The meeting was well attended with representatives from SWAFL, Illawarra AFL, Illawarra Youth Girls AFL and the men's Wollongong Bulldogs present with also 10 eager ladies. At the meeting Dave Johnson of the Illawarra AFL with his unceasing energy revealed the vision of how Illawarra Youth Girls started, and now the proposed Illawarra Women's team was the vehicle to continue their career path.
However it was essential that the ladies present and who may be intending to join that this was THEIR team, whilst the Men's club could give them assistance in terms of networks and resourcing such as training, it would be vital that the ladies would take ownership of the potential club. This meant it would be essential to find match day coaches and other support staff.
Illawarra if accepted into SWAFL will be looking for equity in terms of match scheduling with at least half of their matches to be played in the region at UOW Oval No. 3. With the positive vibe in the air, timeframes will be accordingly developed by the club whether to pursuit an entry into the SWAFL season or a contigency plans should the venture not go ahead.
Currently the team will be training with the men. Details will be update here and on their website, when news comes to hand.
Their website is
http://www.illawarrawomensafl.com/
To register your interest in playing click on
here.
Major thanks to Lee Murray of the Men's Bulldogs for their generosity, Dawn Giffin for creating a path that others will follow and Dave Johnson for pushing ahead with an utopian vision. Now it's up to the ladies to carry the torch and make dreams a reality.
If you are interested in creating history and becoming either: a coach, goal umpire, assistant coach, water carrier or runner and be involved in this fantastic venture please ring Dave at 0407 288 955
Last Modified on 28/02/2010 20:38