Netball: NZ thumbs up for Super Six format

A proposed Super Six tournament involving the top six nations received a boost yesterday with Netball New Zealand chief executive Shelley McMeeken pledging her support.

The tournament, first mooted in 1995-96, came under the spotlight this week while Barbados were playing the Silver Ferns.

Barbados manager Annette Beckett, director of the International Federation of Netball Associations, said it was hoped the tournament would become a reality after next year's world championships.

The present world rankings are Australia 1, New Zealand 2, England 3, Jamaica 4, South Africa 5, and Fiji 6.

McMeeken said she was "definitely supportive" of any concept that would promote the game.

"It's an excellent idea. It creates another product for us to sell on the open market."

The Super Six would put netball on the international map and continue to strengthen teams, she said.

However, organisers needed to be careful with its timing and ensure it did not detract from other major netball competitions.

"Two years out of four we have huge events such as the Commonwealth Games and world champs, so I wouldn't expect it would be something that would be held every year," McMeeken said.

"Our sport is such that it probably can't take all of that. But certainly having it every second year or something would be great."

McMeeken believed the Super Six could also benefit countries that did not play in it.

"It may be really good for countries who have great umpires but maybe not a team in the Super Six. And we know that when you have good umpires at home, your netball game lifts, so there's a lot of spin-off for that as well."

McMeeken's support has delighted the New Zealand-based president of the international federation, Sheryl Dawson. She said England and Jamaica had always been keen, but New Zealand and Australia had been uncertain about it in recent years.

"The resistance has been because of things like the cost and timing, like what time of the year to play it to meet Northern and Southern Hemisphere playing demands."

Dawson said that from the federation's point of view, a Super Six tournament was critical to the growth of the game and a good way of closing the gap between the top six.

She hoped the Super Six was running before 2005 and expected it to be held around July or August.

It would be staged in one country and she envisaged it would be spread over seven to 10 days, with pool play, semifinals and final. The federation could not pay players, but prizemoney might be offered.

- NZPA