Sex Differences in Physical Fitness Characteristics and Match-Play Demands in Adolescent Netball: Should Male and Female Adolescents Co-compete in Netball?

Sports participation offers multifaceted benefits, especially during adolescence. However, policies relating to male and female adolescents co-competing in team sports can be prohibitive and lack an evidence base. This study aimed to strengthen evidence on coparticipation of male and female adolescents playing recreational netball. Off-court fitness characteristics (power, speed, agility, and high-speed intermittent running) and match-play performances from global positioning system (GPS) and video analysis were compared in adolescent males (n = 34, mean +/- SD, age, 15.2 +/- 0.8 years) and females (n = 45, mean +/- SD, age, 14.9 +/- 0.7 years), with previous recreational netball experience. Independent t-tests showed adolescent men outperforming females in all off-court fitness characteristics (p 0.05). Notational skill-based comparisons showed that male skills were better in mixed- than single-sex matches. Conversely, competition format did not alter skills of females. Despite more netball experience in females and superior off-court fitness characteristics in males, on-court performance differences between males and females were minimal in these recreational adolescent netball players. Coparticipation in netball was not detrimental to the performance of either sex.