Back to Netball changing lives!

This year Liverpool John Moores University have conducted some fantastic in-depth research for England Netball focussed on Back to Netball (B2N). Running since 2009, B2N has engaged over 60,000 participants. The aim of the programme is to provide a gentle re-introduction to netball for people who have played in the past and want to re-engage with a sport they love. You may have noticed some quotes and statistics popping up on our social media channels the past couple of weeks and these have all come from the research. The report identified that B2N clearly meets three key government objectives of Physical wellbeing, Mental wellbeing and Social and Community development. In addition a fantastic 98% of all participants in the programme would recommend it to others! We definitely like the look of those numbers! Participants identified the following benefits of their Back to Netball experience:

• Physical well-being - 97% of all participants surveyed reported that B2N helps them to become physically active and lead to healthier lifestyles. In addition, participants identified a desire to participate in physically challenging activities.

• Social well-being - 86% of participants reported to feeling welcome in B2N sessions and felt that they interacted well with others. It was also found that 70% of participants did not know anyone before starting B2N.

• Mental well-being - 76% of participants reported that participating in B2N helped them to feel good about themselves. Both improved confidence and aiding relaxation were also identified.

Over half of the women spoken to during the survey were mothers - 52% of all participants reported having at least one child under the age of 18. From these women, their reasons for coming back to netball after having children involved losing baby weight, developing an identity and improving social relationships through baby networks - showing that our sport does far more than just improve fitness! But it’s not just the affectionately named ‘net-mums’ catered for with Back to Netball – it literally covers all post-school age groups and is particularly popular with the 30-40 year old age category. Of all of these wonderful netball returners, an amazing 89% engage in further activity – 37% in netball and 52% in other sports and activities! This means former Back to Netball participants are now 20% more physically active AFTER attending B2N sessions! What better reason to take up Back to Netball in the New Year?! Grab a friend, family member or colleague and get them down to your closest session – have a search on our Netball Finder!If you’d like to read the full report in full depth then please email insight@englandnetball.co.uk