The celebrations will coincide with the launch of a book, Sixty Years of Netball in the Illawarra, which celebrates the sport's rich history in the region.

The book is the brainchild of long-serving netball officials Maureen Fairhurst and Norm Rogers.

Rogers spent hundreds of hours researching the publication at Wollongong library and in the Illawarra Mercury archives.

The author yesterday urged present as well as past netball players to attend the reunion next Sunday.

"It's important everyone celebrates the development of the sport and its history," Rogers said.

The book features more than 180 photographs, some dating back to the sport's fledgling years in the 1940s.

Netball was known as women's basketball until 1970.

The Illawarra District Netball Association features almost 1800 players under the age of 17, as well as 560 senior players.