Please find below answers to common questions or issues some of our teams have asked/faced:
The Netball France Ligue Nationale 2023/2024 season will run from October 28th 2023 to June 30th 2024, and matches may be arranged by clubs on any dates in this period. Competing teams are not required to play all other teams or participate in all match events.
When a club has a venue available and is willing to host other teams for matches, they submit a proposal for a match event on the League Admin Portal. All registered teams are then invited to the event, and can apply to attend if they are able.
This is to allow maximum flexibility, both for clubs with venues to host matches who often have little influence on or notice of when it can be available, and for teams competing, to be able to tailor the matches they attend to the requirements of their players.
All proposed match events will be shown, together with the teams attending, on a league calendar on the League Admin Portal and on the events page on the Netball France website.
The format of a match day or event can be different each time, depending on the number of teams attending and their travel requirements. Sometimes it might be a singular match, a full day event with multiple matches, or a full weekend event across multiple days. However, typically each team will play 2-3 matches during the day – all matches in the Netball France Ligue Nationale are 4 x 12 minute quarters, to allow for best flexibility when trying to fit multiple matches in for travelling teams and ensure consistency on the Table.
The League Admin Portal is a new tool we’re trialling for this season – a shared online spreadsheet to allow teams to propose match events, see details of upcoming matches and apply to attend them, all in one central location. If you have any problems accessing or using the Admin Portal, please e-mail ligues@netballfrance.com. Any feedback is appreciated!
No problem! Match events will be scheduled regularly throughout the season, and you are free to only attend events when you have a team available.
Entering a team into the league does not commit you to playing a minimum number of matches, or indeed any matches at all! Registration for the league will simply mean you are added to the group that receives match event information, and awards you the right to apply to enter/compete in match events as and when your team is able to.
If you are interested in entering a team or hosting a match, please e-mail ligues@netballfrance.com to register your details. The details we will need are:
If entering more than one team:
Teams may enter at any time during the season, but we encourage you to register early so you receive information about any planned match events. Registering for the league does not oblige you to attend matches, so if you may be interested in playing, you have nothing to lose by registering!
Once a club/team has registered, further information will be sent to them as required, including event invites (please ensure you add ligues@netballfrance.com to your contacts to avoid any mail being sent to junk/spam)
You will receive an e-mail to confirm your registration, and give you access to the League Admin Portal, where you can submit proposals for match events and apply to attend matches. All other teams will also be alerted that a new team has joined the league, and there may be posts across the Netball France social media.
Then, it’s time to register any events you would like to host, and apply for any events you would like to attend – the court is waiting for you!
Since every team may play a different number of matches, the league works by averaging the points gained over the number of matches played, so as not to penalise teams who are not able to attend as many matches.
Competing teams acquire points depending on their match results, as detailed below. These points are divided by the number of matches played to calculate an average points “rating”. All teams who compete in matches will achieve a rating.
Teams will then be ranked according to their rating. In order that the rankings are meaningful, before being listed in the rankings teams must play a minimum of 2 matches, one of which must be a qualifying match, i.e. a match against a team outside their region (this is defined as a match against an opposition team whose home base is >200km from your team’s home base).
Until a team has played the required matches and qualifying match, their rating will be listed below the rankings table as a “team without ranking”.
Netball clubs in France are spread across the whole country and many have no local opposition to play against, and/or little access to local facilities in which to play.
The intent of this rule is NOT to penalise these teams. It is to encourage clubs to host other teams where it’s possible to do so, and to travel to other teams when they can, to provide more match play opportunities for everyone. It is also to avoid mini-local leagues occurring within the national league, where teams close to each other only ever play each other. In order to qualify for the national table, teams must play against other opposition, to provide more meaningful ranking results, and to encourage more match opportunities for everyone.
**Please note, it is not required to travel outside your region to play a qualifying match. A qualifying match may be played by hosting a team from outside your region at your own venue, or by attending a nearby match event that is also attended by teams outside your region. This rule is intended to encourage a variety of matches between different teams across France, not to penalise teams who are unable to travel.
