Westbourne Grammarians will feature in the first Victorian Amatuer Football Association women’s academy series, which will provide talented youngsters with the opportunity to feature in a round-robin tournament with and against players of their age group.
The series has been in the planning for a couple of years and was launched on weekend when the Melbourne University Women’s hosted Old Scotch at Melbourne University Oval on Sunday.
The series will be played between three clubs – Melbourne University, Old Scotch, and Westbourne Grammarians – and will run for six rounds, featuring players born in 2005 or later. This series is designed as a prelude to the launch of a VAFA under-19s women’s competition in future years.
Westbourne Grammarians senior co-coach Chris Grant said it’s invaluable to be able to place players into a standard of footy suited to where they’re at on their development curve.
“This new category in our women’s pathway gives us another option,” he told the VAFA website. “We will use this series as a development tool for our youngsters, who are keen to test themselves against Old Scotch and Melbourne Uni’s kids.
“We’re excited to have this fantastic opportunity, and we can’t wait to visit Old Scotch in round two.”
VAFA football and umpiring head Dale Christie is delighted to see the series concept come to life.
“There has been a significant rise in the number of young women coming straight out of their local junior or school footy program, so we need to build the same bridge between junior and senior footy that our men have,” he told the VAFA website.
“And that’s under-19s, where if you’re not quite ready for the added speed, intensity, and physicality of senior footy, you can continue to develop your game by playing with and against players of your age.
“We’ve seen what an incredibly useful pathway that is for our men, with so many youngsters starting their VAFA journey in the under-19s and then making their way up into senior footy when they’re ready. For some, that jump comes quickly. For others, it’s a steadier build.
“Either way, it’s important that we provide our young women with the chance to develop at their own pace and not be thrown into senior competition before they’re ready to handle it.”
