World Footy News

With the success of the Calgary Kangaroos Australian Football Club and their cross-town associates the Calgary Kookaburras at last year’s US Nationals, Alberta is looking to branch into local schools in an effort to attract youths to Australian football.

The "Downunder Travel" Alberta Footy Schools Program is a new development in Calgary which began in October last year. It is a program which Alberta Footy believes will revolutionize footy in Alberta by introducing children to the sport.

The program consists of sending dedicated football development officers into schools to facilitate skills acquisition and to build a relationship between students and Alberta football clubs. The facilitators will return to the same schools every week for five weeks, gradually introducing more-complicated football concepts to the students.
As well as the being introduced to the game and its skill set, students will also receive Auskick gear and information packs about football as a sporting option that they can take home to their parents.

Currently there are seven schools involved in the pilot year, and there are hopes to have 1,000 students participate between the ages of 13-18. The main aim is to get many of these students interested in joining the Calgary Kookaburras (women's) and Calgary Kangaroos (men's) footy clubs.

The program will be jointly-funded by both the Kookaburras and Kangaroos and the program's major sponsor, Downunder Travel. When discussing the partnership between the clubs and Downunder travel, Kookaburras president Jake Anson stated “They (Downunder travel) have been a solid supporter of footy in Calgary through their sponsorship of the Kookaburras and without their involvement the program would be on a much smaller scale.”

Downunder Travel has generously offered to underwrite a large proportion of the costs in the program's first year with the Kookaburras and Kangaroos covering the remaining costs. Kookas player Amanda O'Rae (pictured) has been appointed as the main facilitator. Originally from Ontario, she has a background in health care and basketball coaching, and two years of footy in Calgary.

If successful, the Alberta clubs hope to increase the number of schools involved over the coming years, and roll out the program in Edmonton, through the Edmonton Emus women's footy club.

For more information, readers can check out the Program's website: http://calgary-kookaburras-juniordev.blogspot.com/