Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / AFL NT CEO Sam Gibson say there’s been a 48 per cent increase in junior and youth girls playing the sport, the highest participation rate in the country

Transcript

AFL NT CEO Sam Gibson say there’s been a 48 per cent increase in junior and youth girls playing the sport, the highest participation rate in the country · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Can I tell you what I am excited about this
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: news that afl NT has released it's twenty twenty two
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: participation data for the Northern Territory, tipping over thirty nine
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: thousand at the participation mark. It's a two percent growth
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: since twenty twenty one.
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: Now.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: The number also reflects the Northern Territory continuing to have
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: the highest rate per capita for football participation in the country.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: And joining me on the line to tell us a
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: little bit more is the head of afl here in
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the Northern Territory, Sam Gibson. Good morning to you, Sam.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: Yeah, morning Katy. Thanks for having me mate.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: You must be pumped with this participation data.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's good to get through the pre rigorous process
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: of accounting that data and see some really good results.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: And you know, obviously we see the hard work of
• 0:53
  Speaker 2: a lot of people across the territory every day essentially
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: that leads to these results. You know, it's really pleasing
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: and you know we've had to see you know, that
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: sustainable growth into the future.
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Now, now, talk me through some of the areas where
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: we have seen the most growth, because I understand that
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: it is actually when it comes to women and girls
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  Speaker 1: playing footing.
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that's the biggest theory of growth, particularly in
• 1:21
  Speaker 2: junior and youth girls. There's the year on year increased
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: there was forty eight percent, which is which is massive
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: and that's obviously the game is growing in the women
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: girls space nationally, but nowhere as fast as as here
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: in the territory. Junior and youth football generally, so so
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: both boys and girls was up about thirty five percent,
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: which is which is pretty strong. Again, a lot was
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: sort of bucking a trend which is happening nationally where
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: you know, a lot of sport is sort of struggling
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: to bounce back from COVID. So that's a really positive
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: thing here. And the growth to SINY in CFL is
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: also a big sort of highlight from the From the
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: numbers that have come through, I think it was an
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: additional forty one teams from from last year to this,
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: so you know that's around you know, seven hundred persistants
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: or so so, so big numbers here in the top end.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: And then as you cascade across the territory, particularly in
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: women and girls and the junior and years.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: Now, Sam have you had to create a whole under
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: ten girls, well, competition because there was such demand or
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: are they still playing in the boys camp. I was
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: of the understanding that there was a whole new, sort
• 2:43
  Speaker 1: of new competition created.
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it has been separated from the boys and its
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: own entity now. And that sort of periodically has happened
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: over the last few years where essentially we've completed the
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: pathway now for for young girls in the game, so
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: that you know, they go off last year and get
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: the passion for the sport, and then now they've got
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: the full pathway tens through to adiens and into senior football.
• 3:12
  Speaker 2: And you know, we've created another division for senior women's
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: football in the top end this year, so that demand
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: is really strong and we're starting to see, you know,
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: a lot more focus on a lot more you know
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: that the standard of football is amazing this year, and
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: you know, we're also going to see a lot more
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: coming in terms of women the girls in other areas
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: of sport as well, coaching and umpiring and then things
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: like that. So it's a great thing for our.
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: Sports, it really is. And the thing that I love
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: is that there seems to be the same pathways whether
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: you're a little girl or a little boy. There are
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: the same pathways for both genders in IFL.
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, look, and that's that's been I guess the thing
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: that's been focused on nationally, but and certainly here in
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: the top end and across other parts of the territory.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: It's it's taking a lot of work, and it's it's
• 4:10
  Speaker 2: easy for us to sort of say, you know that
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: we wanted as the peak body, but in reality that
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: bringing that to life comes off the back of a
• 4:20
  Speaker 2: lot of hard work from clubs and coaches to find
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: more volunteers. It's more volunteers than are needed to make
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: sure that that happens, and you know, make sure as
• 4:29
  Speaker 2: end users are able to facilitate that. You know, it's
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: an area which we need a little bit more investment,
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: a little bit more focused, and make sure we got
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: more umpires to officiate games. There's a lot of a
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: lot goes into making sure that those pathway over there
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: for both boys and girls.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: Now, what do you attribute these growth too? I know
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: that you've said that it is something that you know
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: that you is sustainably sort of seeing over the years,
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: But what do you attribute the growth not just in
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: the girls and women's competition, but right across the board
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: what do you attribute it to.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Oh, look, I don't think there's a silver board. I
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: think the women and girls space has emerged. You know
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: that you're seeing the national competition which is out to
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  Speaker 2: eight or in clubs are now has sort of been
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: a bit of a beacon of hope for particularly junior
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: and youth who you see that there's a sustainable pathway there.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: So I think that's a big part of it. I
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: think probably just the history of the territory and it
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: was such a footy mad jurisdiction. You know. We see
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: that in local grand finals, we see it when we
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: go to basically any remote community across the Northern Territory.
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: We see the love and passion for football. So I
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: think that that sort of that becomes the backbone of
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: these sorts of numbers. And then I think, you know
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: a lot of the people that are tea we partner
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: with in delivering the game, you know, I'm talking clubs
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: and boxiers, different layers of government and so on and
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: so forth have sort of seen that the impact that
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: football can have. And know a lot of the work
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: we do, particularly in remote areas, is around using football
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: as a vehicle for non football outcounts, you know, driving
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: attendance at school and healthier lifestyles and these sorts of things,
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: and you know that that sort of has become a
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: real core business for us. So I think there's a
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: range of things, you know, I think our clubs do
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: a great job in providing for the day to day,
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: you know, offering the football provides and you know, it
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: becomes a mixture of things which lead to these strong
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: numbers and you know, hopefully we end up seeing you know,
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: players ending up on a FL lists you know, and
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: a FL W lists as a result of that. That's
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: that's the cherry on top of the cape.
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it really is. Well, it is wonderful to see
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: you know, such a high level of participate patient in
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: AFL in the Northern territory. I think, you know, whether
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: kids go on to play at an elite level or not,
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: what sport does for them is so wonderful in so
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: many ways. So it is it's great to see and Sam,
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: we always appreciate your time. Good to have a chat
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: with you this morning, Katie.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: Thanks for the time.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: Thank you