Scars

SCARS

I'm a fan of scars. Especially the ones you can easily show off to your friends.

"This one is where the hockey stick gashed my leg, and this one is where a cricket ball left a hole...

You know, scars like that.

It turns out netballers have the best scars, and if you get them into the same room they will eagerly tell you the gruesome story behind every one of them.

'See here - this is where I hit the goal post with my head. And see where this bumpy skin is? That's where I fell and slid across the court. OMIGOD - there was blood everywhere! One girl saw it and threw up...

Etc, etc, so on and so forth.

This obvious pride that netballers have showing off their battle scars is probably the only thing that prevents netball courts being resurfaced with something much safer. The aged administrators of the game, who mostly bear impressive scars themselves seem determined to 'season' their players by granting them admission to the sisterhood of scarring as if somehow the mutual and prolific spilling on one's blood brings you closer to your team mates.

That's not to say I'm not a fan of the game. Netball commands respect because it has the highest participation rate in the country. And Australia are world champions on the international stage.
Which brings me to another point.

On a state and international level netball is never played on an asphalt court. At this level netball is traditionally played with bone crunching, intense physical aggression and players routinely find themselves sprawled across the court. If asphalt was used for these games players would be hospitalised.

So why is it acceptable for amateurs?

I now have this vision in my head of a stout aged netball administrator wearing one of those oversized frocks in a pink cardigan berating me from the sidelines, calling me a sissy and quoting from the book of 'Netball Tradition'.

"You have NO IDEA what you are talking about! My GIRLS are TOUGH - DO YOU HEAR ME!"

Well, as it happens I do. But some people are their own worst enemies.

Australian Rules footballers would never play on concrete, asphalt or clay. And before you start using the remote northern desert footy grounds as an example remember if there was an alternative they'd use it. Football games in this district have been regularly relocated because a drought has hardened the ground beyond the point at which it is considered safe to play on. Football is aggressive, fast and requires complete physical commitment and, if it is to be played at its best you can't have the players holding back wondering what injuries they'll have when they hit the ground.

But is football like netball? Girls don't play like boys...

But here's a fact and everyone knows it's true. Most netball courts in this country are completely unsafe, they are intermittently maintained and contribute through their hardness and inflexibility to needless and permanent injury.

I'll say that again - needless and permanent injury.

And so while concrete and asphalt may have been acceptable in the past they are no longer. Alternatives exist that would do no harm to the game and the Australian Netball Federation and every local netball club administrator should immediately commit themselves to resurface every court in this country.

Most sport entails risk. And participation in many will result in scars. But in the face of such obvious danger - what the hell are we doing?