Netball court markings for school playgrounds
We mark netball courts in hard-wearing thermoplastic for schools, nurseries and councils across the UK and Ireland, from a single court to a multi-use games area (MUGA) that adds basketball, football or tennis. Each design has a fitted guide price, and the survey and design are free.
Netball court markings designs and guide prices
Popular netball designs we install, with guide prices. Every project is quoted after a free survey and design.
- Enhanced DBS checkedOur installation teams are enhanced DBS checked and carry photo ID showing their DBS number.
- Guaranteed up to 4 yearsGuaranteed up to 4 years, depending on your surface.
- Designed and cut in-houseOur designs are produced and cut in-house.
What are netball court markings?
Netball court markings are the lines that turn a hard playground into a netball court, and on a full-size court they mark two 30.5m side lines, two 15.25m goal lines, two transverse lines, a centre circle and two goal circles.
The transverse lines run across the court and split it into thirds. World Netball's rules ask for a court that is level and firm, and Sport England notes that most outdoor netball courts are porous macadam, an open-textured tarmac that lets rain drain through.
We design and install them in thermoplastic, heat-bonded to the surface with an anti-slip, skid-resistant textured finish. Netball is one part of our sports court and MUGA line markings, so one survey can plan netball alongside basketball, football or tennis.
What types of netball court markings do we install?
Uniplay supplies and installs six netball court marking designs: the Netball Court, the Netball / Basketball Court, the Netball / Football Court, the Netball/Mini Football Court, the Multi Court and a four-sport Multi Court, all laid out on a 30m by 15m rectangle.
The Netball Court design is the plain netball layout in yellow, split into three equal thirds by two transverse lines, with a centre circle and a shooting semicircle at each end. It suits a playground that only needs netball.
The Netball / Basketball Court puts white netball lines and yellow and red basketball lines on the same rectangle, including the basketball key, centre circle and three-point arcs at each end.
Two designs pair netball with football. The Netball / Football Court marks football in white and netball in yellow, and the Netball/Mini Football Court adds a white centre line, centre spot and goal areas to a yellow netball court.
For more sports, the Multi Court lays a red tennis-style court with its own centre line and circle over a yellow outer court with a semicircle at each end. The Multi Court for netball, basketball, tennis and mini football overlays all four sports in white, yellow, red and blue.
What are the dimensions of a school netball court?
A full-size school netball court measures 30.5m by 15.25m under World Netball's Rules of Netball, with three thirds of about 10.17m, a centre circle 0.9m across, a goal circle of 4.9m radius at each end and 50mm lines.
The lines count as part of the court, so those measurements run to the outside edges of the side lines and goal lines.
Run-off is the clear margin outside the lines. England Netball's preferred run-off for community play is 2m beyond each goal line and 1.5m beyond each side line, so a full court needs about 34.5m by 18.25m of clear playground. Club play prefers 3.05m all round, which takes the total to 36.6m by 21.35m.
Our netball designs are listed at 30m by 15m. Where the playground has room we mark to the recognised court dimensions, and where it does not we set the court out within the space available, scaling it down if we need to. A full competition court needs the extra run-off as well as the court itself.
The School Games primary formats, produced with England Netball, can use the same lines. Years 3 and 4 play 4 v 4 Bee Netball, and the format names one third of a court as the ideal space, so one marked court can hold three games at once.
Years 5 and 6 play 5 v 5 across a court split into thirds, with no wing positions: the Centre covers the whole court, the Goal Shooter and Goal Attack use the centre and attacking thirds, and the Goal Defence and Goal Keeper the centre and defending thirds.
Junior posts are lower. The sportscotland netball datasheet sets goalposts at 2.75m for primary school age and 3.05m for older pupils and adults.
| Measurement | Full-size netball court |
|---|---|
| Length (side lines) | 30.5m |
| Width (goal lines) | 15.25m |
| Each third | About 10.17m long |
| Centre circle | 0.9m diameter |
| Goal circle | Semicircle of 4.9m radius |
| Line width | 50mm, counted as part of the court |
| Run-off, community play (preferred) | 2m at each end, 1.5m at each side |
| Run-off, club play (preferred) | 3.05m all round |
| Overall space with community run-off | 34.5m x 18.25m |
| Overall space with 3.05m run-off | 36.6m x 21.35m |
| Uniplay netball designs (listed size) | 30m x 15m |
Court sizes from World Netball's Rules of Netball (2024 edition), run-off from England Netball and overall space from Sport England. Our designs are listed at 30m x 15m and set out to suit the space you have.
What do netball court lines mean?
Netball court lines set out where every player may go: the transverse lines create a centre third and two goal thirds, the centre circle is where each centre pass starts, and the goal circles mark the only area a goal can be shot from.
The side lines and goal lines form the boundary. Play restarts after every goal with a centre pass, taken by the Centre with at least one foot wholly inside the centre circle, and only the Goal Shooter or Goal Attack can score, from anywhere in the goal circle including its line.
