By: Troy Swainston – Chief Executive Officer – Eastern Football League
WITH our football and netball competitions now in full swing, this week’s Inside the EFL will focus on some of the not–so-glamourous but very important back-end club administration requirements.
One crucial requirement is that all team officials have the required qualifications and accreditation to perform their roles.
Compliance this year is the highest it’s ever been which is a credit to the team officials and clubs for supporting the process which is in every participant’s best interest. We now need to drag a very small minority across the line – in 2019 we cannot accept anything less than 100 per cent compliance. We understand that many officials have been around football for a long time but that doesn’t give anyone a free pass when it comes to the accreditation requirements.
Last week, we had an incident where a stretcher was required at a game, but it took time to locate. For the safety of all players we would remind clubs that stretchers are to be placed at the interchange box at the start of the first game for accessibility and the ambulance gate must be unlocked prior to the commencement of the first game. The gate shall remain unlocked until the final game has concluded with barriers erected to ensure that the area is clear. Clubs should ensure this is checked prior to the game commencement.
Having reviewed the junior results over the weekend, many clubs and coaches may not be aware that in 2018 percentage was removed from all junior ladders, in favour of a win/loss and head-to-head system. This was implemented to encourage coaches to focus on player development and their game involvement rather than winning by the greatest margin to boost percentage. Coaches should take every opportunity available to rotate players through positions and provide opportunities for players to try different positions. In a one-sided game, why not switch the forward line to back line, midfield to forward line and back line into the midfield. You might uncover some hidden gems, you will be assisting with player development and you won’t demoralise your opposition for which you will gain much respect!
With the growth in social media, one area that requires some focus is the input of live scores on game-day. It is a League by-law requirement that live scores are entered during all senior games, clubs may input live or progressive scores (quarter by quarter). Our broadcast team relies on these score updates to keep our radio listeners and your supporters up-to-date with current scores. We have a growing social media following and those that can’t attend games engage via the game-day live stream via the website, SEN+ 1377, 98.1 Eastern FM and our website EFL.org.au to stay informed in relation to game scores across the League. This provides the League with wonderful reach and it’s great seeing supporters who are on holidays live-streaming the coverage. Did you know that over 4,000 people live-streamed the EFL Division 1 grand final in 2018?
Best of luck to all teams on the weekend.