Aussie Rules ban at Sydney school leaves AFLW graduate 'disappointed'
GWS Giants star Nicola Barr is disappointed in her high school, Queenwood Girls in Sydney, after they banned Aussie Rules.
An uproar has emerged in the footy world after a girls school in Sydney banned students from playing Aussie Rules, over the fear of long-term damage sustained in head injuries. While the science of concussion has become increasingly relevant for the AFL and AFLW in recent years, the move by Queenwood Girls School has nonetheless left many questioning if the decision to ban the sport outright was an overreaction.
Queenwood principal Elizabeth Stone told The Australian that the school's decision had been based on extensive consultation with experts, saying the decision had been made 'with reluctance' but ultimately concluding the sport was not in their best interests long-term. However Queenwood graduate and AFLW star Nicola Barr said the decision was short sighted.
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Barr was drafted by the GWS Giants in 2016, having played 46 games for the club. The 26-year-old said she could appreciate the concerns of the school, but banning the sport was the wrong move.
instead, Barr argued students would miss out on crucial opportunities to train and learn to play the sport safely. She pointed out that male counterparts generally take up the sport much earlier, therefore spending more time working on the skills that would help prevent unnecessary injury.
"It’s pretty disappointing. I know that my life now certainly wouldn’t be what it was if I hadn’t been given the opportunity to play AFL at Queenwood when I was 16, or 17," Barr told 7News.
“I know how much AFL has given me and I know how much AFL has given other girls who went to Queenwood and I think it’s really important for us to promote girls and let them play as much sport as they can. It’s really empowering, it develops so much resilience, and we can see the benefits of girls playing sports.
“It’s not the right response. I think what this is highlighting is that it’s really important to invest in quality coaches in quality training, and really good opportunities for all players to learn the sport safely. Obviously concussion is not something that we want to see and we can see how much time and resources and energy the AFL are putting into making it a safe a sport as possible.
“There’s also been less time for girls to actually to be able to develop in the sport. I mean, I started playing when I was 16, that was at Queenwood, but boys have been playing for so much longer and have had really, really high levels of coaching and investment into learning the game in a safe way."
School's decision to ban Aussie Rules leaves AFLW star disappointed
Barr also contended that many other sports, including several still offered by Queenwood, also carried similar risks of concussion. She argued the ultimate point should be allowing girls proper pathways to coaching and training in order to minimise the risks, which she believes are outweighed by the benefits of sport - particularly team-based, contact sports.
The school's cited the lack of evidence surrounding concussion in adolescents as a major factor contributing to their decision. However Dr David Munro of the Melbourne Physiotherapy Concussion Clinic said that while it was true the weight of concussion research centred around adults, it was an interesting line for the school to draw.
“Queenwood still continues to offer snow sports and soccer as senior school sports, both of which have also reported moderate to high concussion rates in various studies. Interesting as to where to draw the line,” Munro said. “Is AFL more risky than hockey, lacrosse or whatever else they’re substituting it with?”
Barr concurred, arguing sports such as soccer posed a similar risk. “Concussion is a risk for boys and girls who play lots of different contact sports, and I think the benefits tend to outweigh the risks,” Barr said.
“I’m obviously not a concussion expert, but I know how much investment a lot of medical professionals are putting into looking at concussion in contact sports, if you can minimise those risks and put things in place to play the sport safely then I think that banning it is probably the wrong the wrong way to go about it in my view.”
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