By Laura Geitz
During my decade as a Diamond, the pinnacle events were the Netball World Cup and the Commonwealth Games. They still are.
But imagine, like I am, if netball is part of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
It would be sensational. Beyond anything the sport has ever seen.
My two daughters will be eight and 10 by then, so just a little younger than I was in 2000 when Cathy Freeman’s Olympic moment inspired me to be an athlete.
Netball wasn’t an option then. It’s not an option right now. But in Brisbane 2032 it just might be.
Back in 2000, before I fell in love with netball, my sports were swimming and track-and-field. For this young farm girl watching at home in Allora on the Southern Downs, Cathy's famous run instilled the desire to win an Olympic title and wear the green and gold.
It’s incredibly powerful to consider that it might be an opportunity for the next generation of netballers, as well as perhaps a few members of the current group.
As a former player, we’ve all got a role and a responsibility to make this happen; it would almost be our gift to those who follow. It could also be the missing piece, or the final tick, that we’re searching for as a sport.
We don’t need to be told that we’re good enough to be at the Olympics; it’s just telling the rest of the world.
I’m confident that, once seen by a new audience, netball will explode onto the world stage where we’ve always known it belongs.
It’s such a wonderful, exciting game - and that’s not saying that the other codes who are putting their hands up for 2032 are not great spectacles and deserving of inclusion, too.
I just truly believe that if netball was showcased at an Olympics - in Brisbane, selfishly, from a Queenslander’s point of view! - that the possibilities for growth are endless.
Just imagine if we get the Americas and Europe on board. They’ve got the basketball set-up. The facilities, the infrastructure, it’s all there.
Locally and globally, the men's game is not at the same level, not yet, but we have the national side, the Kelpies, and increasing channels for the boys to play.
Given netball's unique history and tradition of being female-first, I sometimes think we don’t talk about that as much as we should. We can be really proud of our backstory and our success.
I remember one of my former coaches, Norma Plummer, sitting us down in the Margaret Pewtress Room at the AIS and telling us that the Australian netball team and the Australian cricket team are the two most successful sporting teams in this country.
Why don’t we celebrate that more? It’s incredible. So when you talk about us being in the Olympics? Absolutely we should be there!
Why are we not?
Cricket, another traditionally Commonwealth-centric sport, will be at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles. That's just one example of where effort, perseverance and ambition can lead.
I was no cricketer, I was told I was too tall for hockey, and my junior experiences as a swimmer (well, a breaststroker who didn’t train much) and athletics (a reluctant 400m runner at the 2000 Pacific School Games) left me without a passion for either.
Geitz backs netball's bid to be an Olympic sport.Netball was my sport. I remember playing my first game at 13 and being ‘What is this? I love this game. This is unreal. I want to play forever!’.
So that was the passion side of things. I also remember as my career was unfolding seeing the vibe around the teams that were coming into the AIS to prepare for the Olympics.
You just had to be like, ’Yeah, good on you guys!’. While thinking, ‘At least we’ve got the Comm Games’.
Now, given the Commonwealth Games' slightly uncertain future, where do we go?
From a proud and passionate Queenslander, and as the mother of young girls who might want to play netball, here's my answer: Brisbane 2032.
We’ll always have our wonderful World Cups, including the next in Sydney in 2027, but there’s a bigger stage and we should be on it.
So sign the pledge. Join the campaign.
Let’s seize this rare chance to show the Olympic movement how great our game is.
And let’s make sure our daughters can see what’s possible. Just like, all those years ago, Cathy Freeman did for me.
