Netball: Netball NZ plots structural change

Netball NZ chief executive Raelene Castle. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The wheels of change are slowly being put in motion at Netball New Zealand as the health of the game here continues to come under scrutiny following the advent of professionalism.

The national body is undertaking a thorough review of its regional and high-performance structures.

The first phase of the review has seen Netball NZ chief executive Raelene Castle embark on a road trip around the country, meeting with key stakeholders from the 12 netball regions.

Castle said the decision to review the regional structures was not an admission that the current model was broken, but a proactive response to a few things that had been "bubbling away under the surface".

"The regional structure had been in place for 10 years, and subsequently of course there have been five ANZ Champs teams in place and there were a few pressure valves starting to go," said Castle. "So it's just making sure we review those structures and make improvements while the game is still growing as opposed to when it starts to get broken."

Certainly, netball in this country is still on the upward curve. Netball NZ's commercial revenue has grown 30 per cent in the past three years, meaning they are delivering more money than ever back to the regions.

But Castle said the challenge was to ensure the money was used in a way that would continue to grow the game.

"We're just looking at every level to see that the money we invest across the netball community is invested in the best possible way. And the experiences netballers get are the best possible experiences."

Castle, who will deliver the findings of the review to the Netball NZ board at the end of June, said it was too soon to say whether any major changes were in the pipeline.

"We need to be sure the structure we have in place continues to deliver the best outcomes. Whether or not that needs changing or whether it's just some realignment that needs to happen is what we need to look at."

But at a high-performance level there is already recognition that big improvements need to be made.

One of the most obvious cracks that has appeared in the game since the advent of the transtasman league is the lack of depth, with New Zealand struggling to sustain five competitive ANZ Championship franchises.

Netball New Zealand high-performance manager Tracey Fear said the key challenge for the organisation was to ensure young up-and-coming players were given the support they needed to develop into world-class athletes.

"We need to ensure that at a regional level the high-performance programmes that are being put in place are at the level they need to be to help develop talent that is out there in the regions," said Fear. "We'd like to support regions and franchises to develop players to step up to that elite environment."

To help implement their strategy, Netball New Zealand have added to their high-performance team, with Gaylene Eyre brought on board as a national player development manager to work alongside Fear and talent development manager Leigh Gibbs.