That’s no problem! You do NOT have to travel outside your region to play a qualifying match. A qualifying match (against a team based more than 200km from your home base) may be played by hosting a team from outside your region at your own venue, or by attending a nearby match event that is also attended by teams outside your region. This rule is intended to encourage a variety of matches between different teams across France, not to penalise teams who are unable to travel.
Bear in mind first of all that when entering the league there is no ongoing commitment to play regular matches on set dates. It’s perfectly possible to qualify and achieve a ranking in the league table by attending or hosting just one match day event, and many teams will only attend 2-4 events during the season (playing 2-3 matches at each event). There is no requirement to enter any further events after your first one, unless you want to! So if you have enough players to enter one match event, you have enough players to enter the league!
Entering a team into the league does not commit you to playing a minimum number of matches, or indeed any matches at all! Registration for the league will simply mean you are added to the group that receives match event information, and awards you the right to apply to enter/compete in match events as and when your team is able to. We’d encourage you to register for the league to ensure you receive all the information about the matches available – there’s no obligation to attend any of them, and no upfront fee to register.
However, if your club has a few members who would like to enter, but not enough to form a team, there are a few other options:
No problem! We really want to encourage clubs to enter multiple teams whenever they can as this gives more court time for everyone, and more possibilities for teams to play other teams of a similar level and therefore have more competitive matches. If you have players who are willing and able to play, we want to let them play wherever possible!
If your club has enough players available to enter a second (or third!) team to a match event, at any point in the season, you may enter a new team at that point, and move some players to the new team. You will be asked at that point to specify which is the “A” team and which is the “B” team. Don’t worry, this does not commit you to always entering two teams, or leave you short of players for future matches as B team players can play up to the A team as many times as needed.
If you have slightly more than one squad available, and you’re unsure how the player eligibility rules will impact your club if you enter a second team, please feel free to get in touch at ligues@netballfrance.com to discuss!
**Please note the aim of this change is to encourage and enable the flexibility for clubs to enter multiple teams of varying abilities, even with limited numbers of players, in order to provide more opportunities for appropriate level match play for a larger number of teams. We are taking a certain level of trust that larger clubs will use this system to encourage more match play for less experienced/able players, and not manipulate the system to gain a performance advantage by using “ringers” for certain matches. If the Leagues Work Group suspects the system is being abused, they reserve the right to deny playing up/down requests, and to adjust these rules as required.
Don’t worry! The aim of the rules is not to dictate how clubs organise teams internally. It is to be as flexible as possible, to allow as many people and teams to play as possible, while preventing teams from using “ringers” to gain a performance advantage. If your club has entered multiple teams, and they are not split by ability, just arbitrarily assign them A & B – you can assign players between the teams as works best for your club.
**Please note the aim of this change is to encourage and enable the flexibility for clubs to enter multiple teams of varying abilities, even with limited numbers of players, in order to provide more opportunities for appropriate level match play for a larger number of teams. We are taking a certain level of trust that larger clubs will use this system to encourage more match play for less experienced/able players, and not manipulate the system to gain a performance advantage by using “ringers” for certain matches. If the Leagues Work Group suspects the system is being abused, they reserve the right to deny playing up/down requests, and to adjust these rules as required.
If you’re a netballer in France and you’d like to play but:
You can register for the Unaffiliated Players database here: https://forms.gle/b9ZMRJujdoqheJFL7. This is a stand-alone contact sheet allowing interested players to make contact with each other and discuss forming a team.
Please note, the Leagues Work Group will not be organising any ad-hoc or invitational teams ourselves, simply putting unaffiliated players in touch with each other to facilitate creating and entering teams such teams. Once you have filled out the form, you will be provided access to the database of other unaffiliated players. Please get in touch with and liaise with any other players to establish commitment, playing positions etc. for forming a team. We are however happy to support newly created teams with the admin of entering, sorting out insurance etc. – please get in touch with any questions at ligues@netballfrance.com!
