WOMEN’S football will take centre stage on Sunday at Woorinen, with Tyntynder and Swan Hill set to face off in the CVFL junior girls under-15 grand final.
The Bulldogs will be aiming to go back-to-back, having won the inaugural grand final by one point 12 months ago, while long-time rivals Swan Hill make their first appearance on the biggest stage of all.
While the under-15 grand final, getting under way at 11.25am, will be the main event, it won’t be the only contest, with the Woorinen youth girls and senior women’s matches against White Hills and North Bendigo to follow in what is being billed as a festival of women’s football.
The action will start at 9am with the remaining under-12 and under-15 girls teams taking to the field for their final matches of the season
Girls football advisory board head Brett Pekin was excited for all clubs and players to celebrate girls football in such a positive way.
“You only have to get along to the games on any given Sunday and see the enjoyment that the girls have in playing the game, the joy on their faces is just unbelievable to be honest,” Pekin said.
“The introduction of AFLW and the AFL promoting it nationally has created a few headlines and exposed girls of all ages to the possibility of playing Aussie rules – but it was incumbent on our community to then go and get a league off the ground locally.
“Following on from last year’s inaugural season, there’s been a lot of work done over the last 12 months to expand the competition from just one grade to two, with the girls now playing in under-12s and under-15s competitions.
“It’s been a tremendous achievement from all involved and is a testament to all the clubs involved, but the development of the girls and the enjoyment they get out of it is well worth it in the end.”
Presentations will follow the grand final, with medallions for both the winners and runners-up, along with awarding of a best-on-ground.
There will also be a presentation to the inaugural league best and fairest in the under-15 competition, as well as encouragement awards to players in all six under-15 teams to wrap up the season.
With such a big day planned, a massive crowd was expected.
Woorinen girls football co-ordinator Naomi Lewis told The Guardian the club was looking forward to helping the league celebrate the female football in the biggest way possible.
“When it was first announced that Woorinen had been allocated the grand final for the junior girls competition, it just seemed like a fantastic opportunity for our region to put female footy all together on one day,” Lewis said.
“With a little bit of assistance from the Central Victorian and Bendigo Junior football leagues, we’ve managed to arrange everything so that we can showcase women’s footy and the opportunities that are there for girls and women to play football.
“Once upon a time, girls didn’t have any options, they played in their local Auskick and that was it – but now, no matter your age, there’s an opportunity for females to play football.
“It’ll be a huge day, and it’s fitting that the grand final will be between Tyntynder and Swan Hill, they’ve been the standout teams all season and have really set the benchmark for the under-15 competition.
“It should be a great game to watch, there’s some really great talent coming through that age group and they just really love it, which is the most important thing of all.”
While the 2023 season is set to come to a close on Sunday, attention will quickly turn to next year and continuing to grow the game.
“The real positive is that any girl that’s interested in playing footy can come and watch what’s happening on Sunday and see that there is any option available for them to play,” Lewis said.
“That’s such a huge positive for the girls in our community, it’s the first time we’ve been able to give them a full pathway from the age of nine or ten right through to adulthood to play football.
“It’s been a long time coming, but it’s here now and it’s not going anywhere.”
Female Football Festival – Woorinen Recreation Reserve
9.00am – Birchip-Watchem v Kerang (under-12), Woorinen v Sea Lake Nandaly (under-15)
10.10am – Tyntynder v Swan Hill (under-12), Birchip-Watchem v Kerang (under-15)
11.25am – Under-15 grand final – Tyntynder v Swan Hill
12.45pm – Woorinen v White Hills (BJFL under-18 girls)
2.15pm – Woorinen v North Bendigo (CVFL women’s)
