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This isn’t rugby. Netballers, throw the ball not each other

Elaine Stockdale

by Elaine Stockdale

30 May 05:35am

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Filed under: Football, Netball, Sport, Violence, Women

53 comments

The controversial “chair lift” manoeuvre used by elite netball players is unorthodox, risky and dangerous. In order to achieve the risky tactic it requires one defensive player to lift another defensive player in the air, in an attempt to block an opposition shot.


The tactic is similar to the new rugby lineout-style defensive lift. While it’s innovative and exciting for avid sport fans, it is not suitable for the game and Netball Australia is rightfully examining it. 

It should be outlawed from the sport and all elite netball competitions.

There is a serious risk to players who try the manoeuvre. If a player was accidentally dropped in attempt to be hoisted up, they could seriously injure themselves or other players.

While injury is common in a majority of team sports, risky moves or tactics used are usually banned to prevent the prevalence of injury instances and this tactic should be no exception.

If the move is not executed accurately there is a chance the player lifted up could land and fracture a bone or strain a muscle.

Netball is a popular sport especially among women. 4.1 per cent of people play netball, particularly in South Australia where the participation rate for netball is 1.5 times higher than the average for Australia.

People participating could be young and inexperienced, they may see the move being performed by others and attempt to replicate it in their own game, causing injury to themselves or others because it is perilous and hard to execute. 

The tactic is rarely used in netball because of this very reason – the difficulty to pull it off efficiently and safely. It has been tried on several occasions.

It was first used in the 1970s by a Western Australian player, Chris Stanton. Internationally it was also performed by Singapore defensive players Premila Hirubalan and Lin Qingyi against Sri Lanka at the 2011 World Championship match.

The most recent instance was in the ANZ championship by Anna Harrison, who plays for the New Zealand team Northern Mystics. Harrison made more than one block by being hoisted by her defensive team mates in the first match won by a New Zealander team this year.

Unlike these rare occasions aforementioned, there are probably many more players who have tried it but failed to successfully accomplish it like these players have.

Former captain and goal keeper for the Australian team Liz Ellis even admits herself the tactic is hard to accomplish. Ellis told The Canberra Times: ‘It has been thought of, and the reason it hasn’t happened is because it’s so hard to do.”

“It’s the type of thing that I would have loved to have done but was never quite good enough to do.”

The fact that so many players elite and amateur find it hard to achieve proves why it is dangerous to players and unorthodox to the game.

The ANZ championship’s general manager, Andrew Crook, says the tactic is in the rules of the game, but is unorthodox.

The tactic should be stopped, the fact that it is still in the rules after large amounts of media coverage and controversy is mind-boggling.

Though players who do achieve the tactic are being innovative and creating immense excitement, media hype and buzz for the sport.

But the tactic allows defensive players to intercept a shot when the ball has already passed the top line of the ring - in basketball this would be considered goal-tending. The intercept would then be penalised with points given towards the attacking side. This should apply to netball too.

Once the flight of the ball has surpassed the ring line it should be left until it either lands in the net for a goal or misses falling below the top line of the ring for a rebound, allowing for fair play and equal opportunity for both sides.

Hoisting another player up in the air enhances their performance unfairly. It’s cheating.

Netball is not a physical contact sport and by assisting another player to achieve a block or vertical jump skill by lifting them up, the players are cheating their way into intercepting a shot before it even has a chance to miss, hit or land in the ring.

If this ridiculous tactic is not outlawed even though it almost completely inhibits the attacking side’s opportunity for goals, why not then just let the defence snatch the ball out of a shooting offensive players’ hands? Or let the defence shake the ring? Or even let the defensive player get in the face of the shooting opponent making it even more impossible to get a score on the board?

It’s not part of the game rules, it’s not fair play and it’s ridiculously unsportsmanlike.

By allowing defensive players to carry out the manoeuvre which is without a doubt goal-tending, attacking play would be decreased, scoring would be low and a high percentage of ball play would be carried out in the centre of the court. 

Netball has always been a fast paced game and by allowing this tactic to stay legal would only create a slow game that is ugly to watch and low-scoring.

If the International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) and Netball Australia want to keep the ‘chair lift’ in the game, then they should just create a whole new game altogether, it is outrageous that people would allow such a tactic in a sport that is non-contact.

The manoeuvre needs to be stopped and left in rugby where it belongs.

