Are netball players satisfied with their shoes?

Abstract

Netball is a popular court sport played by an estimated 20 million people across 80 countries (INF, 2021). Although females predominantly play netball, there are a growing number of males playing the sport. Netball requires players to perform rapid accelerations, direction changes, and frequent jumping (Steele & Milburn, 1987). These skills can place high stress on the lower extremity, and consequently, there is a high prevalence of foot-related problems and injuries in the sport (Steele, 1990; Kirk et al., 2022). Netball-specific shoes provide protection and support to the foot during such dynamic movements. Despite the importance of appropriate footwear, many netball players, particularly men, do not wear shoes designed for the sport (Kirk et al., 2022). Instead, players wear running, basketball, or tennis shoes, with females 13.2 times more likely to wear netball-specific shoes than men (Kirk et al., 2022). The high prevalence of footrelated problems and a preference to wear other shoe types suggests that current netball shoes are not meeting the fit and functionality requirements of players.