March 07, 2023
Netball in tussle for players
The new president of Netball New Zealand says the code is competing for players with other sports.
Tina Karaitiana says the biggest threats to player recruitment and retention come from rugby, where the Black Ferns and Sevens teams top the world, and league where the Kiwi women are ranked number two.
Soccer and cricket also draw some young players.
“I’d love to think that Netball has the strategy moving forward, on retaining and increasing capacity amongst our Maori and Pacific numbers. I know the numbers aren’t high in soccer or cricket but they’ll get there. But at the moment we are going to be competing against rugby and league for women,” she says.
Ms Karaitiana says the role as president is about governance and community involvement, which suits her 45 years of activity at the grassroots of netball.