Most commented

53 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • TChong says:

      06:03am | 30/05/12

      If the cartoons are to be believed,  “lifting” was invented by The Harlem Globe Trotters, when Little Joe was hoisted aloft for offence and defence.

      Reply

    • Nathan says:

      06:08am | 30/05/12

      To say hoisting is dangerous is a joke, firstly from that height it won’t do much damage, secondly its a controled lift and no contact from the opposition so that is not dangerous. Netballers suffer far worse injuries to their knees and ankles. To prevent injury you can ban younger people from executing them anyway.

      I am not saying that it should be allowed but the argument really needs to be about if the sports wants to allow it or not.

      Reply

    • wolf says:

      07:30am | 30/05/12

      Have to agree Nathan. With most netballers running in like AFL players for a hard ball get, shepherding and occasionally dropping the shoulder there are probably greater priorities for the governing body if they want to reduce the chance of injury, especially when the young kiddies try to emulate it.
      To say that netball, especially in the ANZ comp is non contact is a joke.

    • Emma says:

      04:08pm | 30/05/12

      I agree Wolf - netball is now a contact sport from the juniors up. Go out to any weekend game and I promise you will see physical contact. There are so many worse injuries in the game. Unless the second defending player drops them, there shouldn’t be an injury. On the other hand, it could be great for the attacking team if they miss the shot - there’s two defending players out of contention for a rebound

    • Sunny-310 says:

      05:03pm | 11/06/12

      I hate it when people don’t get this right! Netball is a contact sport. Check the official rule book and it says right there, in black and white that it is classified a contact sport. Emma and Wolf are right. It is a contact sport and banning the chairlift isn’t going to do anything.

    • Your Opinion says:

      06:50am | 30/05/12

      Well if they risk injury, best stop the whole game then.

      It didn’t appear to slow down this game too much.

      Reply

    • Beckstar says:

      07:45am | 30/05/12

      Is this article serious? Give the players credit for being creative, more so, give them credit for making sound judgement calls about performing this maneuver at the right moment.

      Reply

    • Admiral Ackbar says:

      11:09am | 30/05/12

      Furthermore, chicks can’t jump, so what else are they gonna do aside from that move where they just stand there with their arm out hoping the other player just misses. I don’t think it will make netball any more appealing than it currently isn’t.

    • Dan says:

      07:57am | 30/05/12

      All that, and not one rational, justified reason why the rules should be re-written to ban the chair lift.

      The sustained side-to-side movement in netball, continual stop start, and physical contests are all of far greater risk than the controlled chair lift.

      The move is an athletic feat. It takes precision timing, the right opportunity and the right players to execute effectively. An ineffective lift has great consequence - it effectively removes two defenders from the contest. If a goaler sees it coming, they can easily outmanoevre by swinging the ball to the other goaler via the circle edge. This isn’t slowing the game down.

      Innovation like this proves netball is going from strength to strength. New moves like this will force teams to strategise ways to overcome it - and they will. It’s the best thing that’s happened to the game in a long time.

      Reply

    • Brad Pfeffer says:

      08:07am | 30/05/12

      I stopped reading when you suggested that a muscle could be ‘fractured’.

      Reply

    • Chris says:

      10:35am | 30/05/12

      Ha ha so did I….but then I commented????

    • Arnold Layne says:

      08:11am | 30/05/12

      I hadn’t seen that clip before but I reckon it’s great.  Netball goals are way too easy to score and defenders have been copping soft ‘contact’ penalties for years while prima donna shooters are protected.  If they’re good enough to get their own back then good on ‘em.

      Reply

    • Rhino says:

      08:11am | 30/05/12

      Interesting how you selected some of what Liz Ellis had to say, but not the part where she said she loved the tactic and thinks it should be allowed.

      Reply

    • Markus says:

      08:41am | 30/05/12

      So the ANZ championship GM says it is within the rules, but you say it is not. I think I’ll take his word over yours.

      Your entire argument seems to come down to the fact that you don’t possess the ability to pull off the tactic, therefore nobody should be allowed to do it. The strive for mediocrity continues.

      Reply

    • Inky says:

      08:44am | 30/05/12

      “The ANZ championship’s general manager, Andrew Crook, says the tactic is in the rules of the game, but is unorthodox. “

      “It’s not part of the game rules, it’s not fair play and it’s ridiculously unsportsmanlike.”

