Netball Stoppages Explained
When play stops in netball: injury, illness and blood stoppages, the 30-second rule, emergencies, and how play restarts.
Umpires hold time for injury or illness, for blood, and for emergencies. An injured or bleeding player must leave the court within 30 seconds and be treated off court. There are no time-outs in the World Netball rules — some competitions add their own.
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Written for
- Player, parent, umpire
- Rule group
- Administration
A stoppage is when the umpire holds time during a quarter. It's different from the scheduled intervals between quarters.
When play is stopped
The umpires must hold time (Rule 10.5):
- for injury or illness, following a request from an on-court player, a primary care person (such as a team physio) or the independent concussion observer — or without any request if an injury is obvious or serious;
- for blood — when they notice active bleeding, an open wound or blood-stained clothing.
They may also hold time for an emergency or other extreme circumstances, such as a problem with the court, goalposts, ball or weather (Rules 10.6, 10.23). Under the 2024 rules, either umpire can hold time — it doesn't have to be the umpire controlling that part of the court.
The 30-second rule
During an injury, illness or blood stoppage (Rules 10.13–10.16):
- The player concerned must leave the court within 30 seconds and be treated off court. The timekeepers warn the umpires when 10 seconds remain.
- Only primary care persons may come on to assess the player.
- If the player can't be moved safely within 30 seconds, the umpires extend the time.
- All other players stay on court; team officials stay off it.
A player with dried blood who isn't actively bleeding can have it cleaned without being substituted, but any blood-stained clothing must be replaced (Rule 10.17).
Substitutions during a stoppage
Both teams may make substitutions and team changes during the stoppage, within the time the umpires allow. If no substitute comes on, play can continue with the position empty — except the Centre, which must always be filled by another player moving across (Rules 10.19–10.20).
How play restarts
Play restarts from where the ball was when time was held (Rule 10.8): with a throw-in if the ball was out of court, with the sanction if an infringement had already been signalled, or otherwise with possession to the team that had the ball.
What about time-outs?
The World Netball rules have no time-outs. Some competitions add their own — for example, the Netball Super League allows one 90-second tactical timeout per team. Check your competition's rules. Separately, the 2024 rules let teams make tactical changes immediately after a goal.
Player and coach tips
- Tell the umpire straight away if you're injured — the umpire must hold time on a genuine request from an on-court player.
- Have a plan for getting an injured player off quickly and a substitute ready — 30 seconds goes fast.
Related rules
Stoppages often go together with substitutions, and connect to extra time for how the clock is managed when a match needs a result.
Common mistakes
- Treating an injured player on court instead of getting them off within 30 seconds.
- Expecting team time-outs — the World Netball rules don't include them, though some competitions do.
- Team officials coming onto the court during a stoppage when only primary care persons are allowed.
Official source: checked against the World Netball Rules 2024, published by World Netball. Last checked 10 October 2026.
Always check the official World Netball rulebook for the definitive, current wording. This site explains and illustrates the rules; it does not replace them.