Notes from the bench.
Opinion, interpretation and game-management thinking — written by an umpire, for anyone who wants to understand how we see the game.
When the Game Becomes a Show, What Happens to the Rules?
This summer's football World Cup quietly stopped applying the game's own laws, and a shoe-lace debate in our umpiring group chat raises the same question for netball: what do we do when the correct decision and the accepted one aren't the same?
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The 2026 Minor Rules Review: rules I'd change, clarify and add
World Netball has opened its 2026 Minor Rules Review. Here's my list: the rules I'd change, the gaps I keep running into on court, and the bits I wish the rule book just said outright — from weardown to what counts as a kick.
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The Role of the Netball Umpire
Officiating has shifted from the authority figure who keeps order to the umpire you barely notice. Here's how I see the netball umpire's job: to facilitate a fair, safe, flowing game — and to bring players and coaches along with you.
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