      I think perhaps, you meant it’s not part of the spirit of the game rules, which I’d agree with. But you already stated that it IS actually within the game rules, so how can you turn around and say it isn’t?

      Reply

    • Arnold Layne says:

      09:11am | 30/05/12

      It’s also interesting that the GM is a bloke.

    • Inky says:

      10:07am | 30/05/12

      How is that relevant?

    • Charles says:

      09:01am | 30/05/12

      The author of this article obviously hates the game of netball.  When someone introduces a creative new tactic like this into a game, it should be welcomed by the games proponents. 

      The idea of a sport is to entertain and these novel ideas improve the entertainment.  Stifling these sorts of ideas will only help the game of netball bump along the bottom.  Netball is played by some great athletes, but the game itself is prone to very subjective umpiring calls, and much ambiguity insofar as the contact rule is applied.  Improving the metrics of the game will only help the whole sport.

      Reply

    • wingnut says:

      09:05am | 30/05/12

      As a mixed player (male) I don’t like it, we have enough trouble scoring in our local team let alone this tactic catching on!

      Agree above with Arnold though, it is almost impossible to defend the attackers where no matter what the situation, the defender will 9 times out of 10 be pinged for the contact.

      Reply

    • Josh says:

      09:05am | 30/05/12

      Nothing wrong with the move. The rule change I would say is make sure the defenders can’t catch the ball in the downward arc of the shot. That makes it too easy.

      I don’t understand why more netball players don’t use a jump shot. they already have a 3ft advantage take more advantage and get off the ground.

      But then I also believe there shot not be more than 4 passes end to end.

      Reply

    • Snorks says:

      02:21pm | 30/05/12

      I am reasonably sure the rules say you have to have (at least) 1 foot on the ground.

    • laura says:

      06:16pm | 30/05/12

      Snorks, you are just not allowed to put the foot back down once it leaves the ground before you throw the ball. Nothing to stop you jumping, just have to get rid of the ball before you land.

      The stepping rule is the most dangerous thing about netball, no other sport do you have to stop so suddenly. However it is what makes netball netball.

      4 passes end to end, lol, that would be like netball League. However it would be a real disadvantage for the little kids who can’t lob.

    • Caedrel says:

      02:06pm | 31/05/12

      A jump shot on the same spot rules that player out of going for the rebound if they miss; a jump shot towards the goal runs the risk of landing on the defender and having your goal disallowed for contacting them. A jump shot itself is well within the rules. Sometimes you see a goal shooter get the ball while unattended in the circle and they’ll do a lay up. They just have to be careful not to touch the net or ring itself, which is illegal

    • Blind Freddy says:

      09:20am | 30/05/12

      This issue must be at the very tippy-top of the post-materialist hierarchy of wants.

      Reply

    • Pieman says:

      09:24am | 30/05/12

      But it does not have to be athletic or require precision timing.  A strong defender could lift a light defender (perhaps even sit here on her shoulder)and keep her there for minutes at a time - they don’t even have to move, just stay next to the post.  And it would be impossible to score against.

      Basketball responded to the almost-identical problem of super-sized players being able to block shots by banning it.  Netbalp MUST do the same.

      Reply

    • Markus says:

      10:41am | 30/05/12

      I don’t see why it needs banning at all.
      While this would be a useful tactic in some situations, there are only two defenders allowed in the circle, so using one of the defenders to lift the other leaves the other opposition shooter completely unmarked.
      Even the video shows that you can’t defend both sides of the ring at the same time using this technique.

    • Tim says:

      11:19am | 30/05/12

      Marcus,
      with some thought and the right player selection you definitely could defend the entire ring with this method.
      I agree with Pieman, just introduce goal tending and be done with it.

    • wolf says:

      03:05pm | 30/05/12

      Tim the sight of someone even attempting the 2 player megawoman super defender would be ludicrous and awesome.  It would also be extremely impractical if not impossible to implement.  Remember you need to be 3 feet away from the ballcarrier.  You cant permacamp the ring because a pass to the (unmarked) player under the ring will force you out, causing megawoman to wobble and probably stumble.

