There has been a dramatic increase in the number of complaints about assaults, abuse and swearing at netball matches in Hawke's Bay.
Across the 2023 season, the board dealt with 16 official complaints, compared with four from last year and just one in 2021.
Speaking to Breakfast this morning, Hawke's Bay Netball general manager Denise Aiolupotea said the way the game is evolving at its highest level is changing grassroots netball.
"Netball is becoming quite physical, there's a lot of argy-bargy, and our players are trying to mimic what happens on TV, and unfortunately, they don't have the skill level to do that," she said.
"There's quite a lot of frustration, and then we're seeing swearing that's happening. Often, there's pushing and shoving off the ball, which then leads to further incidents."
And it’s not just happening on the court — some spectators are engaging in similar behaviour.
Hawke's Bay Netball Board disciplinary member Leah Setford said there has been swearing and abuse yelled by spectators, and even an assault.
It's been a tough year for the region, which was hit hard by Cyclone Gabrielle in February. Setford believes this has something to do with the rise in bad behaviour on the court.
"I don't think it's a coincidence that we've had the cyclone, and people are still on edge," she said.
"We've just recovered from Covid and then the cyclone and then the cost of living crisis — people are stressed, they're less resilient and taking their frustrations out on the netball court."
Aiolupotea said the behaviour is concerning to see, as it's discouraging some players from stepping on the court.
She said players are asking: 'Do I actually want to play netball? Do I like the way that it's evolving?'
"Some players have come to us feeling unsafe, so we're working with clubs around our complaints process and how do we eliminate this behaviour."
Hawke's Bay Netball is now running a number of sportsmanship programmes to help encourage good behaviour on the courts.
Aiolupotea said: "We need the community on our side.
"We'd much rather prefer to develop the game and celebrate its success — but unfortunately, we spend a lot of time sorting these issues."
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