The written assessment.

This guide is written for the Europe Netball B/A written assessment, the theory paper umpires sit for their B and A awards. If you’re preparing for a written paper elsewhere, much of it will still help, because the rules are the same, but check your own assessment’s format and marking.

The written paper rewards knowing the rules and setting your answer out the way the marking expects. Many of the marks come from fixed phrases: the right Rule Name and Rule Heading, the right sanction wording, and a location that is specific enough. Learn the patterns below and you can spend your two hours thinking about the netball rather than the wording.

The same paper is used for the B and A awards; an A pass needs a higher mark in both sections. You have two hours, and everything is judged against the current World Netball rules (the 2024 edition), not local or league variations. The teams are always Red and Blue.

You must pass both sections; a strong Section 2 can’t make up for a weak Section 1. The pass marks are set for each paper, so treat any figure you see in practice material as a suggested target rather than a definitive pass mark. Section 1 leaves little room: a wrong Rule Name or Rule Heading costs all four marks on that question, so a single slip can be the difference between passing and not. This is why it is so important to learn the Rule Names and Rule Headings accurately.

Every question starts with the same task: name the infringement by its Rule Name and its Rule Heading, joined by “and”. The Rule Name is the title of the rule; the Rule Heading is the heading within it that covers the infringement.

You don’t need rule numbers. The Rule Name and Rule Heading are enough to score the marks, so don’t waste time revising rule numbers.

Common traps

• Obstruction → Obstruction and Player in Possession of the Ball. The Rule Name on its own scores nothing. Say which obstruction it was.
• Short Pass → Passing Distances and Short Pass. The heading on its own is not enough. Lead with the Rule Name.
• Held Ball → Playing the Ball and While in Possession. Held ball is what the umpire calls; the exam wants the rule.
• Breaking → Centre Pass and Position of Players. Breaking is terminology, not a heading.
• Delaying Play → Foul Play and Unfair Play. When a player delays play, it is a type of unfair play. Name the rule, then describe the behaviour in your reasoning.
• Foul Play and Unfair Play (for a team slow to take the court) → Team and Failure to Take the Court. A team that delays is named by the rule it broke: Failure to Take the Court, or Stoppages and Substitutions and Team Changes for slow substitutions. The delaying-play penalty is only the sanction.
• Out of Court and Defending from Out of Court (for following an opponent off court) → Out of Court and Player Outside the Court. Defending from out of court is an off-court player defending someone on the court. Leaving the court for anything other than repositioning, such as following an opponent off it, is leaving the court.
• Centre Pass and Controlling the Centre Pass (for the Centre’s position at the whistle) → Centre Pass and Position of Players. Position of Players covers where players are when the whistle goes, including breaking. Controlling the Centre Pass covers what happens after it: footwork, three seconds and an untouched pass.
• Contact and Interference (for moving into a jumping player’s landing space) → Contact and Causing Contact — Player in the Air. Moving into the landing place of a player in the air has its own heading.
• Scoring a Goal and Requirements (for an incorrect shot) → Scoring a Goal and Taking a Shot. Requirements is about how a goal is scored. Any infringement by the shooter is Taking a Shot.

Studying from older papers or notes

Material written for the 2020 rules is still useful practice, but its answers use older wording and different headings that would fail the gate today. Translate as you go:

Some answers have changed too:

• There is no toss up. Simultaneous and mutual infringements, and late players, now give possession.
• There is no caution. Game management now starts with proactive advice, which is new in the 2024 rules. For repeated infringing the ladder runs proactive advice, then an advanced penalty pass, then a warning, suspension or ordering off.
• A short pass is penalised where the receiver caught or touched the ball.
• The penalty pass for unfair play (delaying play, intimidation, intentional or repeated infringing, disputed ruling) is always advanced.
• Dangerous play is never just a warning: it is a suspension or an ordering off.

Section 1 is about precision, not explanation. Each box has a standard answer shape, so fill in the blanks. Advantage isn’t part of a Section 1 answer. The four boxes ask only for the infringement, the sanction or action, who it goes to and where it is taken. Advantage comes up in Section 2, where the decisions box can ask for two decisions.

Where it is taken

This is the box people drop marks on. “Where the infringement happened” isn’t enough: say which area of the court and the reference point. Use the rule book’s own location for each infringement.

No Action questions

Three of the twelve are No Action. Write “No Action” in the first box for the mark and leave the others empty. They usually contain a phrase that tells you play was fair: the landing foot stayed grounded, the ball was released before landing, nobody was knocked off balance.

The marks are the hint. Each box shows how many marks it carries, and each mark is one point. Two marks for decisions usually means “penalise or play advantage” or that a game management action is required. Eight marks for application means eight separate points. A question carrying more application marks than the situation seems to need can also be a sign that advantage is relevant. Higher-mark questions also include stoppage procedures and the application of game management.

Rule/s and decision/s

• Rule/s: the same Rule Name and Rule Heading as Section 1. Two marks usually means a second rule, often Foul Play and Unfair Play, Unsporting Behaviour or Dangerous Play, as appropriate.
• Decision/s: “Penalise Contact”, “Penalise Footwork”, “Hold Time”, or “Penalise Obstruction or Play Advantage”.

