Gala Day on Sunday to start junior season
Darcy Oakes kicks Inverell's opening goal of the 2022 Under-14s Grand Final.
JUNIOR AFL for 2023 gets underway on Sunday with a huge day of footy at Tamworth’s Riverside Sporting Complex.
Clubs from around the North West will be converging on Tamworth for a Gala Day with matches organised for kids in the Under 10 and Under 12 age groups.
The day starts at 10am with matches being played at Riverside No.5. Players and their parents are asked to arrive by 9.45am at the latest so all of the players can be placed into teams.
The Under 10 matches for kids born in 2013, 2014 and 2015 will be played in a non-competitive format where nobody keeps score and tackles are modified so players aren’t taken to the ground.
The Under 12s for kids born in 2011 and 2012 is closer to typical football and is the first step kids can take in a competitive format.
On top of that there will also be an Auskick session for kids aged 5 to 7 being held between 10.30am and 11.30am.
Development Coordinator for NSW North West Khobi Devine said even kids who aren’t yet affiliated to a club or Auskick centre can join in on Sunday.
“Any kid who is turning 5 to 12 years of age this year and wants to try AFL can come down to Riverside and have a go,” Devine said.
“We’re providing footy for kids that in the past have been caught at an age between Auskick and Under 14s where neither was really suitable for them. Now they have the opportunity to not only start playing matches at a younger age but continue their love of the game that they’ve built through the Auskick or school programs.”
The day will conclude with the first match of the Under 14 season being played at noon between the Tamworth Roosters and New England Nomads.
Further Gala Days for the kids are being held right throughout the season.
After this Sunday’s big day in Tamworth, Gala Days are going to be held in Armidale (May 21), Inverell (June 4), Gunnedah (June 18), Narrabri (July 2) and Glen Innes (July 23) where players and their families are encouraged to travel and participate in as many of them as they can.
