Netball in Samoa | |
---|---|
Country | Samoa |
National team(s) | Samoa |
Netball in Samoa is a popular game, usually played by girls on Saturdays during the winter, though games can be played at all times of the year.[1] The sport started to grow in popularity during the 1970s.[2] The popularity of netball is also growing amongst men on the island.[1]
Samoa and Fiji are traditional netball rivals. This rivalry can be seen at events like Pacific Games.[1]
As of August 2016, the women's national team was ranked fourteen in the world.[3]
Samoa has a men's national team that has competed in the 2009 and 2011 International Challenge Men's and Mixed Netball Tournament.[4]
At Gay Games VI, a transgender netball from Samoa competed.[5]
Rita Fatialofa is a Samoan netball player, who later went on to compete on New Zealand's national team. She became the coach for the Samoan national team, qualifying them for every Pacific Games,[6] as well as 1991 and 1995 Netball World Championships.[7] Cathrine Latu is another famous Samoan player who went on to play for New Zealand.