Good turnout for first Come and Try Day
By Pia Morris
People with an intellectual disability may be given the opportunity to compete in a specialised WA football league if the support given at the recent Come and Try Day continues to grow.
Lynwood Ferndale Amateur Football Club, part of the Perth District, hosted the first of two Come and Try Days at Ferndale Park on Sunday July 26.
The WA Amateur Football League, with the support of Department of Sport and Recreation, Recreation and Sport Network, and AUSRAPID are running the two-week program to give people with intellectual disabilities the chance to learn more about AFL football.
James Crabtree runs through the game plan with his side during the scratch match
WAAFL board member Peter Grosser said if there was enough interest a competition could be formed as early as next year.
“Our aim is ultimately to get four teams around the metropolitan area that people with mental disabilities can come into, and then from there we’ll build a club around that,” he said.
If given the go-ahead, the competition would be based on existing models in Victoria and South Australia.
Football director with the WA Football Commission Grant Dorrington said the day was an important step for football in Western Australia.
He said the idea was to “start small, grow big."
“I think that football is a game for everyone and no matter whether you’re talented enough to be an AFL player or not, everyone should be able to play,” Dorrington said.
Come and Try Day participants were male and female, aged 16 and older and had varying degrees of intellectual disability.
They were divided into groups to take part in drills and learn techniques before being given the opportunity to put their skills to use in a scratch match.
Ferndale Lynwood Amateur Football Club volunteers and Perth Demon’s junior development officer James Crabtree provided specialist training, coaching and umpiring on the day.
Lynwood committee member Steve Mountford said it was important to the club that its members were involved in helping the community.
He said he was pleased with the level of interest the day had generated.
“We’re very happy with the outcome and so are all the people who are involved with it,” he said.
Perth Football Club supplied footballs for participants to take home.
Come and Try Day participant Nathan Ball said it was good to see more being done to improve the sporting options available to people with disabilities.
“A football league I could be apart of would be a great thing to start up,” he said.
“I think it’s interesting to try different sports for people with disabilities but there’s not a great range around so it’s great to see something else coming along to improve it,” he said.
The next Come and Try Day will be held at the Kingsway Football and Sporting Club at Kingsway Reserve in Kingsway on Sunday August 2 between 1 and 3pm.
For further information, please contact the Community Football Office on 6380 1311.