Nothing upfront! We know teams may be unsure how much they can commit in advance, so we want to encourage you to register for the league without financial commitment and allow you to play based on your involvement.
When you play matches, you will be charged a small match fee per player:
Matches against a Netball France Development Hub team are free of charge to the opposing team.
The total match fees for your team for a match event (calculated based on match team sheets) will be invoiced to your team/club after the event via e-mail. Invoices will usually be sent out once a month.
You do not need to bring cash to the match, and you do not need to give your Netball France match fees to the host club. You should pay match fees directly to Netball France when invoiced. How you arrange collection or payment of these match fees within your own club is of course up to you!
Any profit from the league will be reinvested into the league and/or go towards Netball France initiatives such as umpiring training, coaching programmes, the schools programme, etc. Umpiring training and development is a key priority for the league in order to improve standards of match play and safety of all participants, and this is a key priority for profit from league fees.
No problem! Match umpires do not need to be qualified at this stage. We expect that as Netball France introduces umpire training programmes, in the future we will require league umpires to at least be part of a training programme, but that’s for the future! For now, to get everyone playing, we will use unqualified umpires. All teams and players in the league will need to be aware and accept that this means you may come across variable standards of umpiring, as less experienced umpires learn and gain confidence. As with all netball competition, we expect all players, coaches and spectators to show respect for the umpires and abide by their decisions, regardless of the qualification status of the umpire.
Each team is required to arrange an umpire for their own team’s matches. You may use one of your own players if they are not playing in the match, swap umpires with another team and umpire each others matches, or bring in an external umpire (any costs associated with this are to be covered and arranged within your own team).
Host clubs may not charge visiting teams for umpiring unless they are providing umpires for all matches.
No problem! We appreciate some players would prefer to play single-sex netball. Host clubs will indicate on the match event details if the event is open to mixed or female-only teams, so teams can choose not to attend mixed events.
Similarly, depending on the teams attending, it may be possible to only play all-female teams, even at a match event that includes mixed teams (as teams don’t have to play every other team at a match event) – discuss this with the host club if interested, to see if it’s feasible.
The Netball France Ligue Nationale 2023/2024 season will run from October 28th 2023 to June 30th 2024, and matches may be arranged by clubs on any dates in this period. Competing teams are not required to play all other teams or participate in all match events.
When a club has a venue available and is willing to host other teams for matches, they submit a proposal for a match event on the League Admin Portal. All registered teams are then invited to the event, and can apply to attend if they are able.
This is to allow maximum flexibility, both for clubs with venues to host matches who often have little influence on or notice of when it can be available, and for teams competing, to be able to tailor the matches they attend to the requirements of their players.
All proposed match events will be shown, together with the teams attending, on a league calendar on the League Admin Portal and on the events page on the Netball France website.
The format of a match day or event can be different each time, depending on the number of teams attending and their travel requirements. Sometimes it might be a singular match, a full day event with multiple matches, or a full weekend event across multiple days. However, typically each team will play 2-3 matches during the day – all matches in the Netball France Ligue Nationale are 4 x 12 minute quarters, to allow for best flexibility when trying to fit multiple matches in for travelling teams and ensure consistency on the Table.
The League Admin Portal is a new tool we’re trialling for this season – a shared online spreadsheet to allow teams to propose match events, see details of upcoming matches and apply to attend them, all in one central location. If you have any problems accessing or using the Admin Portal, please e-mail ligues@netballfrance.com. Any feedback is appreciated!
No problem! Match events will be scheduled regularly throughout the season, and you are free to only attend events when you have a team available.
Entering a team into the league does not commit you to playing a minimum number of matches, or indeed any matches at all! Registration for the league will simply mean you are added to the group that receives match event information, and awards you the right to apply to enter/compete in match events as and when your team is able to.
If you are interested in entering a team or hosting a match, please e-mail ligues@netballfrance.com to register your details. The details we will need are:
If entering more than one team:
Teams may enter at any time during the season, but we encourage you to register early so you receive information about any planned match events. Registering for the league does not oblige you to attend matches, so if you may be interested in playing, you have nothing to lose by registering!
