The first week was spent in Sydney’s west, as it led into the first pre-season game at Blacktown Olympic Park. The team then moved onto the city’s north and north west region, followed by the east and inner west before finishing up in Sydney’s south this week.
116 schools and 30 junior clubs received visits from the Swans and it is estimated that the players came into contact with in excess of 40,000 children.
“This is our fourth year of doing metropolitan visits in February and early March. These visits, along with our regional visits in December, meant that the Swans players visited 184 Schools in the summer months. The benefits to the Club and code cannot be overestimated,” Team Swans manager Craig Holden said.
“Whilst it is a heavy workload, the players and coaching staff at the Swans embrace the initiative and take the responsibility of spreading the message as an integral part of being at the Sydney Swans.”
As well as promoting participation at local junior clubs, this year there were three important initiatives that the players launched.
Brett Kirk, in conjunction with the AFL (NSW/ACT), launched the Team Swans Schools Program at South Coogee Primary School. This is an exciting opportunity for schools to have an ongoing relationship with the Club.
The Red Rookie Membership offer was the second initiative. It allows school students the opportunity to receive a free three-game membership to the Sydney Swans.
And thirdly, the players spoke about the exciting new Swans Academy, a football programme instituted with the aim of attracting promising young footballers and athletes between the ages of 9 and 12, with a view to them eventually becoming senior Sydney Swans players.
Cameron French, Marketing and Media Manager at AFL (NSW/ACT) highlighted the involvement of the players as the key to the success of the initiative, “The maturity and leadership shown by the Swans players is an integral part of getting kids involved in AFL.
“It shows them there is a pathway to playing professional AFL if they are from the Sydney Metropolitan area.
“With the launch of Red Rookie and the Team Swans Schools Program, more kids will be able to get involved in Australian Football and have heroes they can get access to on a regular basis.”
“Thousands of kids have been reached by the Swans’ visits and we would like to thank the Club’s players and staff for their assistance in developing the game further in NSW. These visits have resulted in a significant number of new players who have registered to play for junior clubs”
For more information on the Red Rookie program please visit the Red Rookie website.
