1. Statement of the problem. After each round of a knock-out netball competition the losing teams drop out until just the winner remains. How many games are played to win the competition when there are eight teams to begin with? 2. Formula and rules used. In a single-elimination (knock-out) tournament each game eliminates exactly one team. Therefore the total number of games needed equals the initial number of teams minus one. We write this as the formula: $$\text{Games} = \text{Teams} - 1$$ 3. Intermediate work and substitution. Substitute $\text{Teams}=8$ into the formula. $$\text{Games} = 8 - 1 = 7$$ 4. Explanation in learner-friendly language. Each game removes exactly one team from the competition. Starting with 8 teams, 7 teams must lose once to leave the single winner. Therefore there are 7 games in total. 5. Final answer. The competition requires $7$ games to determine a winner.