The Canberra Raiders will wear their 2018 Women in League Jersey this Saturday, when they take on the South Sydney Rabbitohs at Central Coast Stadium.
The Raiders and Canberra Region Rugby League, have made an increased commitment to promoting the values of inclusion, respect and engagement for all over the past 12 months and will feature the words ENGAGE, INCLUDE, RESPECT on this year’s jersey to symbolise this continued commitment.
The jersey also features the Raiders Valkyrie Logo, to emphasise the club’s commitment to make rugby league ‘A Game for All’. This will be the first time the logo has been worn by the Raiders NRL team, after featuring across all of the Raiders junior representative teams (Harold Matthews, SG Ball and Tarsha Gale Cup) for the first time this season.
The Raiders/CRRL have also committed to grow female participation, with increased local competitions for girls and women across the three formats of the game (Touch, Tackle, Tag) in the region.
The Raiders game day experience also includes a range of local female presenting talent which have been engaged to help bring more fun and enjoyment to the Raiders game day experience, with Kristen Henry and Renee Bogatko speaking to more members and fans in the stands on gameday, to help share their experiences.
The development of the Raiders Valkyrie program which encompasses all of these values is an ongoing project for the Raiders and CRRL, with the development of the Raiders Valkyrie Logo and the introduction of Velda the Valkryie as the clubs first female Mascot, just a few of the initiatives already implemented since the program was launched last year.
The launch included an online survey which had over 1600 respondents, with some wonderful suggestions and ideas submitted to the club to assist in developing the program further. Since launching the program the Raiders have seen an increase in the number of females attending Raiders matches at all age levels and enjoying the Raiders game day experience.
The Raiders main goal for the Valkyrie program is to use the core values of engage, include and respect to ensure the club and game as a whole can continue to strive for more female participation and engagement with rugby league in the community.
Due to an NRL rule regarding jersey clashes, the Raiders cannot wear either their traditional home or alternate away strip this weekend, which gives the club an opportunity showcase their Women in League jersey twice in 2018.
The Raiders will wear the jersey on Saturday against South Sydney and then again for the round 22 match against the Tigers at home in the official Women in League round.
The 2018 Women in League Jersey will be made available through www.raidersshop.com.au later this season.
