The objective and rules of Netball.

The objective of a game of netball is to score more goals than the opposition. Goals are scored when the ball is passed to a team member positioned in the attacking shooting circle who then shoots the ball through the goal ring. The goal rings are 380-millimetre (15 in) in diameter and on top of 3.05 metres (10.0 ft) high goal posts that have no backboards. A 4.9-metre (16 ft)-radius semi-circular "shooting circle" is at each end of the court and the goal posts are located within the shooting circle. The netball court is 30.5 metres (100 ft) long, 15.25 metres (50.0 ft) wide, and divided into thirds. The ball is usually made of leather or rubber and measures 680 to 710 millimetres (27 to 28 in) in circumference and weighs 397 to 454 grams (14.0 to 16.0 oz). A normal game consists of four quarters that each run for 15 minutes and can be played outdoors or in a covered stadium.

Only seven players are allowed on the court for each team and they are each given specific positions. Each player wears a "bib" that shows an abbreviation of their position. The seven positions are Goal Keeper (GK), Goal Defence (GD), Wing Defence (WD), Centre (C), Wing Attack (WA), Goal Attack (GA) and Goal Shooter (GS). Players are restricted to certain areas on the court as determined by their position. Goal Attack and Goal Shooter are the only players allowed in the attacking shooting circle and therefore are the only players that are allowed to shoot for goal. Goal Shooter is restricted to the third that includes the shooting circle, while Goal Attack is also allowed in the central third. Goal Keeper and Goal Defence are the only players allowed in the defensive shooting circle and try and prevent the opposition from shooting goals. The Goal Keeper is restricted to the defensive third and tends to mark the Goal Shooter, while Goal Defence can also move into the central third and tends to mark the Goal Attack. Wing Defence is restricted to the defensive two-thirds of the court and Wing Attack to the attacking two-thirds, while Centre can move through any of the thirds. However, none of these three positions are allowed in the shooting circles and their objective is to either move the ball to a player that can shoot or to prevent the opposition from doing so.

At the beginning of every quarter and after a goal has been scored, play starts with the player in the Centre position passing the ball from the centre of the court. These "centre passes" alternate between the teams, regardless of which team scored the last goal. When the umpire blows the whistle to restart play, the Goal Attack, Goal Defence, Wing Attack and Wing Defence players can move into the centre third to receive the pass. The centre pass must be caught or touched in the centre third. The ball is then moved up and down the court through passing and a player must touch the ball in each adjacent third of the court. The ball can only be held by a player for three seconds at any time and it must be released before the foot they were standing on when they caught the ball touches the ground again. Contact between players is only permitted provided it does not impede an opponent or the general play. When defending a pass or shot players must be at least 90 centimetres (35 in) away from the player with the ball. If illegal contact is made, a penalty is given to the team of the player who was contacted, and the player who contacted cannot participate in play until the player taking the penalty has passed or shot the ball. If the ball is held in two hands and either dropped or a shot at goal is missed it can not be picked up by the same player unless it rebounds off the goal.