Participation programs fuelling growth across North West
A school holiday program is being conducted in Narrabri on Monday, July 14.
WHILE the AFL North West community proudly shared the many stories of growth in player numbers in the community football space, it’s important to recognise the foundational work of the AFL Northern NSW Participation & Programs (P&P) team whose efforts continue to underpin that success.
After School Programs in the AFL North West region are up a massive 112% year-to-date.
These After School Programs remain a critical recruitment tool, enabling the AFL to collect participant data, foster local connections and maintain communication with families to support their transition into club environments.
In Term 1, there were three After School Programs conducted at club grounds in Tamworth, Armidale and Inverell.
As part of this, a trial of sending personalised physical letters to participants who had opted into marketing communications was held.
The result?
An impressive 10% boost in transition rates across the region, with an average of 21% of participants from these programs going on to register with a local club.
One standout example of success came from Tamworth, where 27% of the 77 participants from the Term 1 After School Program went on to join their local club. Charlie from the Tamworth Auskick Centre said:
“1st and foremost the work Lachie and Ruby have done in all the Tamworth schools has been first class. Lachie’s engagement with the kids is outstanding and Ruby is great also. Key from my point of view is being involved in the programs, helping at some of the programs Calrossy Carinya etc. Even if I could not get there for all program was just turning up at the start and introducing community footy and next steps: ‘If you enjoy what are you doing today playing AFL, then come and join our club we run a weekly session and gala days each 3 weeks” has been a great structure, come to as much or as little as you’.”
With these learnings in hand, the region’s P&P team led by Participation Co-ordinator Lachie Bennetts-Inkster is now developing a formal case study to be shared with clubs in the off-season. The aim is to secure club buy-in for future activations that include AFL-delivered Auskick and Superkick programs, complemented by club-run AFL Nines to maximise off-season recruitment opportunities.
In addition to the above and to further enhance the retention of our players, their development, and the recruitment of new players, we are placing increased focus on school holiday programming.
In the July school holidays two programs are set to take place:
Narrabri Holiday Program – 14 July (9am – 3pm)
Tamworth Holiday Program – 11 July (9am – 3pm)
These programs offer more opportunities than ever to connect new families with our game and strengthen the pathway from participation to club footy.
