Alarming fall in netball numbers

Netball Wairarapa is investigating just why the numbers of teams entered in their primary school competitions for the 2009 season have dropped by alarming proportions.
They have reduced by 10 from last year, meaning the number of grades has also been cut, from nine to eight.
Netball Wairarapa centre manager Kim Whiteman said schools involved in the primary school competition had been surveyed over the past week or so with the idea of discovering the reasons behind the fallout.
"Obviously we are very concerned at losing such a big number of teams and we want to know why it has happened," she said. "If there's a problem which can be fixed then we want to fix it."
Whiteman said it was possible the economic downturn was a factor with several young netballers also playing other winter sports, and parents no longer being able to afford that situation.
"Perhaps they have had to choose just the one sport, and netball has been a loser," she said. "That's the sort of thing we need to know."
Whiteman said secondary school team numbers had also dropped this year, which is the continuation of a disturbing trend.
It was only about five seasons ago that secondary school entries totalled around the 30 mark, a far cry from this year when they number just 13.
By far the biggest drop-off there has come at Wairarapa College and Whiteman said discussions were also being held with them to see whether there was any way the current state of affairs could be rectified.
"We want strong, viable competitions and when numbers are being constantly reduced you start to worry we could get to the stage where that isn't possible," Whiteman said. "Again we need answers about what needs to be done to halt the slide, sitting back and doing nothing won't solve anything."
It hasn't been all bad news for Netball Wairarapa heading into the 2009 club season though with the number of senior or adult teams actually increasing by six over last year.
Whiteman believes promotions aimed at getting the likes of young mothers back into the sport have had a positive effect in this regard.
Premier one competition play gets under way in Wairarapa on April 30 with all other senior grades commencing on May 2. Primary school action starts on May 9.