Each line belongs to the area it outlines. A player touching the line around their own area is still in it. A player who steps over it into an area their position does not allow is offside, and the other team takes a free pass from that spot.
Umpires judge offside, and whether a shot counts, against those lines, so where each one sits matters in a real match. Our Netball Court design marks every one of them.
In the full seven-a-side game, the lines create five playing areas for each team, and World Netball's rules give every position its own set:
- Goal Shooter (GS): the attacking third, including the goal circle
- Goal Attack (GA): the attacking third and goal circle, plus the centre third
- Wing Attack (WA): the attacking third outside the goal circle, plus the centre third
- Centre (C): all three thirds, but neither goal circle
- Wing Defence (WD): the centre third, plus the defending third outside the goal circle
- Goal Defence (GD): the centre third, plus the defending third and goal circle
- Goal Keeper (GK): the defending third, including the goal circle
How much do netball court markings cost?
Netball court markings cost from around £545 for our single Netball Court to about £1,695 for the Multi Court marked for netball, basketball, tennis and mini football, fitted, with four combination courts priced in between.
These are guide prices that include installation and exclude VAT. The final figure comes from the survey, because the court size, the number of sports, lines and colours, and the state of the surface all change it.
Basketball adds the most. The Netball / Basketball Court at £1,095 costs about twice the plain court, while mini football lines add £50 to the netball layout.
Ask for a free survey and we will price the court for your playground.
| Design | Sports marked | Layout size | Guide price, fitted (ex VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netball Court (PMSPORT2) | Netball | 30m x 15m | £545 |
| Netball/Mini Football Court (PMSPORT16) | Netball and mini football | 30m x 15m | £595 |
| Netball / Football Court (PMSPORT25) | Netball and football | 30m x 15m | £749 |
| Multi Court (PMSPORT8) | Yellow outer court with end semicircles, plus a red tennis-style court | 30m x 15m | £945 |
| Netball / Basketball Court (PMSPORT24) | Netball and basketball | 30m x 15m | £1,095 |
| Multi Court: Netball, Basketball, Tennis, Mini Football (PMSPORT21) | Netball, basketball, tennis and mini football | 30m x 15m | £1,695 |
Guide prices include installation and exclude VAT. The final price is confirmed after the survey.
What colours should netball court markings be?
Netball court markings are preferably white under World Netball's rules, which set every line at 50mm wide, while our single Netball Court design is laid in yellow and our combined courts give each sport its own colour.
Yellow gives a strong contrast on dark playground tarmac, and every colour is agreed on the court plan before installation.
On a multi-sport court, Sport England's rule of thumb is to mark the most-played sport in white, the second in yellow, then blue and then red. Our Netball / Basketball Court follows that order for a netball-first school, with netball in white and basketball in yellow and red.
The two football combinations flip it, marking football in white and netball in yellow.
Court surface colour is a separate choice. A coloured surface changes which line colours stand out, so it is worth deciding both at the same time.
Can netball court markings share a court with basketball and football?
Netball court markings share a playground well with basketball, because FIBA's 28m by 15m basketball court fits inside the 30.5m by 15.25m netball court, and our combined designs add football or tennis lines on the same 30m by 15m rectangle.
Sport England's surfaces guidance lists netball and basketball together among the sports most often played on multi-use games areas. For courts carrying three or four sports, see our multi-use games area (MUGA) markings.
Our basketball court markings and football pitch markings pages give those sports' own court sizes.
Every extra sport adds lines to read. Sport England warns that overlapping sets of lines make it harder for players to pick out their own, and calls it unwise to add a sport's lines just for completeness if that sport will rarely be played.
At survey we work out which courts fit and where their lines can overlap without confusing players.
What standards apply to netball court markings?
Netball court markings follow World Netball's Rules of Netball for the court, circles and 50mm lines, and England Netball's facility guidance for run-off and outdoor courts, which treats line markings as an essential part of the playing surface.
England Netball's performance standard for outdoor courts expects every line to sit within 15mm of its specified position. It also sets a slip resistance value of at least 75, wet and dry, on the BS EN 13036-4 pendulum test that measures grip. On permeable (free-draining) surfaces it recommends a slope of 0.5% for drainage, with 0.83% as the maximum.
Courts built to that standard are meant to be checked by an accredited test institute once construction is finished.
Where space is short, England Netball leaves community run-off to the venue operator's risk assessment. Sport England's guidance keeps the court itself at 30.5m by 15.25m for club or community competition and lets a formal risk assessment decide whether reduced run-off is acceptable.
On a MUGA, Sport England's surfaces guide treats open-textured porous macadam (Type 2) and polymeric, rubber-based surfacing over macadam (Type 3) as the netball-first options. It does not recommend the softer Type 4 polymeric surfaces for netball.
We work from these figures when we plan a court at survey.
How are netball court markings installed?
Uniplay installs netball court markings in four steps (survey, scaled court plan, surface preparation and heat-bonded thermoplastic lines), and our own installation team usually marks a single court in a day.
