Few things in sport are tougher these days than keeping community sports alive and kicking.
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Demographic change, social attitudes, the rise of technology, risk management assessments and the like all make life slightly more difficult year by year for the hardy folk that give countless hours on a voluntary basis to grass roots sport.
We are currently morphing, as we have done in Australia around this time of year for a century-and-a-half of organised sport, from summer pursuits to those more commonly engaged in the winter months.
That’s routine, but what’s not is the transformation that local sport is having to make to remain relevant in a society with so many competing attractions or distractions.
I heard some of the best news around community sport for some time after the NTFA season launch. Local umpiring numbers are up, and much of it is due to the recruiting of younger officials into the ranks.
It’s good news not just because young men and women are putting up their hands, but it suggests that some of the barriers may have been lifted. Let’s hope number one is increased respect for those who officiate the game.
Critical mass is so important in so many aspects of sport – building numbers in participation, officiating and administration, and suddenly it becomes more attractive for others to join in.
The northern umpires say that one of the reasons for the positive change is programs that have been conducted jointly with the Northern Tasmania Junior Football Association. It’s great that some youngsters see more than just a couple of pathways onwards from their days in junior footy.
AFL Tasmania boss, Rob Auld spoke at the launch and told those present about his team’s view about where the sport should be in five years’ time.
Number one was participation. Tasmania is currently one of only two jurisdictions where the ratio of junior to senior teams in football is in the minus category. As Auld emphasised it is not necessary to have a degree in mathematics or statistics to work out where that will all end if the trend remains the same or worsens.
AFL Tasmania aims to redress the decline in Auskick numbers but, more significantly, engage more fully with schools. It is clear that the traditional engagement by Tasmanian schools both primary and secondary in Australian rules football has declined in the last decade.
There is no better time to reverse the trend than now, particularly given the juggernaut of women’s AFL. But it requires resources and partnerships.
Fortunately, following the Garlick Report, there has been a significant increased investment of funds in community football and participation in Tasmania.
Regional football administration hubs will provide resources to community competitions in the three regions of the state. These will be introduced in the immediate future under the leadership of the Tasmania Football Council as the peak body for local football.
AFL Tasmania through regional participation managers will prioritise the engagement with schools and the pathway into junior and, eventually, senior competition.
An additional staff role will focus statewide on umpiring development.
Meanwhile the NTFA gets on with the job of delivering quality community football in the north and north east. Change has been embraced.
The youngest competition now becomes under 18 in line with the AFL’s national strategy.
Two of the clubs from the struggling NEFU competition, Bridport and the St Helens-based East Coast Swans have joined the division two roster.
And the season has been structured so that there are bye weekends on most occasions when AFL games are scheduled at UTAS Stadium.
That these decisions have been made when not everyone is happy is the sign of a mature competition, embracing the realities of sport in the 21st century.
Brian Roe is a Director of AFL Tasmania and a member of the Tasmanian Football Council