Can you be penalised for standing back from the line?

Can you be penalised for standing back from the line when taking a sideline throw in in netball?

Yes you can - your foot must be up to but not over the line.

The rules state that a player must step up to the line BUT it does NOT say how close. I coach my team to leave at least a line thicknes between their toes & the line. No danger of standing on the line & do umpire will penalise that.

thanks guys - when I did my umpiring course last year, we were told you should encourage a player to step forward (by the umpire) but there was no reason why they could not stand further away as they were only taking themselves further away from the court?? What would be the penalty then, giving the throw in to the opposition?

Yes not stepping up to the line is as much of a line infringement as touching it and the penalty is giving the throw in to the other team. How close the player should be standing is at the umpire's disgresion but being deemed not close enough means that the umpire does not think the player has made an effort to take the throw-in in a serious manner. It can also be an advantage to stand further back as you can see everything on the court better from futher back, this is why the umpire should always take a step back to better see.