With the rapid rise of women’s football over the last 24 months one has to wonder why the football community did not try to make this happen sooner.
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Within our own region alone the growth and appetite for the sport among young women could not be clearer. AFL Goldfields’ 18-and-under youth girls competition first came alive back in 2011, yet in seven short years the competition could be as large as 20 teams at the sound of the first siren of the season.
The demand has grown so substantially that an under-12’s competition was established in 2016, a pathway which will also no doubt continue to flourish.
The AFL and its regional associate bodies must be congratulated for their swift response to the growing demand for their sport, which was highlighted by the sped-up creation of the AFL women’s competition which will become active this year.
For a long time one of the strengths of Australian rules football has been the clear pathway set out for juniors wishing to one day rise to the lofty heights of the elite level of the sport.
The development of the Auskick program in the late 1980s has provided a key launch pad for youngsters to learn the basics of the game, before then moving onto junior competition and then the clearly outlined representative level of the TAC Cup.
While the women’s framework still has some way to go before it mirrors the existing male pathway, it’s only a matter of time.
It is particularly encouraging to see a second club from the Central Highlands Football League take the plunge into girls football, despite clubs at times struggling to fill their junior quotas.
One of the many strengths of the league is its family focus, which sees juniors and seniors play at the same venue against the same club across both football and netball.
Given the inevitable attraction of Australian rules football, girls will look for a place to play the game regardless of whether it is their home club or elsewhere.
For this reason it’s critical that where possible clubs within the CHFL provide a place for girls to play locally, as ensuring families can stick together at a club is an integral part of the league’s fabric.
As Hepburn’s football manager Shane Robertson rightly points out, success in the immediate future is not necessarily about on-field results, but rather providing girls with an opportunity.
