Netball enjoys a proud heritage and widespread support from all New Zealanders and its growing profile reflects this. It is the number one team sport for women and is played widely by women of all ages and by a growing number of boys and men. There are over 120,000 registered members and a further 80,000 playing in social competitions for over 1000 clubs in 94 centres nationwide. Netball is the largest participation sport in secondary schools and is still growing.
The sport provides pathways for players, coaches, umpires, officials and administrators and is made possible through the dedicated efforts of its network of volunteers.
The Kerikeri Netball Centre was incorporated in May 2002 and experienced stable participant numbers until a rise in 2007 and 2008 with more senior teams joining the competition which could be attributed to Netball’s growing profile nationwide as well as local factors.
Team numbers dropped slightly in 2009 which could be attributed to the financial recession and/or growing competition from other codes.