Regional Development Councils Combine to Launch 2023 Junior SeasonThursday, April 27, 2023 - 9:18 AM

A huge turnout of more than 400 community Volunteers and Umpires descended on the Westin Hotel last Sunday for the official launch of the Junior Season.

In a first for Metro Community Football, the Metro South, Central and North Regional Development Councils partnered with the West Australian Football Commission to stage this new event.

The launch featured presentations spanning across all areas of junior footy and welcomed special guests from The Superkids Superheros Charity, along with former Wallaby and CEO of The Kids’ Cancer Project, Owen Finegan, who flew in from Sydney.

Corey Ranger, WA Football Commission Head of Club Development and Volunteers, detailed the massive participation rate in 2023.

“This season across the three RDC regions, over 1,460 teams will participate in junior footy games across the metropolitan area.

Coupled with metro Auskick numbers nearing 10,000, a massive credit goes to the hard work of clubs and their volunteers for their efforts during the off season,” Ranger said.

A special keynote speech was provided by RDC’s Community Football Representative, Rob Geersen who discussed the positive impact clubs can have on their local community.

Rob provided an incredible statistic that between 1 and 8 children across the metropolitan area are connected through junior footy.

Through 109 Metro Junior Clubs over 250,000 people are engaged with the junior game each week, whether its participants, umpires, volunteers, parents or spectators.

The Season Launch featured a moving ‘Welcome to Country’ provided by community football leader, Metro North RDC board member and Yamaji Noongar woman Sharon Wood-Kenney.

The launch was the first set of engagement events to be staged by the Regional Development Councils and supported by the West Australian Football Commission this year.

Metro South RDC Chair Karen Wheatland thanked those who attended, heaping praise on the participants.

“We the RDC’s, thank all our volunteers and umpires for attending this new event on our calendar.

We hope everyone who attended feels inspired and supported on the eve of the 2023 Junior Season,” she said.

The 2 Fruit 5 Veg, WA Junior Footy Season commences this weekend across the Metropolitan area, thanks to partners, Healthway, Telethon, Kidszoles and Sullivans Logistics.