Netball club to introduce men

[Startingover2019]

A netball club would like adult men to join in with the training sessions with girls and women age 14+. A good or bad idea?

Tell them to fuck off and have their own session minus the teenage girls

Is it a women’s team? It sucks if not already an open team.

As netball is a non-contact sport and all players should be a metre away from each other at all times, I don't see any additional dangers from this (providing everyone has a safe space to get changed).
However, taller players are going to be better at GA/GS/GD positions and particularly (IME as a netball player albeit not for many years) this does make it frustrating and harder to be good at the sport for those of us who are shorter, so the physical size will present an advantage which will need to be fairly managed in games.
I am assuming this is a team of friendly matches not a competitive team which would have to follow rules set out by the governing body.

It depends, there aren't usually enough men to form full mens teams so quite a few clubs have had mixed training sessions for a while. If they're playing on a womens team competitively then that's different imo. We used to do mixed rugby training for men and women due to numbers but wouldn't mix teams ever for obvious reasons and it'd only ever involve certain non contact training.

How do you think the girls/women will feel training alongside men? Do you think that some will feel self conscious or will not want to train alongside the men especially when training session have always been girls/women only?

@Startingover2019 What are your own thoughts on this? What is your gut telling you?

Netball is a contact sport and there is absolutely no place for men. England netball have just this week sent out a questionnaire to all its members regarding trans inclusion at all levels of leisure/competition and hopefully the members (as I have) spoke out against it for the fairness of competition and safety.

I think every single member of the current team should be able to vote on this anonymously and only proceed with 100% agreement.

Netball doesn't pass the fair sport test at national level but that's no reason to allow men into women's teams at grassroots level.

https://www.womensrights.network/sporting-body-policies

Well the clubs I've trained with have had mixed sessions and then women's sessions. If it's a mixed social match and not just training then there are rules about how many men can be on the pitch at one time and in what positions. If someone is self conscious and whatever else then they'd go to the women's training session, as I said if men are being permitted to play competitively on women's teams then that's a different issue. I agree biological men have no place in women's sports, but I don't see the issue
In this case depending what the actual scenario is.

Big fat no from me.

Netball is not a "non-contact sport" where you have to be a metre away from each other at all times like a PP said, that's very much an incorrect and outdated assumption.

In reality, you are jostling along with constant body on body contact throughout a game. I know, because I play a women's league.

If I wanted to play with men, I'd join a local mixed league, but I won't because I don't want to be in that position.

Please keep women's support safe for women.

If I wanted to play with men, I'd join a local mixed league, but I won't because I don't want to be in that position

Op hasn't clarified if that is what this is about or not though. There's a difference between allowing men who identify as women (but are still men) play in women's leagues and attend women's training sessions, or whether like many netball clubs they are starting mixed training sessions etc for men who are not claiming to be women but who want to play netball.

My gut feelings tells me that there should be a choice - a girls/women's session and then another separate mixed session.
I am not sure they will have the numbers to train just as a mixed team (some of the mixed team are already training at the girls/women's session.

Is it fair to ask the girls/women session attendees to accept men at their sessions?

This is nothing to do with gender.

I don't want a ball thrown at me, full force, by a man.

Is it that men have expressed interest in playing or is it that transwomen are wanting to be included in women's training and games? Guessing by saying its nought to do with gender that it's the former, in which case yes there should be a separate mixed session. If there isn't the appetite locally then the men may need to be proactive in widening the net and seeing if any other local teams have anyone interested, that's what our club did at first for the mixed team- a sign up and people came from neighbouring clubs.

Hope I am not confusing everyone.

No one is identifying differently than their biological sex.

My gut reaction would be a No.

How old are the men?
And how do you know there motive isn't to perve at girls in short skirts.

I might be a cynic but their have been far to many cases of men being involved with girls sports, particularly swimming, gymnastics and ice-skating for the wrong reasons.

Yes they should be on a mixed team if not enough to make a full team (which isnt unusual). If there aren't enough numbers they should be proactive in finding more people. There should be a separate opportunity for women and girls to train and play. There are guidelines for mixed teams.

Maybe 25-40 years old but have been playing in a mixed team for year or so. They would be surrounded by female coaches and also adult women so nothing untoward can happen.

I am just trying to see what women's views are about how they think they would feel (14 years +) training alongside adult men.

No issues with this. Certain positions may be advantagous but it's non contact do no risk of I jury of someone is larger

If you have teenage daughters - how would they feel training alongside adult men?

Have those saying that it’s non-contact actually played netball?

My university did a charity mixed netball match many years ago. One of the men knocked a woman unconscious, completely by accident obviously. So I wouldn’t play in a mixed team.

I wouldn’t want my teen to participate alongside men.

Netball has become more contact-y (for lack of a better term) over the last 20 years. Competitive netball means you’re glued to your player, both jumping up and fully contesting balls. I have regularly been wiped out onto the ground, and have done the same to others.

Casual training or an option for a fun, mixed sex league is fine but it would be dangerous in a competitive league.