England Netball has reported that the Active People Survey from Sport England has shown that the number of people playing netball on a weekly basis has increased once again.
The latest figures show that 151,000 netballers aged 16 and over take to the court every week.
The period between January and April 2015 displayed particularly strong participation rates for this time of year, showing a direct link with the fabulous national marketing campaign This Girl Can which is aimed at getting more women involved in sport.
Combined with the rigorous insight work of the governing body to create products and initiatives with the participant at its heart, netball continues to flourish.
Not only are there more adults taking to the court, but England Netball’s focus on keeping school age children engaged in the sport over the past few years has resulted in a dramatic 15% increase in the number of 14 and 15 year olds participating.
There are now 108,400 from this age group now playing at least once a week, a growth of 14,100 from APS 8 according to the latest set of results.
This has stemmed from a strategy of creating an appealing product for our 7-11 year olds when High 5 was re-launched in 2009. We are now seeing that generation of netballers continue with the sport at a later age and boosting participation figures for our early teens.
The Active People Survey also reveals an excellent increase in weekly numbers for 16-25 year olds and a marked rise for those taking to the court in Higher Education.
It is a busy time of year for the sport with many opportunities for new and current players to get involved in the Big Summer of Netball and this fantastic growth comes as the England team get ready to challenge the world’s best nations in Sydney this August at the Netball World Cup.
To find out more about opportunities to play netball in your area visit the England Netball website.
