Girls’ Program Development: 2021-2025

At the end of the 2021 season, our girls’ program faced significant challenges, with only 28 youth and 49 junior girls, no female umpires, and limited female coaches and girls’ teams. In response, a group of dedicated volunteers crafted a long-term plan to build a comprehensive girls’ program, aiming not only to provide a pathway into QAFLW with our senior club for those aspiring to play at the highest level, but also to create opportunities for girls who simply want to play with friends and have fun. Our goal was to ensure a program that catered to all skill levels and ambitions.

We focused on creating an inclusive, supportive environment that addressed the holistic needs of adolescent girls, using the Australian Physical Literacy Framework. Our program emphasized continued participation, a sense of belonging, a fun and safe environment, and fostering a community-minded culture.

Our success was measured by several key indicators identified in our initial plan, a summary of which looks like this:

• Player Retention and Membership Growth: We’ve seen remarkable growth in female participation at the club, now making us the largest junior and youth girls’ club in QLD. This growth indicates that our program is successfully fostering long-term involvement and skill development.
• Increased Female Participation: Female participation has grown significantly, with female players now making up 39% of our registrations, up from 21% in 2021. We now have multiple teams or divisions in all but one age group, highlighting the program’s success in engaging and developing female athletes. Additionally, we have 9 female coaches, and female club umpires make up 48% of our junior umpire pool.
• Key Transition Milestones & Retention: We’ve successfully guided players through key transition points—Auskick to Superstars, Superstars to Juniors, and Juniors to Youth—ensuring players stay involved at every stage of their development.
• Leadership Development: We’ve nurtured youth leadership within the program, with more young players stepping up to take on coaching and umpiring roles and lead community initiatives.
• Community Involvement: Our players’ growing involvement in community initiatives, including voluntary roles at the club, shows their increasing sense of social responsibility and alignment with our values.
• Representative Success: Players have earned Regional, QLD, and Academy representation, and we’ve integrated our U17 program with the senior QAFLW team, creating a seamless pathway to higher levels of competition.

As we launch the 2025 season, we proudly celebrate our achievements and look forward to the next phase of our program’s growth.

You can read more about our program through this link, reviewing our initial SWOT and how we linked our program goals to the Four Domain Elements of the Framework, as well as see our detailed outcomes.

Our thanks to our 2021 working group

• Kim Bridle- Club Secretary, Youth Parent, Age Group Coordinator  
• Belinda Scarth-Johnson- Team Manager, Youth Parent
• Helena McNaught- Coach, Youth Parent, AFLQ
• Necole Wolf- Age Group Coordinator, Parent, Social Worker

In consultation with 

• YJAFC Committee
• Emily Bates- Lifetime Devil & AFLW Player
• Lexia Edwards- 2021/22 Yeronga QAWFL Head Coach & Representative AFL Player
• Megan Green -GM People & Organisational Development Gold Coast Suns & Former Multi Sport Representative Athlete
• Ben Blythe- Youth Parent and Coach 
• David Hodge- Youth Parent, Director Athletes Agency International, Former Head Coach Tennis Australia, RISE Sport Director
• Joel Archbald- Level III Coach, club parent

*club numbers updated April 2025