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Netball could be one of the big winners as a result of the Crawford Report. (Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
SYDNEY—Netball stands to be one of the big winners if the Federal Government adopts recommendations from the Crawford Report to provide more funding to the grassroots of high-participation sports.
While the Australian Olympic Committee is up in arms over the report's threat to its lofty medal ambitions, Netball Australia (NA) chief executive Kate Palmer is pleased but philosophical about its findings.
Netball is Australia's most popular female sport, with more than 5,000 clubs across the country relying on a small army of volunteers.
An estimated one million people play organised or social netball in Australia according to Palmer while, at the elite level, the sport enjoys outstanding success with the world champion national team.
NA received $3.7 million in the 2007-08 financial year for funding sport development and a high performance program.
Palmer said if the report resulted in more cash for netball, the priority would be to boost grassroots competition and that would have a natural flow on effect to the top level.
"If I stand and put my hand out to the government I think it's about the community and getting people active (through) participation," she said.
"The best strategy for elite success is sport development which is participation.
"The more numbers you have the more success you're going to have at the top."
Australian captain Sharelle McMahon said netball was flourishing, as shown by the introduction of the trans-Tasman competition (ANZ Championship) and strong junior participation, but more could be done.
"Our participation base is extremely important to us and certainly we want to encourage that … and have young people as they are growing up continue to play," McMahon said.
"I'm really pleased with where netball is headed.
"As a sport we have been making good ground in the last few years and our sport has been moving towards giving our players, administration and coaches more support to achieve what we want."
Palmer said elite sport should not necessarily depend on public hand-outs but strive to support itself through sponsorships and other means.
"The top can look after itself," she said.
"Our responsibility as a sport is to make sure we maximise the opportunities, we can't sit back and rely on the government.
"We have a responsibility to be commercially viable … and run a successful business.
"Although yes I see (the government's) role in helping us with indigenous participation and disabilities."
Palmer pointed to the success of AFL, tennis, cricket and rugby league as models netball were trying to replicate.
"They generate billions of dollars for the Australian economy, they do a enormous amount of work in the community … we're very ambitious to be as successful as they are," she said.
"AFL has set up an economy that funds their players and so netball has to work towards that.
"We have to be more commercially sustainable at the elite end.
"We have to have a product and the ANZ Championship provides that.
"It's slowly moving our athletes from amateur to now semi-professional and then professional in the future."
