Women should throw 'gently' and forego 'hysterical shouting', claim viral 1946 Netball rules
Primmo believed that one rule from the 1946 netball rules for girls remains true today
Back in 2019, the 'Netball Rules for Young Ladies' from the Great Yarmouth High School Magazine in 1946 went viral on Facebook. Today, the rules are making rounds on the internet again after Alexa Prinno (@alexaprinno) a netball content creator and presenter, read the rules in one of her videos (now-deleted). Prinno stated that her followers sent her the rules, and it's the "funniest thing I've ever seen." While most of the rules are outdated, Prinno revealed one rule that remains true, in a certain way. The video was posted on July 3 and has reached 220,000 views, 9,206 likes, and 88 comments.
The outdated netball rules
There were a total of 10 rules the "young ladies" at the Great Yarmouth High School had to follow. The first was a referee using a white handkerchief to signal that the game had started. The girls would then walk and ask about each other's health before the game began. It was mandatory to wear gloves to avoid dirtying their hands. The ball would be thrown gently. Additional rules include no pushing, running, or scrambling.
If a team scores, "there will be no hysterical shouting, but the opposing captain will curtsey to the scorer." A 30-minute intermission would be given for a tea break, and could be prolonged if "any girl is fatigued." A cab would be ordered for those who are tired, and lastly, the following day would be a holiday for players to "recover from the exertion."
The rules are not real
Primmo pointed out that rule number 7 "actually feels like it's still a rule today." She said that netballers had to put on a "stoic expression, like they're not allowed to smile or be happy they got the goal." However, the Great Yarmouth High School Old Girls Association has cleared up the misunderstanding. The 10 rules they originally posted were supposed to be humorous, nine.com.au reported. In a statement, they clarified, "It has been pointed out to us that people are taking this 'tongue in cheek' version of the netball rules seriously. The 1946-47 netball team would be furious! Please may we confirm that this was not how netball was played during those years."
Gender discrimination in sports
A study from the Women's Sports Foundation found that 32% of parents believe that girls aren't as good at sports. Parents of children between the ages of 7 and 17 were polled, and they found that parents who have never played sports are more likely to believe that girls are not as competitive as boys when it comes to sports. Philip Veliz, the coauthor of the study, revealed that one of the major reasons why girls quit sports was because of gender stereotypes.
He said, "Sport is the most popular extracurricular activity in the United States for both boys and girls. Yet, we see this gender gap in participation persist, and parents may be driving some of this." Another reason is the lack of female coaches. The study found that only 58% of girls had a female coach compared to 88% of boys with a male coach. "If you have a mom who used to play sports, she will be more likely to say, 'I want my daughter to participate in these activities as I did,'" Veliz concluded.
'Pretty wild game'
People were trolling and making up their own rules in the comments. Some even asked for certain rules to come back. @hannahmctiger commented, "I agree. I need a day's holiday after a day of play. Let's bring this back." @hyperelorra87 added, "No, no, we should still curtsey after a goal."
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