Community Netball Makes Digital History

Hawke’s Bay, 25 June 2020 - For the first time in New Zealand, community netball games were scored digitally last weekend instead of using a pencil and score card. Hawke’s Bay Netball Centre and Invercargill Netball Centre were the first to adopt a mobile app for the live scoring of games.

Tina Arlidge, General Manager of Hawke’s Bay Netball Centre, stated “We run hundreds of games for thousands of players across all grades. Our new Netball Scoring App is literally a game changer. Scores now update automatically goal by goal live back to our website.”

The live scoring technology is provided by Sportsground Ltd through Sporty.co.nz which also provides the player registration and competition management systems used by the majority of netball centres throughout New Zealand. Scores entered into the Netball Scoring App update in real time back to the platform.

Hayley Sanford, Manager of Invercargill Netball Centre, agrees the debut of the mobile technology went well.

“We estimate the App is saving our Centre alone around 8 - 10 hours of admin time every week. It also lets coaches and team managers avoid having to write player names on the old score cards,” says Sanford.

The mobile app is fully integrated with Sporty.co.nz so player names and game data appears for each team’s coach without needing to be entered manually. Coaches simply set which players take the court for a game. The app also supports the management of substitutions.

Mike Purchas, CEO of Sportsground Ltd, said “This brings the sport of netball in New Zealand to the forefront of game day technology. Some people doubted that community netball could go digital. The hundreds of people who scored their games live last weekend dispelled that myth.”

Sanford states, “Our Centre committee was bold in supporting this massive shift in process on game day. It went so well that in hindsight I don’t know what we were worried about”.

The success experienced by Hawke’s Bay and Invercargill has given other netball centres confidence, with a number hoping it’s not too late to adopt it for their shortened 2020 winter season.

“Watch this space. There is plenty more to come”, says Purchas.

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