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CHAMPIONS: The Samaritan College team that took out BHP Crows Cup for girls at Bennett Oval with Deputy Mayor Clare McLaughlin and Crows player Chelsea Randall (far right). BELOW: Chelsea Randall signs another autograph.
More than 200 schoolchildren turned out to Whyalla's Bennett Oval this week to take part in the BHP Crows Cup Carnival.
Adelaide Crows AFLW players Chelsea Randall and Ebony Marinoff where there on Wednesday, with support staff and representatives from sponsor BHP, to run the carnival and provide the aspiring young footballers with some high-quality coaching.
About 100 students took part in the BHP Crows Cup for girls while 100 boys competed in the Next Generation Academy Shield.
Randall is the co-captain and a marquee player for the Adelaide Crows while Marinoff is rising star in the AFLW ranks. Both are All Australian players and Marinoff took out the 2017 NAB AFLW Rising Star award in the competition’s first season when the Crows swept to an historic premiership.
Between coaching and barracking, Randall was kept busy signing autographs all day and was rapt with the response from the Whyalla schools and players.
“These days are amazing, they’re just a great platform for young girls to have a go at playing footy in a fun and safe environment,” Randall said.
“It’s great to be out in regional communities like this that are so passionate about sport and to provide the young players with a chance to see there is a big future in the sport.”
The BHP Crows Cup for girls was taken out by Samaritan Colleage while Long Street Primary School tok out the boys' carnival. Randall said the standard in the girls was very high considering many of hte girls had never played football before.
“What we saw was these girls keen to have a go at something half of them had never done before,” Randall said.
“The standard was high, there were some great tackles, one-handed marks and some booming kicks for some fantastic goals.
“It would be great to see more regional competitions for girls starting in the near future.”
Whyalla Deputy Mayor Clare McLaughlin was also impressed with the standard of the play, the way the Crows organised the day and the support given by BHP for the concept.
“It was a fantastic opportunity of the girls and the training they got from the Crows players was invaluable,” Cr McLaughlin said.
“I spoke to quite a few girls and they all said it was ‘great’.
“The professionalism of the Crows was very impressive and the BHP sponsorship was so critical to the success of the day … it was an outstanding event.”
BHP Head of Corporate Affairs Emily Perry said the company sponsored the carnival to promote diversity and inclusion.
“It provides the next generation of female footy players with a pathway into the AFLW if that’s what they choose,” she said.