The rapid growth in women’s rugby has seen Rugby Victoria launch four new junior girls competitions in season 2022.
U12s, U14s, U16s and U18s girls competitions will now be run during the Winter season, giving a pathway for young women to continue their rugby journey from the youth age groups right through to the open age Lindroth Cup.
Rugby Victoria CEO Chris Evans feels the community demand for more female competitions had lead the state body to ensure more opportunities exist for women to stay involved in the game.
“Ever since the Australian Women’s 7s team won gold at the Rio Olympics, we have seen a steady increase in women and girls participation in Victoria and nationally,” explains Evans.
“Rugby Victoria is working closely with our junior clubs to develop a junior rugby growth strategy which includes a roadmap to increase participation. The first step in the development of the growth strategy was to engage the community.
“After facilitating a community survey late last year, we found that 92% of respondents (girls) said they would be interested in playing a contact format of the game.
“That feedback from the community really re-enforced that the demand is there.”
The community consultation saw Rugby Victoria introduce four new age groups for girls to compete in, with rugby 7s set to be the format adopted across those competitions in the inaugural season.
Although Evans is quick to highlight that the longer format of the game will carefully be integrated into the season.
“We will be facilitating a series of 10-a-side and 15-a-side matches throughout the year to ensure the girls have the opportunity to play the longer formats of the game,” explains Evans.
The junior girls season will mirror the Junior XV a side season and will commence on 7 May, spanning 14 rounds with finals in early September.
Rugby Victoria will be facilitating a two-week ‘Girls Can Tackle’ program in early March, as a way of introducing the game to new girls keen on learning rugby. Registrations for the ‘Girls Can Tackle’ program will open next week.
The Girls Can Tackle program will provide young girls the opportunity to learn the contact elements of the game and provide them with the confidence to participate in a competition match.
Junior girls can still play mixed gender rugby from U6s to U12s (and U13s to U15s with a mixed gender dispensation), however the new junior girls competitions promises to be a great way to increase participation and retain girls in the game.
For those girls not yet ready to be involved in the contact form of rugby, Rugby Victoria will continue to run the U12 and U16 Touch 7s competitions.
“Ultimately, we want to be in a position in 5 years’ time where we are running 15 a side competitions for junior girls. 2022 is the first step in the roadmap,” says Evans
“With the profile and standard of the Super W competition improving each year, the introduction of more competitions for girls ensures we are providing a solid pathway for Victorian girls who aspire to represent their state in Super W.”
Registration is now open for youth girls. Find your local club here to enquire about what team’s they’re offering, or register via Rugby Xplorer.
