A group of walking netball players launched into an active match at ILT Stadium Southland last week, with some being pulled up for contact and obstruction, and another toppling over.
Invercargill Netball Centre netball coach pathway and development officer Wynetta Fisher said it sounded like an easy game, but it was a sport people of all abilities could pick up.
"People believe that because it’s walking you have to be of a certain age bracket to fit in.
"The game itself is still quite fast, because it’s all about the speed of the ball, so the faster the ball goes, the faster the game goes," Fisher said.
The Invercargill Netball Centre was in its second year of hosting a walking netball competition after the success of last year’s tournament which attracted "individuals and groups from different sectors of the community", she said.
Walking netball is a modified version of netball where players walk instead of run and is a much lower-impact sport.
"We have people who want to do something to ease back into being active after getting injured.
"There are new mothers who come down with their babies and just want to do something to slowly transition into exercise," Fisher said.
"Last year, there were a couple of businesses, [where] it was part of the health and wellbeing of staff, to come down for an hour, have a walk around then [get] back to work."
Invercargill’s walking netball games are supported by Active Southland whose aim is to get various community groups to take part in activities.
"It’s very much a social, gathering for people.
"It’s a good way to connect with people, to meet people, because you don’t need to know people to put a team together, you can have a go.
"It’s also a good way for new people to the community to meet others," Fisher said.
