KEY POINTS:
It is no surprise that the final three days of the World Netball Championships in Waitakere City are sold out, despite a $500 ticket price. Netball makes fabulous television but it is even more remarkable live. It is a sport of speed, speed of mind and, at its best, ball skills bordering on the divine. Those long passes perfectly weighted to avoid an opponent and then fall subtly into the hands of a team-mate are breath-taking at courtside. The physicality of the game now appeals to those who like their sport gladiatorial. And, when it comes to transtasman clashes, there is a tension that is palpable.
If it wasn't for the thunder sticks, the endless whistle and calls of "contact" for the slightest touch between players, live netball could be sure of constant full-houses.
This championship finds a title-hungry New Zealand sporting public hoping for, rather than expecting, the Silver Ferns to repeat their triumph of four years ago. The lower expectations result from Australia's dominance these past two seasons in the cross-Tasman series. It is no bad thing for a New Zealand side, even as reigning world champions, to go into a tournament as underdogs. With a home crowd and what are likely to be tight contests with strong sides like England and Jamaica, the Kiwi team will have every opportunity to stretch themselves to new levels before a possible showdown with Australia.
The event is made more appealing by its brevity. Not for netball the seven-week marathons of cricket and rugby world cups. The netball champs will involve up to eight games a day and be concluded by next weekend.
Intense rivalries, glamour, boilovers, triumph and despair all bundled into a compact international festival on our doorstep. Let the contest begin.