Application: the ladder

Work from the infringement to the restart, one point per mark:

Two whistles. Some infringements are penalised only once play has started: anything at a centre pass, a team that is slow to take the court, and anything between a goal and the centre pass or during a stoppage. The umpire blows to start or restart play, then blows again straight away to penalise. Write both whistles, as separate points.

Advantage questions

If the situation shows an unmarked player or a clear opening, write both options. The marks cover both, so a full answer explains penalising and playing advantage. After the penalise steps, write “Or”, then:

• “The umpire may instead play advantage, as <team> has the ball. The umpire assesses the position of all the players, particularly <player>, and judges whether <team> has a tactical or territorial advantage from allowing play to continue.”
• “The umpire indicates advantage by calling ‘Advantage, <infringement>, <position>’ and using the advantage hand signal.”

Injury, illness or blood

These carry the most marks, so learn the whole chain:

1. If a player asks for time, the umpire checks the reason first; the request must be verifiable. No request is needed for an obvious or serious injury, or for blood, so the umpire can hold time themselves without waiting.
2. Hold time with the whistle and hand signal.
3. The player leaves the court within 30 seconds; treatment happens off court. Only the primary care person may come on to assess them, and the umpires may let others, including team officials, help the player off.
4. If the primary care person (or independent concussion observer) advises that the player can’t be moved safely within 30 seconds, the umpires extend the time and tell the official bench.
5. The timekeepers tell the umpires when 10 seconds remain.
6. Both teams may make substitutions and team changes in that time.
7. For blood, there is more to cover:
   • Blood on the ball should be swapped, and blood on the court cleaned before play restarts.
   • Any other player with blood on them may leave the court to have it cleaned within the time allowed for the stoppage, without being substituted.
   • Any blood-stained clothing must be replaced within the time allowed.
8. With no substitute, the position can be left vacant (if it’s the Centre, someone must move to Centre).
9. Play restarts where the ball was, with the team that had it (a throw-in if it was out of court). The umpire restarts play with the whistle and hand signal.
10. The player or a substitute can come back on at the next break in play.

Warnings, suspensions and orderings off

Treat each incident as the first time unless the question tells you otherwise. If it does give a history, such as earlier penalties against the same player, use it to work out where on the game management ladder you are. For repeated infringing, that ladder starts with proactive advice, then an advanced penalty pass, then a warning. Deliberate unfair play, such as delaying play or intimidation, is advanced straight away.

1. Blow the whistle, hold time and give the relevant hand signal.
2. Use the word “warning”, “suspension” or “ordering off”, and tell the player what it’s for.
3. For a warning only, tell the player what happens next: any further foul play will result in a suspension.
4. Award the penalty pass: advanced for unfair play; where the infringement occurred for unsporting behaviour and dangerous play.
5. For a suspension or ordering off: the player sits at the umpires’ bench, the position stays vacant (two or four minutes’ playing time from the restart), and no teammate stands out of play for the penalty pass.
6. Restart play with the whistle.

This is the list to learn word for word. The ones that come up most are in the everyday rules (Playing the Ball, Passing Distances, Footwork, Offside, Out of Court, Obstruction, Contact, Foul Play), but stoppages and team rules appear too.

From what you call to what you write

• Sit a full paper under time. Our free sample paper follows the same format, with model answers to mark yourself against. Timed practice shows you how long two hours really is, and whether you’re likely to be under time pressure on the day.
• Drill the headings. The headings and subheadings quizzes test the exact wording.
• Practise decisions. The scenarios quiz is quick practice at reading a situation and reaching a decision.
• Read the interpretations. The rule interpretation pages explain the rules behind the trickier Section 2 questions.

On the day

• Start with the questions you’re sure of. Work through those quickly, then come back to the harder ones. If you run short of time at the end, it falls on the questions you were less likely to score on anyway. Aim to answer every question.
• Find the three No Action questions. Section 1 always has exactly three. If you’re confident you’ve found them, every other Section 1 question needs an action, which can help you decide a borderline one.
• Picture the play. Sketch it on the blank court diagrams if that helps you see who is where.
• Answer the final part of the scenario. Longer Section 2 situations can set the scene with earlier events, such as an injury, a stoppage or earlier penalties. If these have already been dealt with, then you don’t need to cover them in your answer. Work out what the question is really asking about, usually the last thing that happens, and answer that.
• Don’t look for tricks. Most of the situations are everyday ones, and the obvious reading is usually the right one.
• Answer what’s written, not what-ifs. If a defender gets a fingertip to a pass and nothing says they were too close, treat it as a fair touch. Don’t answer for a situation the question doesn’t describe.
• Save time for the end. The later Section 2 questions tend to carry the most marks.
• Give the whole procedure. In Section 2, marks can go to steps beyond the immediate situation, such as when an injured player may come back on. Cover every part of the procedure.
• Points are fine. In Section 2, numbered or bulleted points are as good as full sentences, and make it easier to see you’ve covered every mark.