The "instant success" of Australian Football League Women's is "driving Aussie rules participation levels to new highs in NSW and the ACT," according to Neil Cordy of the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. Thirty new teams will compete in the first U12 competition for girls, which will be followed by a U10 competition next year. AFL NSW/ACT CEO Sam Graham said that the value of the new national women's competition cannot be "overrated with the involvement of new female players." Graham: "AFLW exceeded all expectations. Now we've got role models for our female players." Sports participation figures "can be rubbery at the best of times" but the growth of AFL in NSW is "coming at the level it counts most, the clubs." Club participation grew 8.2% "off the back of a massive 78% increase in the number of female participants playing" in registered club football competitions. Overall participation in AFL competitions and programs across the region grew 7.3% in '17 to more than 250,000 participants, making the AFL community in NSW and the ACT Australia's third-largest participation base in the country, behind Victoria and Western Australia (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 11/29).