Once a club/team has registered, further information will be sent to them as required, including event invites (please ensure you add ligues@netballfrance.com to your contacts to avoid any mail being sent to junk/spam)
You will receive an e-mail to confirm your registration, and give you access to the League Admin Portal, where you can submit proposals for match events and apply to attend matches. All other teams will also be alerted that a new team has joined the league, and there may be posts across the Netball France social media.
Then, it’s time to register any events you would like to host, and apply for any events you would like to attend – the court is waiting for you!
Since every team may play a different number of matches, the league works by averaging the points gained over the number of matches played, so as not to penalise teams who are not able to attend as many matches.
Competing teams acquire points depending on their match results, as detailed below. These points are divided by the number of matches played to calculate an average points “rating”. All teams who compete in matches will achieve a rating.
Teams will then be ranked according to their rating. In order that the rankings are meaningful, before being listed in the rankings teams must play a minimum of 2 matches, one of which must be a qualifying match, i.e. a match against a team outside their region (this is defined as a match against an opposition team whose home base is >200km from your team’s home base).
Until a team has played the required matches and qualifying match, their rating will be listed below the rankings table as a “team without ranking”.
Netball clubs in France are spread across the whole country and many have no local opposition to play against, and/or little access to local facilities in which to play.
The intent of this rule is NOT to penalise these teams. It is to encourage clubs to host other teams where it’s possible to do so, and to travel to other teams when they can, to provide more match play opportunities for everyone. It is also to avoid mini-local leagues occurring within the national league, where teams close to each other only ever play each other. In order to qualify for the national table, teams must play against other opposition, to provide more meaningful ranking results, and to encourage more match opportunities for everyone.
**Please note, it is not required to travel outside your region to play a qualifying match. A qualifying match may be played by hosting a team from outside your region at your own venue, or by attending a nearby match event that is also attended by teams outside your region. This rule is intended to encourage a variety of matches between different teams across France, not to penalise teams who are unable to travel.
That’s no problem! You do NOT have to travel outside your region to play a qualifying match. A qualifying match (against a team based more than 200km from your home base) may be played by hosting a team from outside your region at your own venue, or by attending a nearby match event that is also attended by teams outside your region. This rule is intended to encourage a variety of matches between different teams across France, not to penalise teams who are unable to travel.
Bear in mind first of all that when entering the league there is no ongoing commitment to play regular matches on set dates. It’s perfectly possible to qualify and achieve a ranking in the league table by attending or hosting just one match day event, and many teams will only attend 2-4 events during the season (playing 2-3 matches at each event). There is no requirement to enter any further events after your first one, unless you want to! So if you have enough players to enter one match event, you have enough players to enter the league!
Entering a team into the league does not commit you to playing a minimum number of matches, or indeed any matches at all! Registration for the league will simply mean you are added to the group that receives match event information, and awards you the right to apply to enter/compete in match events as and when your team is able to. We’d encourage you to register for the league to ensure you receive all the information about the matches available – there’s no obligation to attend any of them, and no upfront fee to register.
However, if your club has a few members who would like to enter, but not enough to form a team, there are a few other options:
No problem! We really want to encourage clubs to enter multiple teams whenever they can as this gives more court time for everyone, and more possibilities for teams to play other teams of a similar level and therefore have more competitive matches. If you have players who are willing and able to play, we want to let them play wherever possible!
If your club has enough players available to enter a second (or third!) team to a match event, at any point in the season, you may enter a new team at that point, and move some players to the new team. You will be asked at that point to specify which is the “A” team and which is the “B” team. Don’t worry, this does not commit you to always entering two teams, or leave you short of players for future matches as B team players can play up to the A team as many times as needed.
If you have slightly more than one squad available, and you’re unsure how the player eligibility rules will impact your club if you enter a second team, please feel free to get in touch at ligues@netballfrance.com to discuss!
