THE AFL has announced it has made a change to the minimum age policy, effective as of November 2015.
The new policy advises that a player in Victoria must be seven years of age by April 30 to play competitive football. This policy does not include Auskick.
AFL Head of Female Football, Junior and Club Development Josh Vanderloo said the AFL understood that the starting point for children along the participation pathway can differ from player to player and philosophically believes in a policy that caters for a range of individual circumstances.
“Recent data shows that the birth rate has increased by more than a quarter over the last decade resulting in a growing number of children starting school aged four,” he said.
“The impact of this societal trend has led to school peer groups being split up due to the AFL’s minimum age policies not aligning with the standard school age policy in each State/Territory.
“Whilst there will be children wishing to participate in Junior Football that fall either side of the policy dates, we feel the core principle of maintaining school peer groups as a local retention strategy outweighs this occurrence.
“Further to this, the AFL’s policy acknowledges the principal role of the parent or guardian in determining if a player should play in a higher age competition than the one determined by the player’s chronological age.
“It is the accompanying role of the AFL to ensure an appropriate development pathway is available for children of all ages whilst providing flexibility where possible.”
Western Region Football League Football Operations general manager David Newton said the WRFL welcomed this amendment as it was more in-line with school enrolment dates rather than the calendar year for 7-year-olds registering for the first time.
If anyone has any questions regard this, they can contact the WRFL office on 9315 5400.
Last Modified on 13/11/2015 14:28