Jo Harten has spent nearly 20 years playing netball at the highest level.
The English shooter’s career began in the UK Super League in 2006, she headed to New Zealand in 2012 and then crossed the ditch in 2017 to land where she is now, playing for the Giants in Australia.
Before her international retirement last year, Harten was also a force to be reckoned with for the Roses, making her debut at the age of 18 in 2007, representing England at three World Cups and winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games. Commonwealth in 2018.
In all that time, Harten says she has never been able to play in anything but a dress and that netball really needs to expand its options.
“I’ve only played one professional game in a dress,” Harten told ABC Sport.
“Behind the scenes, I’ve been talking to the Giants’ outside staff, trying to push for a more inclusive uniform policy.
“I think the more uniform options we can have, the more people it will attract, because it doesn’t have to be just one body type that plays this sport.
“We should be looking at people of all sizes, ethnicities and hair styles, because essentially, that’s what makes a game global and the more inclusive we can be, the better.”
The Giants co-captain’s thoughts come at an opportune time in the Super Netball calendar, as the league looks to hold the Inclusion Round this weekend.
Most clubs have focused on a theme of pride and the Giants, who will play on the road in the fourth round, have chosen to wear rainbow bibs to show their support for the LGBTQIA+ community.
But the round is an opportunity for netball to be celebrated as a sport for everyone, which is also reflected in the uniforms, as each team highlights something that best aligns with their values.
In 2020, the findings of a review of the state of the game, chaired by Diamonds legend and new board member Liz Ellis, were made public.
He listed a number of recommendations that netball should consider if it wanted to maintain its status as the number one sport for women and girls in Australia.
One of these recommendations highlighted how the lack of flexibility in uniforms was proving to be a barrier to many in the community starting or continuing to participate in netball.
A year later, Netball NSW, owner of the Giants, was the first member organization to launch an innovative clothing range alongside Valor Sport, offering community-based netball players in the state the option to wear dresses even if They wanted it that way, but also sleeveless t-shirts, bodysuits, short or long sleeve blouses, shorts and long pants.
This move was supported by Netball Australia and encouraged the national sporting body to follow suit by 2023, updating its uniform policy to cater for all participants with diverse individual preferences and religious beliefs. These guidelines were adopted by all member organizations.
Although these changes have trickled down to community netball, we are yet to see a drastic change at the top of Super Netball.
Several teams have chosen to wear pants and t-shirts for the preseason Team Girls Cup, but none have deviated from the typical clothing in the official competition.
Harten says it’s something he would like to see incorporated.
“The broader range of options you have at the professional level will help the grassroots,” Harten said.
“This has to be something that encompasses the entire community, you don’t just want one area of the game to do one thing and everyone else do it differently, so I think it’s necessary to start at all levels to open up the game to all”. “.
Netball Australia has confirmed that its kit policy extends to the season itself and that Super Netball supports players making this decision if they wish, but it is up to clubs to submit their kits for approval, let alone a sponsor. , name and numerical perspective.
Which explains why Harten has been so active in this space behind the scenes at the Giants, trying to make this happen.
In a statement provided to ABC Sport, Giants executive general manager Tim Underwood said the club supported Harten’s goals in this area, but did not put a time frame on when they expect to see them in action.
“We are committed to being an inclusive and open club and want people to always feel comfortable playing or watching netball,” Underwood said.
“We support Jo’s suggestion to extend inclusive uniform options to Super Netball competition and would love for our athletes to have a variety of options in terms of uniforms they can wear at elite level.
“As a club we want to work with Netball Australia to continue discussions around inclusive uniforms at all levels and have ongoing conversations about how we can continue to be more inclusive in all areas of our sport.
“We have recently expanded our partnership with Valor Sport, who are leading the way in this space through road and grassroots netball competitions in New South Wales.”
When ABC Sport spoke to other captains at the launch of the 2024 season, the rest expressed their desire to continue playing dressed as it was what they had always done, what they felt most comfortable with and said it was a good way to differentiate match training. day.
But, unsurprisingly, given her thoughts on expanding the Giants’ options, Harten says she’s one of the players who would likely switch from a dress to pants and a top if it were a possibility.
“If it were an option, I think I would be brave enough to change,” Harten said.
“There would be other players who would still want to be in uniform and remain the same as always, but I am in favor of change.
“What I want to do is take a small risk for the greater good and I think it would be a really positive thing for the sport if we could get there.”
