Netball: Franchises approve an extra round in national competition

Netball New Zealand officials confirmed a second round would be added to the National Bank Cup after gaining tacit approval from the franchises yesterday.

NNZ chairman Don Mackinnon said it was a matter of when, not if, an extra seven matches would be added to domestic netball's elite eight-team competition.

Mackinnon met the franchise heads and some coaches in Auckland to discuss extending the competition, which is in its eighth year.

Mackinnon said the reaction was mostly positive, but financial concerns over accommodating more games was the main headache in a sport that was still overwhelmingly amateur at provincial level.

To alleviate the monetary burden, Mackinnon said officials would look to introduce more doubleheaders, meaning the NBC would be extended by only three or four weeks.

That would also prevent disrupting the international calendar.

Mackinnon said the extra round would be added either next year or in 2007. "From Netball New Zealand's perspective, I think the public is crying out for more matches."

Mackinnon said officials were wary of placing too much pressure on the franchises. "There's still not a lot of money in the sport. Extending the season puts demands not just on the players but also the coaches, a lot of unpaid volunteers.

"It's asking the franchises to move to a new level and each of them have to work it out themselves."

Mackinnon expected a decision to be made by the end of this month once the franchises had finished investigating, but confirmed NNZ had been looking at extending the competition for the past two seasons.

He envisaged an extended NBC would begin a couple of weeks before the competition's usual start in early April, with extra matches stretching the finals into late June.

- NZPA