Vol. No. Vol. 2618No. 4027
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GROUNDED: From left, Tom Warner, Harry Jupp, Cooper Cramer and Clayton Hiscock with flight sergeant Gavin Patching at the 2024 Nhill Airshow. Despite weather conditions preventing the boys from taking flight, they were still able to inspect the buttons and levers while on the ground. Story and more photos, pages 20 and 21. Picture: PAUL CARRACHER
Junior footy havoc BY COLIN MacGILLIVRAY
A
Wimmera-region football administrator has praised clubs for working to find solutions as a new AFL policy causes havoc with junior age groupings.
The AFL’s National Community Football Policy, released last month, introduced new minimum age requirements for junior footballers across the country. Age catchments for all junior competitions are now set at three years, meaning players more than three years below a competition’s age limit are barred from competing. The Wimmera and Horsham Dis-
trict leagues have this year introduced under-11 football competitions in response to the rules, after previously only running under-14 and under-17 competitions. However, clubs are scrambling to fill junior teams due to the age changes, with many clubs previously using younger players to top-up junior teams – and the AFL handing down the rule changes just weeks before the season starts. Under the new policy, children need to have turned 12 by June 30 this year to play in under-14 football competitions. The policy grants leagues an ability to permit players below age require-
ments to play in ‘exceptional and compelling circumstances’, but Wimmera and Horsham District league administrators said a majority of permit applications were refused. Horsham District Football Netball League chair Rosemary Langley said the league had quite a few applications for exemptions and about half were granted. “Unfortunately about half missed out,” she said. “We’ve given clubs the option to apply again in six weeks once they have had a chance to play in their normal age groups.” Wimmera Football Netball League chair Peter Ballagh said the Wimmera
league received about 25 to 30 permit applications, but only granted about a third of them. “It will be a work in progress during the next month or so as we refine the process and get a feel for how the system works,” he said. AFL Wimmera Mallee regional manager Angela Ballinger said AFLaffiliated insurer Marsh Advantage Insurance was behind the rule changes. “With the insurer and the way risk is assessed, they wanted to put a lot more parameters around junior age groups,” she said. “We can’t remove risk in our game – we know that. But what we have to do is mitigate risk.”
Mrs Ballinger acknowledged the policy would be difficult to follow for clubs and leagues in areas with low population bases. “Previously under the AFL Junior Match Policy there was a two-year catchment for players, which we know has never been appropriate for regional and rural clubs,” she said. “It’s been poorly adhered to and leagues have been writing their own policies in their bylaws. “They’ve now expanded the junior catchment from two years to three years. It’s great that it’s been extended, but it still isn’t enough for us. Continued page 3
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