2014 NSW/ACT Youth Girls squad announced
The squad of 30 is made up of the most talented female footballers aged 18 and under from across NSW and the ACT, one of the fastest growing regions for female football. The team will be coached by former GWS GIANTS and Carlton player Setanta O’hAilpin and promises to be the most competitive yet.
For the first time teams from the Northern Territory and Tasmania will combine for the carnival and be known as the Thunder Devils, another first for the tournament is the inclusion of the Woomeras, a team selected from the inaugural Female KickStart Championships for Indigenous Youth Girls, held in late 2013. NSW/ACT will be ably represented in this team by two players – Klarnie Jennings and Demi Doomadgee.
At this year’s championships, three female field umpires including Cecilia Gore-Birch Gault (an Indigenous woman from Kununurra) and Lucinda Lopes (recently promoted VFL umpire and daughter of Maltese and Portugese immigrants) will be joined by six male field umpires to complete the umpiring team. The umpires will receive specialised coaching from the team of Jock Hillgrove (NEAFL Umpires Coach), Eliza Broadbent (AFL Victoria Youth Girls Umpires Assistant Coach) and Adam Davis.
These championships represent another opportunity for young players to challenge themselves against the best, for coaches to test their skills and for the umpires to experience the highest standard of the female football.Nationally, female football participation continues to flourish with a 29 per cent participation increase in 2013 off the back of strong growth over the last decade.
The participation of female footballers of all ages continued to rise, with 169,292 women and girls involved in AFL 9s, Auskick, club and school competitions of six weeks or longer in 2013 (up 24.36 per cent from 2012). It is estimated a further 80,000 were involved in gala days, lightning carnivals and ‘come and try’ days in rural and remote regions.
