Rules
Netball scorer and timekeeper: what the official bench does
A netball match has two scorers and two timekeepers at the official bench. The scorers record every goal and missed shot, the order of centre passes and every team change; the timekeepers run the playing time, hold it for stoppages, give the 30- and 10-second warnings and time suspensions. Under the 2024 rules an injured player has 30 seconds to leave the court.
Who sits at the bench, and who does what
The official bench at a netball match is two scorers and two timekeepers, seated together beside the court (Rule 5 of the World Netball Rules of Netball, 2024 edition, the edition every rule number here refers to). The scorers are "jointly responsible for keeping an accurate record of the score"; the timekeepers for "ensuring that each period of play and each interval is of the correct length of time". At club and school level Rule 21.15 allows fewer: at least one scorer and one timekeeper.
| Who | Before play | During play |
|---|---|---|
| Scorers | Record every player, with starting positions, and the team officials | Record goals and unsuccessful shots, the centre passes taken, team changes and substitutions; call the centre pass on appeal; signal its direction after a stoppage; warn of a wrong one |
| Timekeepers | Warn the umpires 30 and 10 seconds before each quarter starts | Start timing on the whistle, signal the end of the quarter, hold and restart time on the umpire's signal, warn 10 seconds before an injury stoppage ends, time suspensions and orderings off |
Netball Australia's Bench Officials Manual splits the two scorers' work. Scorer 1 keeps the official score sheet. Scorer 2, or a statistician, keeps a separate running score sheet "to maintain an independent check that the correct score and Centre Pass are maintained at all times". One timekeeper fills in the stoppage form: the start and end time of each quarter, every injury, illness or blood stoppage, extra time and any emergency. The manual dates from 2019 and quotes the older rule numbers, but its recording methods still match the duties in the 2024 rules.
Before the first centre pass
The team sheet decides who may play. Before play the scorers record every player and team official, with the positions the players start in (Rule 5.4); the manual has each team manager hand Scorer 1 a team list form. The result of the captains' toss goes on the sheet next: the winning captain chooses the first centre pass or a goal end, and the team taking the first centre pass is the first entry in the centre pass column.
A team needs five players to start, one of them playing Centre (Rule 3.5). If it has fewer at the start of a quarter, the umpires wait up to 30 seconds; a team that then takes the court is penalised for delaying play, and one that cannot loses the match (Rule 3.6). A late player tells the umpire and goes on at the next break in play, into a vacant position (Rule 3.8), and the scorers add the player to the record when that happens.
Recording goals and missed shots
The scorers record "goals scored for each team as they occur as well as any unsuccessful shots" (Rule 5.5b), so the sheet carries every attempt, not just the score. Netball Australia's sheet gives each team two columns, Goal Shooter and Goal Attack, and every attempt goes in the shooter's own column, written from the left of the box.
| On the sheet | Means | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A number (1, 2, 3...) | A goal | Written in the scoring shooter's own column |
| A circled number | A goal from a penalty pass | Shows the goal came from a sanction |
| A dot | A missed shot | Including one a defender deflected or intercepted |
| P | A missed shot from a penalty pass | |
| Nothing | A miss for which a sanction was then awarded | Not recorded at all |
A goal is only a goal from inside the circle, by the Goal Shooter or Goal Attack, with the ball passing "above and completely through the ring" (Rule 9.1). A shot a defender deflects that still goes in is a goal (Rule 9.3). Alongside the shot record the scorers keep a progressive score: as each goal goes in, cross through the next number under that team's name, so the sheet shows the score at a glance. The two scorers cross-check it at every break and whenever Scorer 2 asks.
The goal on the whistle
A shot in the air when time runs out counts. "If the whistle to end a period of play or hold time is blown after the ball has left the hands of the Goal Shooter or Goal Attack and the shot is successful, the goal will be scored" (Rule 9.2). If a penalty pass in the goal circle has been awarded but not taken when the timekeeper signals the end, the quarter is extended for it, including anything that follows at that penalty pass (Rule 2.3). The scorers keep recording until the umpire ends play, not until the timekeeper's signal.
