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]

Netball in Samoa
CountrySamoa
National team(s)Samoa

International competition

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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]

Notable players

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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.

References

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  1. ^ a b c MacKinnon 2009, p. 51
  2. ^ Lal & Fortune 2000, p. 458
  3. ^ International Netball Federation. "Current World Rankings". Last updated 20 August 2016.
  4. ^ Samoa Observer 2011
  5. ^ Symons & Hemphill 2006, p. 122
  6. ^ Lal & Fortune 2000, p. 462
  7. ^ SportingPulse profile

Bibliography

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