Netball opens doors to PhD

Netball in its infancy was a far cry from the game that is played today. Players had to wear ties, stockings and tunics, and contact wasn’t allowed. These days players relish the opportunities for physicality in a sport which allows women to deliver “a few hard knocks”, says University of Waikato masters student Amy Marfell.

Marfell has just completed her thesis, an intergenerational study of New Zealand women's experiences of netball. Her research involved discussing the netball experiences of four generations of female netball participants and enabled her to examine the differences in the experiences of each group of women, as well as in the socio-cultural context of each era.

“It was really interesting; I was talking to women in their late 70s and 80s who couldn’t touch each other when playing, and spoke to groups of adolescents who were talking about the physicality and aggression of the contemporary game and taking each other out.

“Although vastly different to the 1940s game, the older generations were really pleased with the developments in the game.”

But what social developments have mirrored changes in the game? “I had to go back and learn about the history of netball and also the history of women in sport and society,” says Marfell.

“One of the key conclusions from my study was that women during the early 20^th century were oppressed because of what they had to wear and how they had to behave in accordance with a ladylike feminine ideal, whereas women in the 21^st century are oppressed by an athletic feminine ideal, which embraces a toned, fit and athletic feminine image.

“Put simply, one oppressive feminine ideal has been replaced by another; therefore, we should be careful not to interpret social and structural changes too optimistically.”

The inspiration behind the research came from 23-year-old Marfell's lifelong love of netball which includes playing and coaching for the bulk of her life.

“Netball is the most popular sport for women in New Zealand; however, there hasn’t been a lot of academic attention paid to it, especially from an interdisciplinary or intergenerational perspective.”

Completing her thesis was never in the plans of the girl from Waipukurau who came to Waikato University with plans of becoming a teacher.

“I came to the university wanting to be a physical education teacher, but now I’m planning on becoming an academic.

“My thesis opened a few doors and raised a few questions so hopefully I can address these in my PhD.”

Marfell had been due to graduate with her Masters in Sport and Leisure Studies in early May, but the Christchurch earthquake has put that on hold for now.

“I submitted my thesis to my examiner in Christchurch in February and it usually takes six to eight weeks but because of the earthquake there have been a few setbacks and I’m still waiting for my mark.” However, she isn’t bothered by this and is enjoying a break from study, “I’m not worried, it took a year to write so what are a few extra weeks?”