THE Bass Coast Shire Council and the Box Hill Hawks formed a partnership to promote equality and equal opportunities in football and on Sunday afternoon opened the round with VFLW Hawks taking on the Southern Saints before VFL played the Sandringham Zebras.
“It’s important for us to lead the way in equality within the shire,” said Cr Brett Tessari in the official opening presentation of the VFLW round at Wonthaggi Power.
Cr Tessari welcomed AFL Executive General Manager, Laura Kane to Wonthaggi Power’s home ground, and in an interview with the Sentinel-Times, Laura said “You can’t be what you can’t see,”
“So, young girls come along today they might be coming to the women's football, or they might be coming early for the men's football but either way they get to see women in action. And then young boys also see women in action. They see them coaching, playing, umpiring. We've got female umpires out there for both games. And it's so powerful to the adults that those young little boys and girls become.”
“I played AusKick with the boys and I played Junior boys footy. And then I couldn't play, but now a little girl can go right through the pathway and have the exact same experience as the boys. So, it is quite amazing, if you think about where we've come from,” Laura explained.
Local grassroot coaches were given the opportunity to shadow the VFL coaching staff during the two matches, with Bass Coast Breakers coach Ella Angarane sitting in the coaches’ box for curriculum development.
Ella explained that gender equity initiatives have been implemented to promote fair access and participation and acknowledged the slow but positive shift towards gender equity, emphasizing the importance of continued support and advocacy.
“Only 7% of coaches in Victoria last year were women, so there is a big gap,” said Ella. “And through the partnership, we target some core areas that we know without a fair access policy that we can make a difference and see improvement.”
“There is a fair bit to go, but just having days like this and being able to showcase women’s footy – it shows were getting somewhere,” Ella explained.
Box Hill Hawks president Ed Sill addressed the officials at the post-match luncheon sharing that Power and Box Hill Football Club have formed a partnership to provide a development pathway for players in Gippsland, particularly those who don't get drafted.
“The partnership has had a significant impact on the players' football journey and the club's growth,” said Ed. Emphasising the need for collaboration between high performance and community football.
“20% of our VFLW list have Gippsland heritage, as well as 15% of our VFL list, and both captains come from Gippsland.”
Box Hill Hawks VFLW captain Tamara Luke is from Glen Alvie and said, this was my first game on Power’s home ground. “I train here all the time, we held pre-season camp here and I know the blades of grass like the back of my hand, but it was a challenging first half,” Tamara said.
“We gained composure with the footy and managed the wind – this helped us come back in the fourth quarter.” The VFLW Box Hill Hawks took the win over the Southern Saints and Stuart Horner kicked the winning goal for the VFL Hawks against the Sandringham Zebras.