The centre pass column
The scorers "keep a record of the centre passes taken by each team" (Rule 5.5c): after each goal, write the initial of the team taking the next centre pass, alternating, on opposite sides of the box. In Australia the preferred practice is to wait until the umpire has whistled for the centre pass before writing it, so that a pass that was due but never taken causes no confusion at the break. The centre pass alternates whoever scores, and the netball score counter page sets out the rule with worked examples; what follows is how the bench records it.
At the end of each quarter the scorer rules a line on the sheet to show where it stopped, and the line's position records whether the last centre pass was used:
| How the quarter ended | Where the line goes | Next quarter starts with |
|---|---|---|
| A centre pass, then no shot at goal | Through the middle of that row, with a down slash so it cannot be altered | The other team |
| A centre pass, then shots but no goal | Immediately under the last pass taken | The other team |
| A goal, and time before the next centre pass | Immediately under the last pass taken; the next pass is not written | The team owed the centre pass |
When the quarter ends, the scorers check the next centre pass with each other, and the umpires come to the bench and confirm it. Before play restarts, the manual has the scorers put it to the umpires again, "both team and direction", framed as a question for the umpire to confirm.
When the umpires point the wrong way
The scorers act before the pass is taken. Rule 8.5 has both umpires indicate the direction of every centre pass the moment a goal is signalled; if both indicate it wrongly, the scorers notify them "by electronic and/or audible means prior to the centre pass being taken" (8.5b), and an on-court player can appeal too (8.5c). Once the pass has been taken, the manual's instruction is to circle it on the sheet, "continue in the pattern that the Umpires have indicated", and raise it at the end of the quarter: "once taken it cannot be corrected." The commonest time for an error, the manual says, is a stoppage straight after a goal, which is why the scorers signal the centre pass direction after any stoppage (Rule 5.5e).
Team changes and substitutions
Teams can change players or positions only at certain moments: during an interval, during a stoppage for injury, illness or blood (Rule 10.1), and straight after a goal if an on-court player asks the umpire to hold time for a tactical change (Rule 10.2). The number is unlimited, provided the players are those named for the match (Rule 10.4). The scorers record every one. At larger events the team manager fills in a substitution and team change form each time, and a runner may be assigned to take it to the scorers.
Running the clock
Netball's clock counts playing time, which leaves out every stoppage. The timekeepers start timing when the umpire's whistle starts the match, hold time when an umpire signals it and restart when the umpire signals play is resuming, and signal both umpires at once when the quarter's time is up; the controlling umpire then ends play (Rule 5.7). Before each quarter they warn the umpires when 30 seconds and 10 seconds remain before play is due to start.
The clock does not stop for ordinary play. The umpires may hold time "sparingly" to avoid a real loss of playing time, such as the ball leaving the playing enclosure, but otherwise "playing time should not be stopped", including while an umpire awards an infringement that is not foul play (Rule 10.25). Time is held for injury, illness and blood, for emergencies, and after a goal for a tactical change. Each hold goes on the stoppage form.
Injury, blood and the 30-second rule
Under the 2024 rules an injured or ill player has 30 seconds to leave the court and is treated off it. "In all circumstances above, the player concerned must leave the court within 30 seconds and receive any treatment off the court. The timekeepers advise the umpires when 10 seconds remain" (Rule 10.13). If a medical attendant says the player cannot be moved safely in that time, the umpires extend it and tell the bench (10.15). Wikipedia's Rules of netball article, read on 2026-10-11, still gives "a maximum of two minutes" for an injury, which describes older rule books, not the current one.
| Situation | Who holds time | The bench | Afterwards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Injury or illness | The umpires, on a request from an on-court player, a primary care person or the concussion observer, or unasked for an obvious or serious injury | Timekeepers warn at 10 seconds of the 30; the stoppage goes on the form | Substitute, or play on with the position empty; a Centre must be replaced by moving another player |
| Bleeding or blood-stained clothing | The umpires, when they notice it | The same | The player leaves within 30 seconds; blood-stained clothing on any player is replaced within the stoppage |
| Player cannot be moved safely in 30 seconds | The umpires extend the time | The umpires notify the bench | As above |
| Position left empty | Scorers note the change | The player or a substitute returns at the next break in play (10.22) |
Both teams may make substitutions and team changes during the stoppage, as long as they finish within the time the umpires allow (10.19).
