The lads netball team thrashed the girls 46-12
Criticism has reared its head after an all-boys netball team beat the entire roster of the all-girls division in Brisbane, earning them a state title.
The Queensland under-17 team beat an all-girls side to get themselves the state championship title. The boys competed against the opposite sex as there aren’t enough numbers to make up an entirely new division, reports the Daily Telegraph.
The final came down to the lads versus the Bond University Bull Sharks, which they beat 46-12. Across the whole season, the boys were able to solidify an average winning margin of 29 goals.
— QLD Suns Men’s & Mixed Netball (@QLDSuns) September 21, 2021
However the team was met with abuse following their win.
“The abuse ranged from comments made courtside deliberately within earshot of the Suns contingent, to adults making vulgar comments directly behind the team bench,” Queensland Suns coach Tammy Holcroft told The Courier Mail.
“It’s disappointing that the frustration was directed at the players.”
But the team has still received immense judgement online, most of which is directed towards the decision-makers and not the players.
“I think Netball Queensland screwed up really badly here,” one person wrote.
“Not only hurt the girls who have trained so hard & made mockery of championships but put the Suns in a really shitty position too when they need more support from netball fans to get a boys/mens comp running.”
Simple answer: Yes.
The organisational maturity required to get gender equity measures *just right* is not something you can buy off the shelf. https://t.co/Pf4SUBMzQS
— Jessica Currie (@Jess_M_Currie) September 23, 2021
Another tweeted: “This is why we have sex segregation in sport.
“A mixed netball team and league is a totally different product and it’s the choice of the female players to play that. If there aren’t enough men’s teams for a league, why not create a mixed one and carry on trying to get more men?”
Netball Queensland has since made a statement to support their decision to allow an all-boys team to compete in a women’s league.
I think Netball Queensland screwed up really badly here.
Not only hurt the girls who have trained so hard & made mockery of championships but put the Suns in a really shitty position too when they need more support from netball fans to get a boys/mens comp running. https://t.co/mdoXQ36pfH
— Noely ⚡️🏐 (@YaThinkN) September 22, 2021
“This year, in an effort to showcase the talent in both female and male pathways we offered the Queensland Suns men’s team the opportunity to play in the Nissan State Titles having welcomed the Suns in an invitational capacity in 2020,” Netball Queensland CEO Catherine Clark said.
They continued: “Just as we have seen in New Zealand with the Cadbury Series, where the Silver Ferns play against the New Zealand Men’s Netball team, we are hopeful this will be the catalyst for a stand-alone men’s competition in 2022 and inspires more boys to get involved in netball.”
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