Women’s 7s numbers on the rise in Australia
On the back of their outstanding win in Atlanta at the weekend, where they lifted their third consecutive World Series title, there was more good news for Australia with their governing body releasing details that showed a surge in female player numbers.
Published by Alison Donnelly, April 11th, 2016
2 minute read
The Australian Rugby Union (ARU) AGM figures showed that over the last year women’s sevens participation grew by 33%.
Both the Australian men’s and women’s teams have qualified for Rio and are both potential Olympic medal contenders – indeed Tim Walsh’s side are surely the favourites for gold such as been their consistency on the circuit.
The strong figures are helped by the ARU’s work to strengthen its pathways with new national sevens competitions and the reinstatement of the National Women’s XVs Championships.
The ARU run three distinct rugby formats - VIVA7s (non-contact Sevens), Sevens and XVs.
Female participation in Sevens increased superficially by 33.4% to 4,012, while 1,594 women played in traditional the fifteen-a-side format. Half of Game On and VIVA7s participants were female, providing a crucial opportunity for girls and women to experience Rugby in a non-contact format, so they can develop an interest in the game.ARU CEO Bill Pulver said: “Rugby reached new participants in 2016, and critically, most of them were young and around half of them were female. Growing the game requires a focus on making Rugby more accessible, and initiatives such as VIVA 7s, Game On and National Rugby Week are enabling us to expand Rugby’s footprint so that it becomes embedded in the public and private school systems.”
The AGM included the election of two women to the ARU board with the election of former Sex Discrimination Commissioner Ms Elizabeth Broderick AO as a Director, and the election of Ms Pip Marlow (who is Managing Director of Microsoft Australia) as a Director.