Adaptive Netball Equipment: Facilitating Every Ability
13 Oct 2025
As the world’s elite athletes prepare for the Paralympic Arena, the power of sport to transform lives resonates more strongly than ever. With the guidance of Netball Queensland, here is a curated list of tools designed for players with different abilities.
Adaptive equipment does more than make netball playable, it levels the playing field. HART is proud to present its equipment through:
- Empowering Accessibility: By removing barriers related to vision, coordination, and grip, these tools ensure that players of all abilities can fully participate.
- Sensory Engagement: Bright colours, distinct textures, and tactile feedback help athletes track, catch, and interact with the ball—building confidence and responsiveness.
- Skill Development: Whether for training or competition, the right tool fosters improved hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and engagement in the game.
| Skill Focus | Equipment | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Sport Specific/Coordination | Colours and grips selected help netballers with vision impairment and issues with coordination and grip strength | |
| Supports netballers with movement and coordination difficulties; also with vision impairment (e.g. selecting a contrasting colour to the court/surface, items that are more easily tracked such as scarf balls) | ||
| Soft, slow-moving balls that are easy to follow visually and encourage tracking | ||
| Textured balls that improve tactile grip and sensory feedback | ||
| Lightweight and soft for beginners or those with reduced grip strength | ||
| Great for throwing and catching practice, safer for younger or mobility-limited players | ||
| Supports netballers with coordination and/or arm strength issues, also netballers in wheelchairs or of short stature | ||
| Skill Focus | Equipment | Purpose |
| Balance & Core Stability | Supports development of balance for all participants, particularly those with movement issues. Can do activities sitting (easiest), kneeling or standing (hardest) | |
| Provides unstable surface to challenge balance and core muscles | ||
| Lightweight foam surface to improve stability, proprioception, and confidence | ||
| Skill Focus | Equipment | Purpose |
| Change of Direction / Agility | Assists netballers with learning difficulties, intellectual disabilities and hearing impairment - visual cues for movements and drills (e.g. run around the green cone; or 1,2, then 3 cone). Colours chosen to provide contrast for netballers with vision impairment. Soft spots and space stations are low profile for netballers with wheelchairs, mobility aids or other mobility issues | |
| Useful for coordination, agility, and fun movement-based drills | ||
| Encourage quick footwork and coordination, with non-slip material for safety | ||
| Bright colours enhance visual tracking during agility training | ||
| Guide athletes with clear foot placement cues, reinforcing coordination patterns | ||
| Soft, flexible cones that reduce injury risk if stepped on | ||
| Enable structured drills with clear numeric sequencing for learning and movement planning | ||
| Adds visibility and clarity to standard cones, useful for progression-based drills | ||
| Flexible poles that provide safe boundaries for weaving and movement drills | ||
| Low profile, non-slip markers that are wheelchair and mobility aid friendly | ||
| Skill Focus | Equipment | Purpose |
| Teamwork and Fun - Promoting teamwork, social interaction and fun! | Adds an element of chance and variety to training, encouraging teamwork, communication, and fun as players work together to respond to random challenges | |
| Challenges teams through engaging balance and catching activities | ||
| Makes it easy to move and adjust during training, creating fun, team-based activities that adapt to different players and game scenarios | ||
| Skill Focus | Equipment | Purpose |
| Session organisation - Equipment storage, visual session planning and timing | Mesh carry bag that stays open and upright for easy use. | |
| Separate base compartment provides the perfect storage to keep your shoes and clothes apart. | ||
| Draw up the winning game plan with a handy coaching board folder. | ||
| A reliable stopwatch designed to keep accurate time for training sessions and games |
Tags: