Netball Superleague
Upcoming season or competition:  2019 Netball Superleague season | |
 | |
| Sport | Netball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2005 |
| Inaugural season | 2005–06 |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Most recent champion(s) | Wasps Netball (2nd title) |
| Most titles | Team Bath (5 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | Sky Sports (UK) |
| Official website | www.netballsl.com |
The Vitality Netball Superleague (VNSL) is the elite netball competition in the United Kingdom. The league, which usually runs from February to July, features ten teams from across England, Wales and Scotland.
Contents
1 History
2 Broadcasting
3 Teams
3.1 Current teams
3.2 Former teams
4 References
5 External links
History
Netball has a long history in the United Kingdom, though until 2005 the sport had no elite, semi-professional competition at a national level, with local leagues being the predominant form of competition.[1] The amateur nature of the sport domestically differed sharply from the trans-tasman ANZ Championship competition operating in Australia and New Zealand. The local competition setup arguably had a deleterious impact on the national team, which had slipped to fourth in the world and was not meeting the standard and rigours of international competition.[1] In this context, England Netball began overseeing significant organisational and structural changes to the sport, which included the establishment of a new franchise-based national netball league which could increase player standards and provide weekly elite competition.[2] This eventually led to the launch of the Netball Superleague (NSL) in October 2005, which culminated in Team Bath winning the first final in June 2006.[3]
The eight inaugural teams who were successful in their application to join the league were Brunel Hurricanes, Celtic Dragons, Galleria Mavericks (renamed Hertfordshire Mavericks in 2009), Leeds Carnegie (renamed Yorkshire Jets in 2011), Loughborough Lightning, Manchester Thunder, Team Bath and Team Northumbria.[2] The Glasgow Wildcats were brought into the league in 2008/09 though removed in 2011/12 and the Brunel Hurricanes re-located and became the Surrey Storm in 2009/10.[2][4] By late 2016 the league had expanded to 10 teams and a Glasgow-based team had been reinstated in the competition, the Scottish Sirens.[5] Two other teams, Coventry-based Wasps and Worcester-Gloucester based Severn Stars were included, though the lowly Yorkshire Jets were removed from the league.[5] At the end of the 2018 season, Team Northumbria were removed from the league and replaced by London-based franchise London Pulse.[6]
The league has been dominated by a handful of teams at different stages. The most successful team is Team Bath, who won four premierships in five seasons (2005-06, 2006-07, 2008-09 and 2009-10), before claiming a fifth title in 2013. Both Hertfordshire Mavericks and Manchester Thunder have achieved two titles in intervening years, whilst Surrey Storm and Wasps Netball have claimed back-to-back premierships (the Storm in 2015 and 2016 and the Wasps in 2017 and 2018).
Vitality are the current title sponsor of the competition.[7]
Broadcasting
Sky Sports broadcast some matches in the competition to its television audience. England Netball signed a four-year deal with the company in November 2016.[8]
Teams
Current teams
| Team | Base | Est. | First NSL season | Championships | Most recent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Celtic Dragons | Cardiff, Wales | 2005 | 2006 | 0 | |
 London Pulse | London | 2018 | 2019 | 0 | |
 Loughborough Lightning | Loughborough, Leicestershire | 2005 | 2006 | 0 | |
 Manchester Thunder | Manchester | 2005 | 2006 | 2 | 2014 (2014) |
 Saracens Mavericks | Hatfield, Hertfordshire | 2005 | 2006 | 2 | 2011 (2011) |
 Severn Stars | Worcester, Worcestershire | 2016 | 2017 | 0 | |
 Sirens Netball | Glasgow | 2016 | 2017 | 0 | |
 Surrey Storm | Guildford, Surrey | 2005 | 2006 | 2 | 2016 (2016) |
 Team Bath | Bath, Somerset | 2005 | 2006 | 5 | 2013 (2013) |
 Wasps Netball | Coventry, West Midlands | 2016 | 2017 | 2 | 2018 (2018) |
Former teams
| Team | Base | Est. | First NSL season | Last NSL season | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Glasgow Wildcats | Glasgow | 2008 | 2009 | 2012 | 0 |
Yorkshire Jets | Yorkshire | 2005 | 2005 | 2016 | 0 |
Team Northumbria | Newcastle upon Tyne | 2005 | 2005 | 2018 | 0 |
References
^ ab "The Netball Super League: Origins". netballfun.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ abc Dr. Louise Mansfield & Dr. Lara Killick (1 January 2012). "The UK Netball Superleague: A Case Study of Franchising in Elite Women's Sport" (PDF). Brunel University, School of Sport and Education, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK; and University of the Pacific, Department of Health, Exercise and Sport Science, Stockton, CA.
^ "All England Netball Association Limited Annual Report (2005 - 2006)" (PDF).Refer to pp. 3 of the report.
^ "Brunel Hurricanes become Surrey Storm". Netball Scoop Archive. 4 September 2009.
^ ab "Netball Superleague: Three new teams added, but Yorkshire Jets left out". BBC Sport. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
^ "Netball Superleague: London Pulse to replace Team Northumbria in 2019". BBC Sport. 10 July 2018.
^ "About Us". Netball Superleague Website.
^ "Sky Sports sign four-year deal with England Netball". Sky Sports. 27 November 2016.
External links
- Official Website
- Sky Sports Netball Homepage