    • Izzy says:

      10:55pm | 31/05/12

      Wolf is right! also the movement requires better body conditioning, better athleticism from the one being lifted as the impact takes a toll - try elevating that high continuously for a whole quarter, let alone a game.  It’s not as easy as everyone thinks it is.  As a Nationals Men’s and Mixed Netballer, we see people (mainly guys) who goal-tend on their own accord, as a shooter you learn to combat this with screens, high arch shots which are dropped into the back of the hoop, or take the space under the hoop where goal-tending cannot be performed successfully.  It just means you have to be clever as a shooter and up your game, it’s easily combated..  The Tactixs employed screens during their game with the Mystics and only lost by one.

      Also, if you add in the goal tending rule, then the maneuver can still be used in the ascend of the ball/shot.  If you take away team assistance, then this affects the whole court, cause screens, players holding a team mate back in D etc all use a team mate to prevail.

    • Smidgeling says:

      09:32am | 30/05/12

      “Hoisting another player up in the air enhances their performance unfairly. It’s cheating.”

      Excuse me, Elaine? If it isn’t against the rules it cannot be cheating. Look it up in the dictionary.

      Next you’ll be telling us that teams who are physically fitter and train harder are cheating. Oh no, they’re better at intercepting the ball in a manner that’s within the rules- they MUST be cheating.

      The entire concept of sport puts people at risk of injury, but people still play. The reason most teams don’t perform this tactic is because they don’t get the chance or aren’t good enough.

      Reply

    • Admiral Ackbar says:

      11:15am | 30/05/12

      Not cheating, but I don’t understand why they need to do it. It’s not like the netball ring is very high to begin with for this sort of thing to actually be of any benefit. Can not netball players actually jump so that their hand is above the already low ring? Seems like it would be more of a waste of time than anything beneficial.

    • Mez says:

      09:38am | 30/05/12

      This is a terribly written article.  Where do you even get your information?  This was not the first game won by a New Zealand team in the ANZ Championship this year, it was the first game won by a New Zealand team over an Australian team.  Since the Mystics now sit at the top of the table, you innaccurate reporting really miscontrues the success of the Mystics team.

      I agree with the commenters above, if you really love netball this is a great thing for the game!  These players are professional athletes, if they are able to pull this move off, let them!  Perhaps a rule can be brought in where it is not allowed in junior ranks but once we are at a professional level there is no reason it shouldn’t exist.  Netball is already an exciting, fast paced game and this will just make it more so and continue to showcase the incredible athleticism of netball players.  I have heard many interviews with some of Australia’s most respected players and they all think it is awesome.

      Reply

    • Dave says:

      10:03am | 30/05/12

      Have a look under the title of the article and see what it has been “filed” under. It’s been filed under “violence” amongst other terms. What a load of rubbish.

      The author of this article also quotes someone as saying the tactic is in the rules and then later declares it’s not in the rules. Which is it?

      The author also makes a note that the activity puts people at risk of “fracturing a muscle”. Really?

      Repeatedly saying it’s cheating doesn’t make it so.

      A very poor article.

      Reply

    • Smidgeling says:

      11:25am | 30/05/12

      “Repeatedly saying it’s cheating doesn’t make it so.”

      Cheating is defined as an action that contravenes the rules of the situation, be it a sport or otherwise. If this hoisting is not against the rules it cannot be cheating.

      Calling a valid and legal tactic cheating is tantamount to saying “they aren’t allowed to be better than us”.

    • Emma says:

      04:39pm | 30/05/12

      actually it says fracture a bone or strain a muscle. if you could read properly you would see that.

    • Dave says:

      06:56pm | 30/05/12

      Actually Emma, the article has been edited to cover the mistake up. If you could read properly, you’d see I’m not the only to pick up on that error. Brad picked it up as well. Say hi to Elaine for me.

    • Baloo says:

      10:38am | 30/05/12

      On the subject of netball, and I guess other non-contact sports, does anybody else get pissed off when these sports try to advertise themselves as such: “You think netball is a non-contact sport?..” *footage of netball players giving cheap shot elbows to the face and tripping each other up behind the umpires back* “Pffffft, think again!”

      I don’t know about you guys but that kind of footage puts me off a sport, it’s dirty tactics and is not fun to watch. I don’t like contact sports because a player is getting hurt from a tackle.. a good tackle takes more skill then some people realise and can change the enitre game.

      I even saw this type of advert for the tour de france once, but with just footage of racers slipping over.. I’m not going to watch cycling for the off chance a rider might have his face torn off on the road.. I hope other people feel the same way..

