Australian Rules Football is underpinned by the work of 60,000 volunteers, 24,000 of which are women. 36% of members at AFL clubs are female, 38% of the AFL’s TV audience each weekend are female and 40% of the volunteers at Auskick clinics each weekend are women. And this quiet revolution is going on at all levels. Of the 125,000 registered Auskick participants, 15,000 are girls.
And since 1998, the significant contribution that women have made to AFL football has been recognised. The Essendon Football Club Women’s Network AFL Football Woman of the Year has been presented for the past five years and it is quickly becoming one of the highlights of Grand Final week.
Although presented by the Essendon Football Club at its AFL-endorsed Essendon Women’s Network Grand Final Lunch, the award is open to women from all sections of the industry. The previous winners of the award are:
1998: Irene Chatfield
1999: Jill Lindsay
2000: Caroline Wilson
2001: Katrina Pressley
2002: Beverly Knight and Bev O’Connor
Former winner and now judge Caroline Wilson said the Football Woman of the Year announcement had become a significant part of Grand Final week. “It is now a major punctuation mark in Grand Final week and it gives women the chance to grab some ownership,"" Wilson said.
“I think the first two winners of the award were very significant. You had a grass roots supporter who played a major role in the survival of a football club in Irene Chatfield.
“We then had Jill Lindsay who is the only women to hold a position of authority in the AFL and survive. It was interesting that Jill Lindsay was voted as Football's Woman of the Year well before the AFL granted her life membership.""
“This is a competitive business we are in and this is the Premiership for women. And the Essendon Women’s Network has done it well – they are the model that all women’s networks in the AFL are based on.”
Nominations are now open for the 2003 Football Woman of the Year award. The independent judging panel comprises Andrew Demetriou, Wilson and Joan Hamilton. The nominees will be judged on the following criteria:
1. Commitment to the support and advancement of football
2. A passion for the game
3. The ability to make a difference on the football scene
4. A keen knowledge of the game including its history and its future
5. Club membership
6. Willingness to advocate publicly for women as partners with men in football
7. A sense of humour a fair play.
And the EWN Grand Final week luncheon is famous for its not-so-serious debate. This year’s panel includes Tracy Bartram, Denise Scott, John Rothfield and Sam Lane. The debate topic will be “Footy Ain’t What It Used To Be”.
The EWN Grand Final Week Lunch is on Thursday, September 25th. Click here for more information.
