What Is Obstruction in Netball?

Obstruction is easy to confuse with contact, but the two rules cover different things — obstruction is about distance and the use of arms, not physical touch.

Defending a player with the ball

You may try to deflect or intercept the ball, or defend the player holding it, only if you're at least 0.9m (3ft) away. The distance is measured on the ground, from the nearest part of their landing foot to the nearest part of your nearer foot (Rule 16.1).

Some details matter:

• If they lift their landing foot, the distance is measured from where it was grounded. If they pivot, you must adjust to stay 0.9m from where the foot now is (Rules 16.3, 16.5).
• From the correct distance, you can jump upwards or towards them and land inside 0.9m, provided you don't interfere with the passing or shooting action (Rule 16.6).
• If they reduce the distance — stepping towards you — you're not penalised for it (Rule 16.6).
• You can be within 0.9m without infringing, as long as you make no attempt to defend or intercept and don't interfere with the pass or shot (Rule 16.7).

Once you are a legal distance away, raising your arms to contest the pass or shot is allowed — the rule is about distance, not about arms being up. (Waving your arms erratically to distract is a different matter — that's intimidation.)

The defensive lift

The 2024 rules allow a defender to defend a player with the ball while being lifted by a teammate, provided that there is at least 0.9m between the landing foot of the player with the ball and the nearer foot of either defender that is on the ground (Rule 16.2). A defender who is already within 0.9m may not lift a teammate to defend (Rule 16.7). All the other rules still apply — including contact: the lifted defender can't touch the shooter or the ball while it's in the shooter's hands.

Players without the ball

When you're within 0.9m of an opponent who doesn't have the ball (measured between your nearer feet), you may stretch out your arms to catch, deflect or intercept a pass, to go for a rebound, or to signal briefly for a pass (Rule 16.8). What you can't do — attacking or defending — is use your arms away from your body to stop an opponent moving, beyond what's needed for natural balance (Rule 16.9).

A simple example

An attacker catches the ball. A defender who was marking closely stays just half a metre away and puts both hands up to block the pass. That's obstruction — the defender is trying to defend from inside 0.9m. If the defender had stepped back to 0.9m first, the same arms-up defence would be legal.

Legal vs illegal

What the umpire is looking for

For a player with the ball, the umpire judges the distance between the landing foot and the defender's nearer foot, and whether the defender is trying to defend from inside it. Off the ball, they're watching for arms used away from the body to block an opponent's movement.

Restart

Obstruction is penalised with a penalty pass taken where the infringer was standing — or where the obstructed player was standing, if that would otherwise disadvantage them. The infringer must stand out of play beside the player taking the penalty pass until the ball is released. Other defenders can still defend as normal. If it's awarded to a Goal Shooter or Goal Attack in the goal circle, they can choose to pass or shoot.

Common misunderstandings

• "We never touched." Obstruction doesn't require contact.
• "Raising your arms is obstruction." Not from a legal distance — arms up from 0.9m is good defending.
• "The ball was already gone." The 0.9m distance applies only while the player holds the ball. Once they release it, the off-the-ball rule applies: no using your arms to stop their movement within 0.9m.

Player tips

• Practise judging 0.9m by eye at training so it becomes instinctive.
• When your opponent catches the ball, step back to 0.9m first, then get your arms up.

Umpire tips

• Watch the gap continuously as players move and pivot — obstruction often develops as a defender edges closer.
• Make it clear whether you're penalising distance (player with the ball) or arm use (player without the ball) — the hand signals differ.

Related rules

Obstruction and contact together define legal defending in netball. Both are commonly infringed while learning how to defend, and both are penalised with a penalty pass.