Netball Trial Day Checklist: Everything to Bring, Plan, and Print

Why a checklist matters

Netball trials don't usually fall apart because of the big decisions. They fall apart because nobody remembered to bring extra bibs, or the scoresheets blew off the table, or three selectors used different rating scales and the data is unusable.

A checklist sounds boring. It is also the single highest-leverage thing you can prepare in the week before trials. Print it, share it with your committee, tick things off the night before. Here's the one we recommend.

The week before

• Confirm court bookings, including warm-up courts if you have them
• Send player check-in instructions (where to arrive, what to wear, what time)
• Confirm selectors, time-keepers, and a first-aider are all rostered
• Generate rotations using your trials software or build them by hand
• Print a player list with bib numbers
• Print rating sheets if you're using paper (we recommend not — see step 4 below)
• Confirm your selection meeting is scheduled within 48 hours of the trial

The night before

• Charge every device that will run your trials app or take photos
• Pack the trial kit (see below)
• Re-check the weather forecast — if outdoor, plan a wet-weather contingency
• Brief your selectors via group message: arrival time, briefing time, dress code if applicable

The trial kit

What to physically bring on the day:

• Bibs: at least 1.5x the maximum number on court at any time. Players will lose them, sweat through them, swap them.
• Whistles: one per umpire, plus a spare
• Stopwatches or timing app: don't rely on phones if your reception is poor
• Score recording tools: phones or tablets logged into your stats platform
• A printed master roster: paper backup if devices fail
• Pens, highlighters, sticky notes: more than you think
• First aid kit, ice packs, water: non-negotiable
• Hand sanitiser, sunscreen, spare hair ties: parents will love you
• Tape and markers: for marking positions, court zones, or parent viewing areas

On the day — before players arrive

• Set up a check-in table near the entrance
• Lay out bibs in numerical order so players grab their own
• Mark a clear "selectors only" zone — usually a row of chairs at midcourt
• Run a 10-minute selector briefing covering rating scale, what to watch for, and how to record votes
• Confirm rotation sheets are visible to all coaches running courts

Once players are on court

This is where digital tools earn their keep. If your selectors are recording ratings on phones rather than paper, you eliminate the entire "transcribe everything into a spreadsheet at midnight" problem. GameStats syncs every rating in real time so by the time the last whistle blows, your data is ready to review.

A few tips for the run-of-show itself:

• Have one person — not a selector — owning the clock and rotation transitions
• Keep a running list of any player who arrives late, leaves early, or gets injured
• Take a few action photos for the club's records (with consent)
• Don't make selection decisions during the trial — your job today is to capture data, not interpret it

Selection meeting prep

Before you walk into the meeting:

• Pull aggregated ratings per player, per position
• Flag players where selectors disagreed by more than 2 stars — these are your real discussion items
• Note any player who didn't get a fair sample (late arrival, injury, missed games)
• Have your team structure decided in advance — how many of each position you need, what balance you're going for

Coming in prepared turns a 3-hour meeting into a 90-minute meeting. Your selectors will thank you.

After selections are made

• Notify players in the order and format you committed to (don't post on social media before private messages go out)
• Export and archive trial data — you'll want it next year
• Send a brief feedback message to unsuccessful players acknowledging effort
• Debrief with selectors within a week while the day is fresh

The bottom line

Trials are a logistical event before they're a selection event. Get the logistics right and the selection part becomes much easier. If you'd rather not build all of this from scratch, GameStats trials handles rotations, voting, and reporting in one place — and your data feeds directly into the stats platform once teams are picked.