At survey we measure the usable area and note the gradient, drainage and any obstacles that affect where the court can go.
You then get a scaled court plan with the colour for each sport, so PE staff can check the layout and dimensions before anything is laid.
On the day we prepare the surface and lay the lines to the agreed layout. Preformed thermoplastic, cut to shape before it reaches site, is used for fine detail, and larger colour fills are hot-applied by hand. Everything is heat-bonded to the surface.
A full MUGA with several sports takes a little longer than one court.
How long do netball court markings last?
Netball court markings in preformed thermoplastic carry our warranty of up to four years, subject to the condition of the ground, and we have seen Uniplay thermoplastic markings last for more than 10 years.
Our thermoplastic markings last up to 10 times longer than ordinary paint.
How long a court stays crisp depends on the surface underneath and how hard the court is used. England Netball notes that slip resistance drops as a playing surface wears, and recommends upkeep that holds it at a value of 75 for the life of the court.
Worn lines can be refreshed on a return visit.
Why choose Uniplay for netball court markings?
At Uniplay we design and install netball court markings with our own in-house installation team, DBS checked as standard, and we are a Constructionline Silver Member and a CHAS Accredited Contractor.
Every design on this page carries a published guide price that already includes installation, and the survey, design and detailed quote are free, with no hidden costs and our price match promise.
We will also tell you honestly at survey which sports fit your playground properly and which would work better as a compact version.
Ms A Ness at St Vincent's RC Primary School wrote that she was “thrilled with our new court markings, the children are doubly so!”
Book your free survey and we will draw the netball court onto a scaled plan of your playground.
Netball court markings: the spec
| Detail | What we provide |
|---|---|
| Full-size court | 30.5m x 15.25m (World Netball) |
| Our netball designs | Listed at 30m x 15m, set out to suit your space |
| Line width | 50mm, preferably white |
| Community run-off | 2m at each end, 1.5m at each side (England Netball preferred) |
| Guide prices | £545 to £1,695 fitted, excluding VAT |
| Material | Heat-bonded thermoplastic with an anti-slip textured finish |
| Warranty | Up to four years on preformed thermoplastic, subject to the ground |
Netball court markings: your questions answered
Can you mark two netball courts side by side?
Yes, where the playground is big enough. England Netball's preferred community figure is 2m of shared run-off between two courts, or 3m where a fence or net divides them, with 2m at each end and 1.5m at the outer sides. A pair of full courts with a shared margin therefore needs about 34.5m by 35.5m. We measure the space at survey and show both courts on the plan.
Where do the netball posts go on a marked court?
World Netball places each goalpost at the mid-point of the goal line, with the back of the pole on the outer edge of the line. That same mid-point is the centre of the goal circle, so posts and circles have to line up. Our work is the lines, so if you already have posts or ground sockets, show us at survey and the plan is drawn around them.
Can you add basketball or tennis lines to a netball court later?
Yes. We can come back to add a sport, extend a court or refresh worn lines as your PE plans change. The new lines go down in their own colour, agreed on an updated court plan, so the netball lines still read clearly. If a second sport is likely within a few years, mention it at the first survey so the netball court is placed with room for it.
How soon can children play on new netball court markings?
Thermoplastic is ready to use within about 30 minutes of being laid. It sets as it cools, so there is no wet cure time like paint, and the court can go back into use soon after our team finishes the last line.
Is thermoplastic safe for children playing netball?
Yes. The thermoplastic we use is non-toxic and free of lead, chromates and solvents, and its textured finish is anti-slip and skid-resistant. That grip matters in netball, where players land, stop and pivot on a landing foot under the footwork rule.
Do you install netball court markings outside Lancashire?
Yes. We are based in Blackburn, Lancashire, and our own installation team marks courts for schools, nurseries and councils across the UK and Ireland. Every install, near or far, is carried out by that same in-house team. Send us your postcode and a rough size for the playground, and we will arrange the survey.
What should we tell you before a netball court survey?
Tell us how the court will be used: PE lessons, break-time games, club fixtures or community lettings. England Netball prefers more run-off for club play than for community use, so that changes where the court sits. Point out any posts, sockets, drains or fixed equipment, and mention other sports you may want marked, so the first plan we send is close to final.
Can netball court markings go on a coloured court surface?
Yes. Our <a href='/surface-coatings/'>full-colour surface coatings</a> colour the court area itself, and the lines then go down on top in colours chosen to stand out against it. Sport England's surfaces guidance points out that the slip resistance of a colour coating matters for netball, so ask about grip as well as colour when you choose a surface.
Do you mark netball courts for councils and community MUGAs?
Yes. We work for councils as well as schools and nurseries, and our community work includes the Highwall Park MUGA in Waverley, Rotherham, which we delivered on behalf of Proludic. For a park court, tell us which groups will use it, from junior clubs to adult leagues, so the plan gives netball the right priority among the sports marked.
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