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Speaker 1: Can I tell you what I am excited about this

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Speaker 1: news that afl NT has released it's twenty twenty two

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Speaker 1: participation data for the Northern Territory, tipping over thirty nine

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Speaker 1: thousand at the participation mark. It's a two percent growth

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Speaker 1: since twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: The number also reflects the Northern Territory continuing to have

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Speaker 1: the highest rate per capita for football participation in the country.

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Speaker 1: And joining me on the line to tell us a

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Speaker 1: little bit more is the head of afl here in

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Speaker 1: the Northern Territory, Sam Gibson. Good morning to you, Sam.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, morning Katy. Thanks for having me mate.

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Speaker 1: You must be pumped with this participation data.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's good to get through the pre rigorous process

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Speaker 2: of accounting that data and see some really good results.

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Speaker 2: And you know, obviously we see the hard work of

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Speaker 2: a lot of people across the territory every day essentially

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Speaker 2: that leads to these results. You know, it's really pleasing

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Speaker 2: and you know we've had to see you know, that

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Speaker 2: sustainable growth into the future.

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Speaker 1: Now, now, talk me through some of the areas where

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Speaker 1: we have seen the most growth, because I understand that

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Speaker 1: it is actually when it comes to women and girls

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Speaker 1: playing footing.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, that's that's the biggest theory of growth, particularly in

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Speaker 2: junior and youth girls. There's the year on year increased

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Speaker 2: there was forty eight percent, which is which is massive

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Speaker 2: and that's obviously the game is growing in the women

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Speaker 2: girls space nationally, but nowhere as fast as as here

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Speaker 2: in the territory. Junior and youth football generally, so so

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Speaker 2: both boys and girls was up about thirty five percent,

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Speaker 2: which is which is pretty strong. Again, a lot was

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Speaker 2: sort of bucking a trend which is happening nationally where

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Speaker 2: you know, a lot of sport is sort of struggling

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Speaker 2: to bounce back from COVID. So that's a really positive

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Speaker 2: thing here. And the growth to SINY in CFL is

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Speaker 2: also a big sort of highlight from the From the

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Speaker 2: numbers that have come through, I think it was an

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Speaker 2: additional forty one teams from from last year to this,

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Speaker 2: so you know that's around you know, seven hundred persistants

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Speaker 2: or so so, so big numbers here in the top end.

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Speaker 2: And then as you cascade across the territory, particularly in

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Speaker 2: women and girls and the junior and years.

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Speaker 1: Now, Sam have you had to create a whole under

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Speaker 1: ten girls, well, competition because there was such demand or

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Speaker 1: are they still playing in the boys camp. I was

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Speaker 1: of the understanding that there was a whole new, sort

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Speaker 1: of new competition created.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it has been separated from the boys and its

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Speaker 2: own entity now. And that sort of periodically has happened

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Speaker 2: over the last few years where essentially we've completed the

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Speaker 2: pathway now for for young girls in the game, so

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Speaker 2: that you know, they go off last year and get

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Speaker 2: the passion for the sport, and then now they've got

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Speaker 2: the full pathway tens through to adiens and into senior football.

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Speaker 2: And you know, we've created another division for senior women's

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Speaker 2: football in the top end this year, so that demand

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Speaker 2: is really strong and we're starting to see, you know,

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Speaker 2: a lot more focus on a lot more you know

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Speaker 2: that the standard of football is amazing this year, and

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Speaker 2: you know, we're also going to see a lot more

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Speaker 2: coming in terms of women the girls in other areas

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Speaker 2: of sport as well, coaching and umpiring and then things

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Speaker 2: like that. So it's a great thing for our.

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Speaker 1: Sports, it really is. And the thing that I love

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Speaker 1: is that there seems to be the same pathways whether

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Speaker 1: you're a little girl or a little boy. There are

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Speaker 1: the same pathways for both genders in IFL.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, look, and that's that's been I guess the thing

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Speaker 2: that's been focused on nationally, but and certainly here in

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Speaker 2: the top end and across other parts of the territory.

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Speaker 2: It's it's taking a lot of work, and it's it's

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Speaker 2: easy for us to sort of say, you know that

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Speaker 2: we wanted as the peak body, but in reality that

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Speaker 2: bringing that to life comes off the back of a

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Speaker 2: lot of hard work from clubs and coaches to find

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Speaker 2: more volunteers. It's more volunteers than are needed to make

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Speaker 2: sure that that happens, and you know, make sure as

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Speaker 2: end users are able to facilitate that. You know, it's

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Speaker 2: an area which we need a little bit more investment,

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Speaker 2: a little bit more focused, and make sure we got

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Speaker 2: more umpires to officiate games. There's a lot of a

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Speaker 2: lot goes into making sure that those pathway over there

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Speaker 2: for both boys and girls.

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Speaker 1: Now, what do you attribute these growth too? I know

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Speaker 1: that you've said that it is something that you know

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Speaker 1: that you is sustainably sort of seeing over the years,

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Speaker 1: But what do you attribute the growth not just in

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Speaker 1: the girls and women's competition, but right across the board

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Speaker 1: what do you attribute it to.

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Speaker 2: Oh, look, I don't think there's a silver board. I

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Speaker 2: think the women and girls space has emerged. You know

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Speaker 2: that you're seeing the national competition which is out to

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Speaker 2: eight or in clubs are now has sort of been

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Speaker 2: a bit of a beacon of hope for particularly junior

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Speaker 2: and youth who you see that there's a sustainable pathway there.

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Speaker 2: So I think that's a big part of it. I

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Speaker 2: think probably just the history of the territory and it

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Speaker 2: was such a footy mad jurisdiction. You know. We see

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Speaker 2: that in local grand finals, we see it when we

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Speaker 2: go to basically any remote community across the Northern Territory.

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Speaker 2: We see the love and passion for football. So I

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Speaker 2: think that that sort of that becomes the backbone of

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Speaker 2: these sorts of numbers. And then I think, you know

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Speaker 2: a lot of the people that are tea we partner

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Speaker 2: with in delivering the game, you know, I'm talking clubs

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Speaker 2: and boxiers, different layers of government and so on and

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Speaker 2: so forth have sort of seen that the impact that

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Speaker 2: football can have. And know a lot of the work

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Speaker 2: we do, particularly in remote areas, is around using football

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Speaker 2: as a vehicle for non football outcounts, you know, driving

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Speaker 2: attendance at school and healthier lifestyles and these sorts of things,

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Speaker 2: and you know that that sort of has become a

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Speaker 2: real core business for us. So I think there's a

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Speaker 2: range of things, you know, I think our clubs do

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Speaker 2: a great job in providing for the day to day,

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Speaker 2: you know, offering the football provides and you know, it

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Speaker 2: becomes a mixture of things which lead to these strong

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Speaker 2: numbers and you know, hopefully we end up seeing you know,

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Speaker 2: players ending up on a FL lists you know, and

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Speaker 2: a FL W lists as a result of that. That's

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Speaker 2: that's the cherry on top of the cape.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, it really is. Well, it is wonderful to see

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Speaker 1: you know, such a high level of participate patient in

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Speaker 1: AFL in the Northern territory. I think, you know, whether

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Speaker 1: kids go on to play at an elite level or not,

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Speaker 1: what sport does for them is so wonderful in so

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Speaker 1: many ways. So it is it's great to see and Sam,

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Speaker 1: we always appreciate your time. Good to have a chat

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Speaker 1: with you this morning, Katie.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for the time.

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Speaker 1: Thank you