**Please note the aim of this change is to encourage and enable the flexibility for clubs to enter multiple teams of varying abilities, even with limited numbers of players, in order to provide more opportunities for appropriate level match play for a larger number of teams. We are taking a certain level of trust that larger clubs will use this system to encourage more match play for less experienced/able players, and not manipulate the system to gain a performance advantage by using “ringers” for certain matches. If the Leagues Work Group suspects the system is being abused, they reserve the right to deny playing up/down requests, and to adjust these rules as required.
Don’t worry! The aim of the rules is not to dictate how clubs organise teams internally. It is to be as flexible as possible, to allow as many people and teams to play as possible, while preventing teams from using “ringers” to gain a performance advantage. If your club has entered multiple teams, and they are not split by ability, just arbitrarily assign them A & B – you can assign players between the teams as works best for your club.
**Please note the aim of this change is to encourage and enable the flexibility for clubs to enter multiple teams of varying abilities, even with limited numbers of players, in order to provide more opportunities for appropriate level match play for a larger number of teams. We are taking a certain level of trust that larger clubs will use this system to encourage more match play for less experienced/able players, and not manipulate the system to gain a performance advantage by using “ringers” for certain matches. If the Leagues Work Group suspects the system is being abused, they reserve the right to deny playing up/down requests, and to adjust these rules as required.
If you’re a netballer in France and you’d like to play but:
You can register for the Unaffiliated Players database here: https://forms.gle/b9ZMRJujdoqheJFL7. This is a stand-alone contact sheet allowing interested players to make contact with each other and discuss forming a team.
Please note, the Leagues Work Group will not be organising any ad-hoc or invitational teams ourselves, simply putting unaffiliated players in touch with each other to facilitate creating and entering teams such teams. Once you have filled out the form, you will be provided access to the database of other unaffiliated players. Please get in touch with and liaise with any other players to establish commitment, playing positions etc. for forming a team. We are however happy to support newly created teams with the admin of entering, sorting out insurance etc. – please get in touch with any questions at ligues@netballfrance.com!
Nothing upfront! We know teams may be unsure how much they can commit in advance, so we want to encourage you to register for the league without financial commitment and allow you to play based on your involvement.
When you play matches, you will be charged a small match fee per player:
Matches against a Netball France Development Hub team are free of charge to the opposing team.
The total match fees for your team for a match event (calculated based on match team sheets) will be invoiced to your team/club after the event via e-mail. Invoices will usually be sent out once a month.
You do not need to bring cash to the match, and you do not need to give your Netball France match fees to the host club. You should pay match fees directly to Netball France when invoiced. How you arrange collection or payment of these match fees within your own club is of course up to you!
Any profit from the league will be reinvested into the league and/or go towards Netball France initiatives such as umpiring training, coaching programmes, the schools programme, etc. Umpiring training and development is a key priority for the league in order to improve standards of match play and safety of all participants, and this is a key priority for profit from league fees.
No problem! Match umpires do not need to be qualified at this stage. We expect that as Netball France introduces umpire training programmes, in the future we will require league umpires to at least be part of a training programme, but that’s for the future! For now, to get everyone playing, we will use unqualified umpires. All teams and players in the league will need to be aware and accept that this means you may come across variable standards of umpiring, as less experienced umpires learn and gain confidence. As with all netball competition, we expect all players, coaches and spectators to show respect for the umpires and abide by their decisions, regardless of the qualification status of the umpire.
Each team is required to arrange an umpire for their own team’s matches. You may use one of your own players if they are not playing in the match, swap umpires with another team and umpire each others matches, or bring in an external umpire (any costs associated with this are to be covered and arranged within your own team).
Host clubs may not charge visiting teams for umpiring unless they are providing umpires for all matches.
No problem! We appreciate some players would prefer to play single-sex netball. Host clubs will indicate on the match event details if the event is open to mixed or female-only teams, so teams can choose not to attend mixed events.
Similarly, depending on the teams attending, it may be possible to only play all-female teams, even at a match event that includes mixed teams (as teams don’t have to play every other team at a match event) – discuss this with the host club if interested, to see if it’s feasible.
