It is with great anticipation, the 2023 season will commence tonight, March 31st with our netball competition hitting the courts. Our Division 1 to 4 teams kick off their season on Saturday April 1st and our Junior’s this Sunday April 2nd, while the Eastland Premier Men’s Division begins on Good Friday, April 7th.
Our BJS veterans’ men’s teams also begin under lights tonight and the veterans’ women’s first game is on April 15th. April 22nd will see our Deakin University Women’s competition commence boasting 39 teams across 5 divisions.
The EFNL currently has over 13,000 registered participants with our junior football teams growing from 377 in 2022, to 403 teams in 2023. Our 2023 Netball competition now has an impressive 87 teams, an increase of 16 from last season.
The netball competition spans 9 divisions with 30 of our senior clubs fielding a team. It’s great to see Blackburn and Norwood return to the competition, and Bayswater is joining for the first time. Waverley Netball Centre, HE Parker in Heathmont, Oxley College Stadium in Chirnside Park, and the newly developed Knox Regional Netball Centre will host the season’s competition.
The umpire’s club has had a lengthy preseason, and everyone is ready and eager for the season to commence with over 535 umpires registered. The league has also invested a significant number of resources to equip our umpires with training aids such as headsets and communication equipment for games to allow high-level coaching and training. Most importantly, the EFNL has introduced the ‘White Card’ system in our junior leagues in a bid to reduce umpire abuse.
We are all excited to see our participants commence playing and umpiring, along with the vast numbers of support staff, including coaches, volunteers, match day officials and especially family, friends, and spectators.
The EFNL is also proud to announce Eastland will continue as the major sponsor with their naming rights again in 2023. We are very thankful for their ongoing support and contribution to the EFNL and the wider sporting community. Eastland is the premier shopping and entertainment destination in Melbourne’s east.
Bendigo Bank remains a long-term partner of the EFNL and continues as our major community partner, along with our other major sponsors; Yarra Valley Water, BJS Insurance Brokers, Carsales, and Deakin University. A special thanks to all our community sponsors too, the continued support of our sponsors enables the league to keep participation costs low for everyone involved in community sports across the Eastern region.
We anticipate the 2023 season will be the strongest yet, and since the return to play in 2022, the League has set a high benchmark in terms of conduct and behaviour of our clubs, players and spectators and we expect this to continue this year.
On behalf of the board and the league, I would also like to thank outgoing Chairman Graham Halbish for his 15 years of wonderful service and commitment to the league and extend a warm welcome to Paul Barlow as the new chair role in season 2023.
Finally, we wish all our participants all the best in their first games and for season 2023.
