Page 22 - AFL QUEENSLAND 2013 YEAR IN REVIEW

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2013 will be remembered as the year that AFL Queensland school participants passed the magical 100,000 mark. Participation in competitions and programs of six weeks plus continued to soar, with a consistent 6.6% growth showing our sport’s popularity is growing ever stronger as we again lead Australia in numbers.
COMPETITIONS
Our state wide championships brought through another crop of talented school teams in the Brisbane Lions Cup, and the now established Gold Coast SUNS Cup.
Finalists enjoyed the experience of playing against rivals at the Gabba (Lions Cup) and Metricon Stadium (SUNS Cup) as well as meeting many of their favourite players, with the Brisbane Lions’ Jonathan Brown officially opening the day at the Gabba in front of media, staff and supporters.
In September, Queensland won its fifth AFL Northern States Cup in six years, with the Gold Coast’s Palm Beach Currumbin State High taking out a fourth consecutive title in Sydney.
SCHOOLS OF AFL EXCELLENCE
Another great season of footy was played between the eight South East Queensland Schools of AFL Excellence, with Palm Beach Currumbin winning all three competitions. Mackay’s Pioneer State High began running AFL within their curriculum in 2013 with the school contributing both on and off the field to community AFL programs.
INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
Eight of the nine Great Public Schools were represented at a meeting with AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou at Yeronga to discuss AFL within their schools and the future. Competitions
were once again held in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Darling Downs and the Sunshine Coast, with an increased number of students participating.
SCHOOL AMBASSADORS
Five hundred AFL School Ambassadors promoted AFL within their schools in Queensland this year, coaching, administering and running the sport with all their students. Kirwan State High’s Ricky Sullivan and St Paul’s Woodridge’s Michael McInerney won the Ambassador of the Year Award at our annual awards event at the Gabba in front of 90 of their peers.
SARAH HOPKINS
SCHOOL PROGRAMS MANAGER
SCHOOLS