IFNA announce name & rule change for World Netball Series

The International Federation of Netball Associations (IFNA) has announced that this year's Netball World Series will showcase a new look with new rules and a new name.

The tournament which will now be called the Fast5 Netball World Series, is scheduled to take place at the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand from November 9 to 11.

The name Fast5 reflects the innovative rule changes with on-court team numbers reduced from 7 players to 5 and three goal scoring zones.

The game, which is a shorter version of the original one-hour format, was introduced over three years ago, to boost the popularity ofthe sport.

The tabulation of goals was changed, as attackers could stay from outside the shooting circle and some parts in it, to score 3 and 2 points respectively.

The top six netball teams in the IFNA rankings -- Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, England, Malawi and South Africa -- will compete in the new Fast5 format.

The changes were announced by IFNA President Jamaica’s Molly Rhone who said she was delighted with the new look and format, and also thanked the New Zealand government for its investment of $600,000 dollars in the event over the next three years.