      Reply

    • Markus says:

      12:21pm | 30/05/12

      This.
      Showing incidences where the contact is in direct breach of the rules of netball as some evidence of the level of contact is about as relevant as using footage of a soccer riot to prove how tough football is.

    • Emma says:

      04:16pm | 30/05/12

      Hmm it’s a bit hard for the game not to be a contact sport. When playing you aren’t really concerned where the defending team is - you’re eyes are on the ball and getting it down the other end. It’s not like you are contacting on purpose (well 99% of the time you aren’t) but when you have 14 players on a court, all focussed on getting the ball down their end…it happens.

      Are you saying we should just sit at home and watch reality tv - because swimmers can drown, gymnasts can fall off things etc etc

    • thomasr says:

      12:15pm | 30/05/12

      “... it’s innovative and exciting for avid sport fans”

      Reason enough to keep it in. Women’s sports struggle enough for wider coverage and as soon as something interesting comes along, it’s banned. Better still it’s actually in the game as opposed to say volleyballers being forced to wear ever shrinking costumes to keep people (read: men) interested.

      Reply

    • David Johnson says:

      12:19pm | 30/05/12

      GOALTENDING!!!

      Reply

    • Porter says:

      01:11pm | 30/05/12

      This reminds me of the scene from Semi Pro involving the alley-oop.  Foul, no two fouls… people can’t just go lifting other people in the air like that.  HAHA

      Also the argument and the sport it’s self is BS.

      Reply

    • Kassandra says:

      01:13pm | 30/05/12

      My teenage son who plays rugby as a second-rower does this manoeuvre all the time in lineouts. He assures me it’s not difficult and he says he would be delighted to teach the girls how to do it anytime. He seemed to have a particularly big smile on his face when he said that.

      Reply

    • Markus says:

      02:30pm | 30/05/12

      Yep, every forward bar the frontrowers (piggies) is expected to be able to jump as well as lift. With the right technique you can easily support even the players much heavier than yourself.

      You’ve got a smart boy there. It was only years later I had the epiphany that my skills would have been put to better use training the netballers, volleyballers and cheerleaders smile

    • Victoria says:

      01:15pm | 30/05/12

      This is perfectly acceptable.

      Reply

    • Rossco says:

      01:53pm | 30/05/12

      Ban Netball. It’s the only answer.

      Reply

    • Pea Tear Gryphon says:

      02:11pm | 30/05/12

      “These gals sure do make it look difficult. But is having this minor skill worth being so ugly? That’s for the fan to decide”

      Reply

    • Simon says:

      03:51pm | 30/05/12

      Frankly anything that increases the profile of netball can only be a good thing, surely.  I’d like to do a poll of how many people have ever heard of the “Northern Mystics”. 

      Actually, no I wouldn’t.

      Reply

    • M says:

      04:18pm | 30/05/12

      I think I used to party with them.

      Oh wait, they’re a netball team, right?

    • Anubis says:

      04:02pm | 30/05/12

      seriously guys - it’s Netball - who gives a toss? (I agree with Rossco who posted at 1:53 - “Ban Netball. It’s the only answer”

      Reply

    • Emma says:

      04:21pm | 30/05/12

      Amy Steel (Queensland Firebirds) mentioned on ABC radio last week how difficult doing that lift would be. Theres no doubt the Mystics have been training at it for weeks, if not months, to be able to get it right.

      Do you really think that team managers, coaches, doctors, physios and CEO’s, let alone another player, put their team at risk if they knew they couldn’t do it.

      It’s in the rules - so leave it. It’s not as if every single player is now going to come out and start practising it - christ, it’s hard enough to teach junior players how far three feet is and how to defend whilst standing on one foot, let alone teaching one of them to lift the other.

      Reply

    • Jess says:

      05:36pm | 30/05/12

      I agree with the majority of the world! Its in the rules so get over it! Netball always has been and always will be a rough sport, thats never going to change and the amazing “chairlift” certainly isn’t going to change that.
      Is it the fact that a NEW ZEALAND team pulled it off first that has you buzzing like its the worst thing in the world?? You and all other Australians or anyone else that has a problem with it need to find something better to talk about!

      Reply

    • Izzy says:

      01:53pm | 31/05/12

      WOW! I actually can’t believe I just read that… this article just personifies your ignorance with regards to Netball at an Elite, Club and school level.  Netball, like many other sports is full of injuries and a lot of that is cause by “contact” too! What Netball have you been watching to make such a statement??

      Reply
 
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