Suspensions and ordering off
A suspension is two minutes of playing time and an ordering off four, and the timekeepers time both (Rule 5.7f and g). Each "begins when play restarts" (Rules 18.33 and 18.40), and the clock behind it is playing time, so a hold for an injury stops the suspension too. When the time is up the timekeepers advise the reserve umpire. The other team gets a penalty pass, and no one stands out of play for it (Rule 6.9).
| Suspension | Ordering off | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 2 minutes of playing time | 4 minutes of playing time |
| Starts | When play restarts | When play restarts |
| How many | Only one per player in a match (18.30) | Ends the player's match |
| Meanwhile | The position is left empty, unless it is Centre, which another player must take | The same |
| Comes back | The player or a substitute, at the next break in play | A substitute only, at the next break in play |
The suspension carries across an interval. A suspended player may join the team during an interval but "must return to the umpires' bench when play restarts for the remainder of the suspension period" (18.35), so a suspension given with a minute left in a quarter finishes a minute into the next.
What to bring to the bench
None of this needs special equipment, but each part needs something written at the moment it happens. A bench without an electronic scoreboard needs:
- the score sheet with both team lists, and a second running score sheet if there are two scorers;
- a stopwatch for playing time that can be held and restarted, and a second one for suspensions;
- the stoppage form, or a column on the sheet, for the start and end of each quarter and every hold;
- a way to signal the umpires before a wrong centre pass is taken: a buzzer, a whistle or a raised card agreed before the match;
- pens, and a clipboard if the bench is outdoors.
Simple Online Counter is a free, browser-based set of counters, and its netball score counter keeps the goals by quarter and the centre pass order on one screen, the second scorer's job, including the end-of-quarter question and a swap for a centre the wrong team took. It records what you tap, keeps no shooting statistics or clock, and does not replace the official score sheet.
Frequently asked questions
What does a scorer do in netball?
The scorers keep the record of the match (World Netball Rule 5.3 to 5.5). Before play they write down every player, with starting positions, and the team officials. During play they record each goal and each unsuccessful shot, keep the centre pass record, record team changes and substitutions, call the correct centre pass if an umpire asks, and warn the umpires before a wrong centre pass is taken.
What does a timekeeper do in netball?
The timekeepers make sure each quarter and interval is the right length (Rule 5.6 and 5.7). They warn the umpires 30 and 10 seconds before a quarter starts, start timing on the whistle, signal the end of each quarter, hold time when an umpire signals it, warn when 10 seconds of an injury stoppage are left, and time two-minute suspensions and four-minute orderings off.
How do you record missed shots on a netball score sheet?
Under Netball Australia's convention each shooter has a column. A goal is written as a number, a missed shot as a dot, a missed shot from a penalty pass as P, and a goal from a penalty pass as a circled number. A shot deflected or intercepted by a defender is still recorded; a miss for which a sanction is then awarded is not.
How long can a netball injury stoppage be?
Under the 2024 World Netball Rules the injured or ill player must leave the court within 30 seconds and be treated off it (Rule 10.13). The timekeepers tell the umpires when 10 seconds remain. If medical staff say the player cannot be moved safely in that time, the umpires extend it. The two-minute injury allowance of older rule books no longer applies.
How long is a suspension in netball?
Two minutes of playing time, starting when play restarts (Rule 18.33). The player sits at the umpires' bench, the position stays empty unless it is Centre, and the player or a substitute returns at the next break in play after the time is up. An ordering off is four minutes, after which only a substitute may come on. A player can be suspended only once a match.
Does a goal count if the whistle blows while the ball is in the air?
Yes. If the whistle to end a quarter, or to hold time, goes after the ball has left the shooter's hands and the shot goes in, the goal is scored (Rule 9.2). If a penalty pass in the goal circle has been awarded but not taken when time runs out, play is extended for it, and a goal from it counts too.
Can one person score a netball match?
The full bench is two scorers and two timekeepers, but Rule 21 allows fewer at other levels of play: at least one scorer and one timekeeper should be appointed. Two scorers are worth having because the second keeps an independent running score and centre pass record, which is how a mistake is caught before the centre pass is taken.
What happens if a netball player is late?
A team can start with five players, one of whom plays Centre. A late player tells the umpire and goes on at the next break in play, into a vacant position (Rule 3.8), and the scorers add them to the record. A team with fewer than five players gets 30 seconds; after that the umpires award the match to the other team.