Sport Scoring SolutionsNetball scoring: the rules and a free app to keep score
Netball is one of the most played sports in South Africa, from primary school leagues to the Telkom Netball League. The score sheet is simple, one point per goal. But a scorer also has to keep the time, know whose centre pass it is and, often, record every shot by the Goal Shooter and Goal Attack. Our free netball scorer does all of that on one phone.
Watch: how to play netball
How a goal is scored
- Only the Goal Shooter (GS) and Goal Attack (GA) can score.
- The shot must be taken from inside the goal circle. A ball thrown from outside the circle, or by any other player, is not a goal.
- Each goal is worth one point. The exception is the Super Shot in some professional leagues (see below).
Match length and intervals
Under the World Netball rules, a match is four quarters of 15 minutes. There is a short interval between the first and second quarters and between the third and fourth, and a longer half-time interval. The 2024 rules set these at 4 minutes and 12 minutes. Teams change ends after every quarter. Schools, social leagues and junior netball often play shorter quarters or two halves, so the app lets you choose the number of periods and their length.
The centre pass
Play starts with a centre pass at the start of each quarter and after every goal. Centre passes alternate between the teams regardless of who scored. If your team scores from its own centre pass, the other team takes the next one. The toss decides who takes the first centre pass. The app shows a Centre pass marker on the team whose turn it is and moves it automatically after every goal. If a centre pass is taken by the wrong team, use Swap centre pass to correct it.
Extra time
When a match must have a winner, for example in a knockout, and scores are level at full time, the World Netball rules allow extra time. It is two halves of no more than 7 minutes each, with a short break and a change of ends. If the scores are still level, play continues until one team leads by two goals. The app offers these options when the last period ends with level scores. You can also simply record a draw.
The Super Shot
Some professional leagues, including Suncorp Super Netball in Australia and the Netball Super League in England, use a Super Shot. In the last five minutes of each quarter, a goal scored from the outer part of the circle (the "power zone") is worth two points. It is not part of the standard World Netball rules, so it is switched off by default in the app. Switch it on in the setup if your competition uses it, and 2-point buttons will appear during the final five minutes of each quarter.
Shooting statistics
Coaches love shooting percentages. With shooter tracking on, the app gives you Goal and Miss buttons for the GS and GA of each team. Goals, attempts and the percentage for each shooter are shown live and saved with the result. A miss is any attempt that does not score. Rebounds that go back up count as new attempts.
How to use the netball scorer
- Enter the team names and, if you like, the names of each team's GS and GA.
- Choose quarters or halves, the minutes per period and which team has the first centre pass.
- Press Start on the clock when the umpire starts play, and Pause for injuries or stoppages.
- Tap Goal or Miss for the right shooter. The score, centre pass and statistics update at once. Undo reverses the last action.
- When time is up the app alerts you. Press End quarter when the umpire blows the whistle, then Start for the next quarter after the interval.
- At the end you get the final score, the score per quarter and shooting stats. The result is saved under My results on your device, and you can share it.
Accidentally closed the page? Open the app again and choose Continue match. Your match is saved on the device as you score.
Frequently asked questions
Can a goal count if the whistle goes as the ball is in the air?
If the ball has left the shooter's hands before the whistle for time, and it goes in, the goal counts. That's why the app does not end a quarter automatically when the clock reaches zero. You end it when the umpire does.
Does the clock stop for goals?
No. Netball is played with a running clock. Stop it only for stoppages the umpires call, such as injuries.
These notes summarise the World Netball rules for club, school and social play. For sanctioned competitions, follow the current rules of Netball South Africa or your league.