offside. A player can still be offside even if they don't have the ball.

Toss Up

The two players face each other while the umpire stands in between them. The umpire then throws the ball no more than two feet into the air from just below the shoulder height of the shorter player, and both players try and catch it.

Toss ups help solve incidents on the court when the umpire is unsure exactly what happened.