Sofia Fortuna and Charlie Harris.
Camera IconSofia Fortuna and Charlie Harris. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Wellard: Auskick and Little Athletics extend community agreements

Victoria RificiWeekend Kwinana Courier

THE Village at Wellard will welcome two new community agreements in an effort to support growing participation in AFL Auskick and Little Athletics junior sports, based at The Village Green oval in Kwinana.

Kwinana Little Athletics Centre has tripled in numbers over four years with 170 kids who participated over the 2017-18 summer season.

As a result, The Village at Wellard will see athletic mats made to order in time for the club’s pre-season training.

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“We had a critical need for a grant so we could top-up funds raised to reach the amount needed to buy new high-jump mats,” Kwinana Little Athletics treasurer Jesse Sullivan said.

“To comply with current health and safety standards, the three-piece mats must fit together to cover five metres by three metres and be a minimum of 500 millimetres thick.

This will provide our young athletes with the required levels of cushioning protection for landings in training and competition.”

The club draws families to Wellard from almost as far south as Rockingham and north nearly to Cockburn.

Ryan Marriott, Bradley Buchanan, Jacob Scoon, Cody Webb, Joel Barwise, Jed Ashfold, Jai Allen.
Camera IconRyan Marriott, Bradley Buchanan, Jacob Scoon, Cody Webb, Joel Barwise, Jed Ashfold, Jai Allen. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Auskick’s second season will kick off in May and will be filled to capacity for both players and teams as the junior AFL code booms in Perth’s south.

The Kwinana Junior Knights Football Club’s partnership, forged last year with The Village at Wellard, was successful and will extend into a second year.

“The facilities at Wellard are second to none, with great change rooms and the pavilion and the grass playing surface is just superb,” Kwinana Knights’ Auskick Coordinator Anthony Pivac said.

“We are looking to try and get some more higher grade junior games played there too, to take further advantage of everything Wellard has to offer.”

Mr Pivac said the sport’s growth was being fuelled by more “footy mad” families moving to the Wellard area plus the growing profile of women’s football.

“The sudden rise in profile of the Women’s AFL as an elite competition has seen the club getting a lot more inquiries from parents about how we are accommodating young girls in Auskick and the other junior grades,” he said.