The Northern Suburbs Football Association has certainly upset the women
Last year was the 2nd year of the Women's Over 45 competition and the number of teams had grown from 4 in 2015 to 6 in 2016 and it was expected there would have been a minimum of 8 teams this year.
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This is the article:
North Shore Times
2 Feb 2017
by Declan Byrne
ANGER OVER LEAGUE'S AXING
Over-45s feel ‘abandoned’ after decision to create extra over-35s contest instead
NORTHERN Suburbs Football Association (NSFA) has come under fire from its own players after a decision to remove the stand-alone women’s over-45s league.
Over-45s football players are being forced to compete in the over-35s competition. Picture: Phillip Rogers
The decision, which players say was made without consultation, has left most feeling “disappointed and disenfranchised”.
To make matters worse, most only found out the league had been axed when they tried to register two weeks ago.
Sarah Culhane started playing soccer at the age of 48.
Five years later she still enjoys playing but not so much when it can sometimes be against women 20 years her junior.
She felt the explanation given by the association was not good enough.
“Their explanation for cutting the over-45s competition was that this had led to a lack of numbers in the W35 (over-35s) comp,” she said.
“By removing the over-45s comp everyone would have to play over-35s. This would allow them to meet their goal of growing the 35 competition.”
Fellow player Susie Davies said most of the benefits of playing for her and her teammates were lost following the decision.
“Players believe this has put them in a vulnerable position with an unreasonable alternative,” she said.
“Many of the players feel disappointed and abandoned … Many will leave the competition entirely with concerns over injury when playing much younger opposition.”
Association CEO Malcolm Waldock said the competition had not been axed but simply suspended until the association felt it was more viable.
“The over-45s concept has not been ‘canned’, and will be reintroduced when the numbers are sustainable,” he said.
“In 2017 it has been decided to create a third division of over-35s that will effectively replicate last year’s over-45s competition.
“No over-45s teams will ever be promoted out of this division meaning they do not have to ‘compete’ with teams and/or players of substantially greater ability or physical capacity.”
Mr Waldock said the difference between the men’s over-45 league, which had been retained, and the over-45 women’s league was simply numbers.
“When we launched the men’s over-45s competition it was done so with the foundation of over 1000 players participating in an already well established over-35s competition,” he said.
“In 2015 we launched the women’s over-45s masters competition. It was done so off the back of just less than 350 female over-35 players.
“This competition in itself was not yet sustainable but it was thought we might attract more overall players to the game by offering an over-45s competition. This has proven to not be the case.”
In 2016, 249 players turned out in the women’s over-35s, with 105 in the over-45s.
Mr Waldock said roughly 20 per cent of those playing in the 45s were actually underage and were granted special dispensation.
“Effectively both leagues have been compromised because the numbers are not yet large enough to sustain two competitions,” he said. “This is an identical issue faced by almost all football associations throughout NSW.”
But Di Lawrence, another player affected by the restructure, said she was puzzled as to why the association did not do more.
“It appears the NSFA have preferred to axe the W45 to boost the declining W35 numbers rather than target recruitment of younger players,” she said. “No other alternative has been offered by NSFA.”
Mr Waldock said the decision was made for the “greatest good”. “We respect that there will be some individuals upset with this decision,” he said.