Abstract

New Zealand is one of the very few countries where the national netball team (known as the Silver Ferns) has a high public profile. The popularity of the Silver Ferns reflects in part the status of netball as the most popular team sport in New Zealand in terms of participation. It also, however, reflects the ways in which the captains and coaches of the Silver Ferns have constructed a positive image of the team through developing their team culture and relationships with sponsors and the media. This paper examines how they have achieved this development since 1960, when international netball emerged as a seven-a-side game, and how they have done so while navigating changing societal values on amateurism, gender roles, race relations and national identity.

摘要

新西兰是国家投球队（称为银蕨队）具有较高公众形象的极少数国家之一。Silver Ferns 的受欢迎程度部分反映了无板篮球作为新西兰最受欢迎的团体运动的参与度。然而，这也反映了银蕨队的队长和教练通过发展团队文化以及与赞助商和媒体的关系来树立团队正面形象的方式。本文探讨了自 1960 年以来他们如何实现这一发展，当时国际投球成为一项七人制比赛，以及他们如何在业余爱好、性别角色、种族关系和民族认同等不断变化的社会价值观中导航。