Queensland Rugby League has reported significant participation growth across all demographics, with the Sunshine Coast reaching one of the highest growth rates in the state with a 7.95 per cent increase.
With 5524 registered players, the increase is driven by Rugby League Sunshine Coast’s vision to make the game accessible to everyone in the community, from juniors to masters.
Queensland Rugby League’s Sunshine Coast area manager Nathan Mclean said there were a number of reasons for the participation increase across the region with the main goal to include as many community members as possible.
“Following Covid-19 we’ve had an increase in FIFO (fly-in-fly-out) workers decide to stay in the Sunshine Coast as the building industry has expanded. The League has also put a real focus on providing competitive competitions for all players from a young age,” Mclean said.
“Juniors play in non-competitive versions of the sport until they are 12 years old, and we’ve introduced a really successful program to the Under 13s competition with an all-inclusive finals system, which means every player had the opportunity to participate in finals against teams of similar abilities.”
Six new teams have been introduced to the Masters competition in 2022, bringing in 204 new registrations and increasing the mental wellbeing of retired players coming back to play in an adjusted format of the game.
“The social aspect is a big driver of the Masters competition and we’ve seen an increase in volunteer numbers too as the old boys get back around the clubs,” Mclean said.
A change in grading for the women’s competition two years ago, from Under 14 and Under 16 age grades to Under 13, Under 15 and Under 17 has also had a beneficial impact on participation.
The number of senior women’s teams across the Sunshine Coast has increased to seven for 2022, boosting female registrations to 792, up 13.3 per cent on 2021.
”We also look forward to introducing the Sunshine Coast Falcons to the state-wide competition next season,” Mclean said.
State-wide, a total of 64,566 players signed on to play the game in 2022.
QRL Community Rugby League general manager Glenn Ottaway also attributed the success to the work of dedicated volunteers, leagues and regions throughout the state.
“The game is growing across all demographics – male, female, senior and junior,” Ottaway said.
“In a period where there is still some uncertainty and challenges off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is great to see the game thriving on the Sunshine Coast and in local communities across the state.
“Rugby league is proving to be an attractive proposition to people new to Queensland, and our ability to deliver on national strategies like the Player Development Framework is also a key factor.”
To support the Sunshine Coast’s player increases, the Gold Coast (11.9 per cent) and Moreton Bay (6.5 per cent) had all recorded strong participation growth.
“In the regions where we’ve got the largest growth in council areas, we’re getting significant growth in participation as well,” Ottaway said.
He said the breakdown of playing participants across Queensland also showed both male and female participation had increased.
To support the record 55,121 male players registered to play the game across the state, Sunshine Coast registrations have jumped 7.11 per cent to 4732.
Women’s rugby league across Queensland continues to flourish with 9455 players in 2022, an increase of 20 per cent.
Ottaway said the adoption of key initiatives within the Player Development Framework had supported participation growth.
One challenge identified by the QRL is the need to attract and retain more match officials following a 4.5 per cent decline in overall numbers.
“While it is concerning to see a drop in referees this year, the QRL Board has taken steps to address the issue by recently approving a recruitment and retention plan for match officials,” Ottaway said.
Promisingly, volunteer registrations have increased by in the Sunshine Coast by 7.03 per cent to 1310, providing vital support to clubs around the region.
