Our region’s young women won’t just be hitting the netball courts in pursuit of sporting glory this weekend, with well over 100 girls pulling on the football boots for the first time this Sunday with the inaugural season of the Central Victorian Youth Girls Football League.
The competition is open to any girls aged eight to 14 and will feature six clubs from across the Central Murray and North Central Football Netball Leagues. Held over six weeks – with the Grand Final pencilled in for Sunday, June 5 – the much-anticipated opening round begins with three games at the Woorinen Recreation Reserve and is followed by the Woorinen Youth Girls team’s round one Bendigo Junior Football League clash against Golden Square.
AFL Victoria Participation Co-ordinator David Alderuccio spoke with The Guardian ahead of the first game – and was almost as excited as the participants that the big day was just around the corner.
“It’s super exciting to be a part of it, just for the region to provide girls with this opportunity is fantastic – and one thing that is very clear is that this competition is here to stay, this isn’t a twelve-month plan or program that we’re running, this is going to be a sustainable competition that will start off small and continue to grow in the years to come,” Alderuccio said.
“The clubs are the ones that deserve all the plaudits, for taking the time and putting in the effort to pull all this together – it’s really exciting to be smashing the ceiling of girls sport in the region that’s for sure.”
The day will kick off at 9.30am with Sea Lake taking on Swan Hill in the opening game of the season – before Tyntynder and the Warra Blues face off at 10.40am. Woorinen will then close out the first round when they host Birchip-Watchem, before the Woorinen Youth Girls take to the field against Golden Square from 1pm.
With free entry and four games of junior football being played back-to-back, a big crowd is expected to witness history, according to Alderuccio.
“Most clubs are averaging around 15 players registered per side, which is a really good start and a really good base to build from – and I think that the longer the competition runs, the more we will see girls get involved,” Alderuccio said.
“It’s like anything, once they get a taste of it and have a go, then they will really enjoy it and tell their friends and then participation will grow – but so far there has been nothing but a very positive reception from everyone, which is great.”
With the games being played in a 12 versus 12 format, the only noticeable modification will be to the oval in order to cater for the smaller playing teams.
“We’ve given the clubs the capabilities to increase or decrease numbers depending on availabilities – but probably the biggest thing is that most of the rules are within the AFL junior match day guidelines and therefore there are no distinct rules changes.”
“The modified ground is coming purely from a confidence perspective, so that everyone participating will have the capabilities of playing in different positions and still be involved in the game, as opposed to playing on a full-sized oval.”
CENTRAL VICTORIAN YOUTH GIRLS FOOTBALL LEAGUEROUND 1 @ Woorinen Rec. Reserve
Sea Lake v Swan Hill @ 9.30am
Tyntynder v Warra Blues @ 10.40am
Woorinen v Birchip-Watchem @ 11.50am
BENDIGO JUNIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE UNDER 18 GIRLS
Woorinen Youth Girls v Golden Square @ 1.00pm
