Netball Umpiring
Guide and Basic Rules
what does it mean to be an umpire?
Your job is to make sure the players have a safe, fair and
enjoyable game. You can do this by:
❖ knowing the rules
❖ being clear in your decisions and communication
❖ being consistent
❖ being friendly and enthusiastic
❖ using common sense
Being an umpire means you get to participate in fast, skilful
games and help the players play their best netball.
A couple of things to remember are:
❖ don’t penalise players just because you don’t believe
they could have done something (like intercepted that
ball, moved that far, or saved a ball from out of court)
❖ umpire what you see, not what you think people want
you to call
❖ but when you do see something, blow your whistle and
give the decision – the umpire making decisions is as
much a part of the game as players passing the ball
making decisions
When you make a decision, you do this by:
❖ blowing your whistle – make this loud, short and
sharp. Blow the whistle harder than you think you
need, so that everyone knows to stop.
❖ stating the decision – tell the players what the
infringement is (footwork, obstruction, contact), who
you are penalising, and the sanction (free pass, penalty
pass or throw in)
❖ using hand signals to show what the infringement is
and where the sanction should be taken from
Hand signals should be strong (make them bigger than you feel
comfortable with to start off) and sustained (hold them long
enough for players to see).
sanctions
Sanctions are what you award when there has been an
infringement. The two sanctions you can award are:
free pass
A free pass is awarded when a player breaks a minor rule, like
footwork, over a third or replay. Any player on the other team
takes the pass from the place the infringement happened.
penalty pass
A penalty pass is awarded when a player breaks a major rule,
which is either contact or obstruction. Any player on the other
team takes the pass from the place the infringement happened,
and if they are in the goal circle, they can shoot. The infringer
(the player who broke the rule) stands out of play (beside the
player taking the pass or shot) until the ball is released.
As well as the two types of sanctions, there is a:
throw in
A throw in is taken when the ball goes out (when it touches
something out of court, or a player with the ball touches
something out of court). Any player on the other team stands
just behind the line and throws the ball in.
areas of control
It’s important to know which areas on the court you make
decisions in. You shouldn’t ever make decisions in the other
umpire’s area (even if you’re “sure” you saw it!), because this is
confusing for the players and creates inconsistency.
If you are this umpire, you control everything happening on the
court in the right-hand half of the court (the area marked in red
in the diagram).
You also decide whether the ball has gone out and award throw
ins on the whole side line and goal line marked by the red
arrows in the diagram.
You should not make decisions where the red X is in the
diagram – this is in the other umpire’s area of control.
positioning
Because of the areas you control, you should move down the
sideline to your right, and along the goal line to your right.
Try to be just ahead of the ball, as this gives you the best
position to see what the player with the ball is doing, and
anyone defending them.
Stay on the side line until the ball is near the goal circle, and
then run to the goal line – you can cut the corner if there are no
players in the way.
On the goal line, stand back and stay open to the court so you
can see everyone easily. If the ball goes to the right hand side of
the circle, move to that side of the goal post.
If the defending team gets the ball, move quickly back to the
side line – again, cut the corner if there’s nobody in the way.
When the ball is in the other umpire’s end of the court, move
down to the transverse line (the one separating the goal third
and centre third). You can’t make decisions on the court in that
half, but if the ball goes out your side line, you need to be close
enough to see who it came off and to communicate your
decisions.
centre passes
Each team takes turns taking the centre pass.
You will need a hair band to keep track of who has the next
centre pass. After each goal, swap the hairband to the other
hand and point in the direction of the next centre pass.
The Centre from the team with the ball needs to stand with at
least one foot completely in the centre circle. The umpire
should blow the whistle as soon as the Centre puts a foot in the
circle.
Who blows the whistle for the centre pass?
❖ For the first pass in each quarter, the umpire whose
end the play is going blows the whistle
❖ For each other pass in the quarter, the umpire who
had the last goal scored at their end blows the
whistle
The Centre from the other team should be in the centre third.
Everyone else should be in their own goal third.
None of these other players are allowed into the centre third
until the whistle goes (if they’ve jumped from the goal third but
not yet touched the ground in the centre third, they’re ok).
If they do enter early, they are penalised for breaking and a
free pass is awarded to the other team in the centre third.
The centre pass must be caught or touched by someone
standing in the centre third. If this doesn’t happen, the team
who took the centre pass is penalised for untouched centre
pass and a free pass is awarded to the other team in the goal
third.
goals
A goal is scored when the Goal Shooter or Goal Attack shoot
from inside the goal circle and the ball goes completely through
the ring.
You signal a goal by raising an arm, and then signal whose
centre pass it is while running back to the centre third to blow
the whistle for the centre pass.
start and end of quarter
At start of the quarter, hold an arm up (tilted to the right) and
blow the whistle to start the game.
At the end of a quarter, when you hear the buzzer, blow a long
whistle to end the quarter (there is no signal needed!).
Important: If you have awarded a penalty pass (for contact or
obstruction) in the goal circle before you blow the whistle for
time, let the team take the shot at goal.
Also important: If a shot has left the hands of the Goal Shooter
or Goal Attack before you blow the whistle to end the quarter
and the ball goes through the ring, the goal counts.
footwork
landed foot
If a player catches the ball in the air and lands on one foot, or
catches the ball while standing on one foot, this foot is called
the landed foot.
If they catch the ball in the air and land on both feet at the same
time, or catch the ball while standing on both feet, they can
choose which foot to move.
Once they move one foot, the other foot (the one they didn’t
move) is the landed foot.
what the player can do
❖ They can pivot as long as the landed foot stays in the
same place (but it can turn).
❖ They can step onto the non-landed foot, and pick the
landed foot up.
❖ They can step onto the non-landed foot and then jump
in the air.
what the player can’t do
❖ They can’t pick the landed foot up and put it down
again before releasing the ball
❖ They can’t drag the landed foot (but don’t be too picky)
❖ They can’t hop on either foot
Important: Make sure you know which is the landed foot so you
can judge footwork properly.
obstruction
In order to defend, a defender must be 0.9m (or 3 feet) from the
player with the ball.
This means that their feet must be that distance from the
landed foot of the player with the ball. If the player with the
ball picks up their landed foot, the defender has to be 0.9m (3
feet) from where the landed foot used to be.
The defender can reach or lean from here – the distance is only
measured between the feet.
The defender can jump, even towards the player with the ball.
If the defender jumps or falls and lands within 0.9m (3 feet) of
the player with the ball, they must stop defending (put their
arms down) or they will be obstructing.
If a player obstructs, the other team is awarded a penalty pass,
and the player who obstructed stands out of play beside the
player taking the pass.
contact
With 14 players running around a netball court trying to get the
ball, they will touch each other, run into each other and
occasionally collide.
This is generally allowed, however a player may not:
❖ push, trip or hold an opponent
❖ bump into an opponent so that they lose their balance
❖ knock the ball out of an opponent’s hands
❖ run through an opponent who was in a space first
❖ move into the space where an opponent is going to
land, or where they were moving, so late that they
can’t avoid a collision
If they do any of these things, they should be penalised for
contact, and the other team is awarded a penalty pass,
and the player who contacted stands out of play beside the
player taking the pass.
more rules and help
The full Rules of Netball can be found:
❖ on the Netball Australia website at
[Link]
❖ through a smartphone app called ‘Rules of Netball’
❖ your Association can purchase copies through Netball
Tasmania
We hope you enjoy learning to umpire!