Canberra Region Rugby League is thrilled to announce that participation numbers are at an all time high in both our senior and junior cohorts.
After a COVID-19 affected year in 2020, it is great to see that participants are coming back to rugby league.
In a huge boost for the league, both junior and senior numbers have greatly increased from 2019.
The number of junior participants is currently sitting at 4,216. This is a 14.7 percent increase on 2019 numbers.
Meanwhile, the senior numbers for this year are up 7.7 percent from 2019.
CRRL General Manager Mark Vergano says it’s great to see clubs have rebounded strongly after the uncertainty of last year.
“The increase in participation numbers across both our junior and senior grades shows that interest in rugby league remains high and that children and adults continue to engage with our sport,” Vergano said.
“Rugby League has once again shown itself to be a resilient sport with the outstanding growth in participation from the 2019 participation numbers. This builds on the fact that the CRRL junior numbers were the only jurisdiction to show an increase in 2020.
“The volunteers who administer, coach and provide first aid for the clubs must be congratulated for their efforts in ensuring that clubs survived both on and off the field after facing enormous challenges.”
Female numbers are also up in 2021, with women making up 21 percent of all participants including coaches, volunteers, trainers and players.
Our women’s competitions are going from strength to strength, with seven teams in the Katrina Fanning Shield, ten teams in the George Tooke Shield Ladies League Tag and eight teams competing in the CRC Ladies League Tag. There are also new girls only competitions through the junior age groups.
The 2021 juniors season is heading into round two this weekend, with some late registrations expected before the June 30 cut-off.
CRRL would like to thank all clubs for their continued efforts.
