Ladies and gentlemen – we’re finally here. The NRL officially launched the Women in League Round on Monday, and I was lucky enough to be there.
It was a sensational event and it was great to hear from influential women such as Canterbury boss Raelene Castle.
It was also a pleasure to meet the mum of Brett and Josh Morris and to see how unwavering her support of her two boys has been.
It is undeniable that we are approaching a very special round of football, which will run in Round 10 of the NRL season (May 16-19), and you should tell all your friends!
It’s time to get talking about the Women in League Round. Here at Ladies Who League we are planning a massive celebration. We don’t want to ruin it, but keep your eyes on the site over the next two weeks, it’s going to be worth the wait.
I’m not the only one celebrating.
The NRL are also celebrating with some new initiatives for the round.
First of all, more than 130 women will take part in the NRL’s inaugural leadership workshop series this month. This was announced along with the Wellbeing and Balance Workshop, which is the start of an ongoing program led by the NRL to invest in the fastest growing area of influence in the game – women.
There will be four workshops held all across Eastern Australia, including in Wollongong and on the Sunshine Coast.
NRL chief operating officer Jim Doyle stressed the importance of this new initiative, saying that “it is important for women and girls to be able to get involved in the game and make them feel proud of their role and their contribution to rugby league”.
If you don’t believe me when I say that women are fastest growing area of influence in the game, here are some stats that might change your mind:
· Female player registrations have increased 66 per cent over the last 12 months
· 40% of club positions are held by women
· There are six women in NRL club board positions at the Broncos, Cowboys, Rabbitohs, Sea Eagles, Titans and Warriors
· 39% of NRL fans are women
· Throughout 1300 grassroots clubs, more than 2500 women hold senior volunteer positions in 2014
· The number of female coaches continues to rise, with 265 in 2014
· There are 19 countries around the world where women plan rugby league including Australia, France, England, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Russia.
There has also been much to celebrate in the last 12 months.
Significant achievements include Castle’s appointment as CEO of the Bulldogs and the appointment of Corene Strauss as Men of League CEO. Rebecca Frizelle is now the Titans Board Chair and Linda Burney is the ARL Indigenous Council Chair.
The Jillaroos won the Women’s Rugby League World Cup for the first time and we won the Trans-Tasman series in all three divisions last month. Kasey Badger and Belinda Sleeman have also become the first female referees to be included in the full-time elite match officials squad.
But we still have a long way to go. So as we start the lead up to a sensational round of football, remember the series of ways women influence the game and then … tell a friend!
Read more @ladieswholeague
Storm Boy
Guest
Look WIL is a good initiative but as usual expect it to be hijacked by RL media to attack the players and the code. Poorly timed behavioural incidents from NRL players overshadow upcoming Women in League round. Ben Glover FOX SPORTS http://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/poorly-timed-behavioural-incidents-from-nrl-players-overshadow-upcoming-women-in-league-round/story-fn2mcuj6-1226907268828
Storm Boy
Guest
Never mind what the NRL can do what about RU people? The ARU is demanding every junior pay more money to the ARU to play while the ARU is using its money to pay female league players to switch over codes.
seajay23
Guest
I agree with your Mary, but the lure of olympic selection will be hard to resist. It would be a shame to see all the good work that is being done with female league development be undermined, but you can't begrudge players if they do opt for union. Obviousy paying the elite women players well would be a good start
Cathar Treize
Roar Guru
I think paying for the girls to participate in their world cup, curtain raiser to Aust NZ test etc is example of the NRL starting to take women's footy serious. If their are opportunities in other sports then good luck to them.
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
The bottom line is seajay, that while it is exciting to see the women playing and finally getting acknowledgement, the NRL needs to step up and compensate our athletes. The NRL have made it clear that women are a priority as it is a growing area of the game. We've acknowledged our athletes, now the next step is to protect them from being poached - similar to how we try to protect our NRL stars from being poached by other codes too. I want to see our female athletes become well known so that there is outrage when they leave our code to play elsewhere because I want to see women play NRL and to keep playing NRL. Women are too valuable to the sport for the NRL to just let the female competition die off. What are your thoughts?
Mary Konstantopoulos
Expert
James, thanks for your great comments. In terms of Ladies who League, I started it about 10 months ago with the aim of getting more females writing about NRL. The concept is basically any female is able to submit a blog, so we've had probably 15 contributors in the last year and it just keeps growing. I appreciate your support!
seajay23
Guest
Mary, what is your response to rugby union poaching our best women players by offering them a salary and the prospect of olympic representation and a possible olympic medal? See this recent article: http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/story/2253771/female-players-in-rugby-unions-sights/?cs=2382 Are we going to watch female league die off or will the NRL respond?
jamesb
Guest
I admire your passion for all things Parramatta and women in league. How many female fans are involved in Ladies who League? FWIW, maybe one day, there could be a female NRL league.