File photo credit: Daniel Quek/SportSGThe netball league in Singapore consists of semi-professional players who have domestic and international competition experience.
The Netball Super League consists of six teams:
Bedok Kings Vipers
Blaze Dolphins
M1 Sunfish (21&U Players)
Magic Marlins
Mission Mannas
Sneakers Stingrays
Founded in 2000 and governed by Netball Singapore, the league is played over a five-month period, with each team playing another team at least three times during the season. This results in a 15-round netball tournament developed to cater to elite players in Singapore.
In 2013, Magic Marlins beat Mission Mannas at the Toa Payoh Sports Hall to claim the S$10,000 prize. That was their fourth straight victory in the season. They had met three previous times in the league.
League development
Netball matches in the Netball Super League are usually held over the weekend. This gives players time to train four days a week before having a day-off on Friday to rest ahead of match days. The players would train from Monday to Thursday. Training can consist of strength training twice a week and court training twice a week, as well as pure fitness training twice a week.
Since 2010, Netball Singapore has been paying to bring in a foreign player for each of the six teams competing in the league. Each year, NS spends about S$30,000 on the scheme, which was introduced by former national coach Kate Carpenter. The visiting players stay in Singapore for around five weeks, with the aim of improving the standard of local players and gaining exposure for themselves. This is due to the variety of playing styles that foreign players bring into the local games.
The S$30,000 scheme covers the players’ air fare, accommodation at the ABC Premium Hostel along Owen Road and allowances of a few hundred dollars per week for each player. Foreign players in the league in 2013 included three from Fiji and three from Namibia. In 2013, Singapore was ranked 21st in the world in terms of netball world rankings.
Players
The Netball Super League is made up of semi-professional players who have competed both domestically and internationally. One of them, Chen Huifen, who is the Goal Attack/Goal Shooter for the Blaze Dolphins, is a Physical Education teacher by day. Her sister, Chen Huiyan, was a former Goal Shooter for the national team, who retired from active competition after the World Netball Championships in 2011. Another player, Shelby Koh, who plays the Wing Attack/Centre positions for M1 Sunfish, has represented Singapore at several international events, including leading the Singapore team at the World Youth Netball Championships 2013 held in Glasgow, Scotland.
To receive the latest updates on the happenings in the Singapore sports scene, or to find out more about some of the latest programmes on offer at ActiveSG, like our Facebook page here.