Romelda Aiken-George wants her ‘sacking’ from Firebirds to act as a revolutionary shift for maternity discussion

When Romelda Aiken-George told the Firebirds she was pregnant she found herself dumped and without a contract. Now she wants her awful experience to act as a catalyst for change.

Romelda Aiken-George may be closer to the end than the beginning of her 200-plus game national league career but she’s not about to go quietly into the night.

The Jamaican goaler has been a catalyst for plenty of change since her arrival in Australia back in 2008 - most of it coming from opposition defences as they try to blunt the 196cm shooter’s effect in the circle.

But the mum of nine-month-old Gianna wants her most recent experience to be the impetus for a revolutionary shift around protections for mothers in the final year of their contracts.

Aiken-George’s story is just one of motherhood and fertility that has been highlighted by Insight Sport this month in a special Mother’s Day edition.

From stories of love and loss, to inspirational comebacks and planned ones, Insight celebrates motherhood and fertility in all forms, with a special column from guest editor — two-time world champion and mum of six — Jana Pittman.

Aiken-George is one of just two current Super Netball players to have racked up more than 200 national league matches.

Romelda Aiken-George of the Swifts and her daughter

The other, Geva Mentor, who will play her 227th game on Sunday for the Collingwood Magpies, started her Australian career in Adelaide before heading to the Sunshine Coast, via the Melbourne Vixens and back to Melbourne again to join the Pies.

Aiken-George on the other hand, played the first 197 games of her tenure with the Queensland Firebirds, sitting out last season on a protected contract on maternity leave.

The Firebirds though, decided to cut their 14-year association with the shooter, reportedly deeming her “too risky” to recontract.

That claim, made by Aiken-George in a social media post last year, has been vehemently denied by the club.

Aiken-George’s value was recognised by the NSW Swifts, who swooped to add her as a temporary replacement player for fellow Caribbean goaler Sam Wallace, sidelined while she continues to recover from a knee reconstruction.

Front cover of Insight Sport

She has thrived in the red dress and is a key part of a Swifts side sitting in third place on the competition ladder after winning their past four games in a row.

Whether she’s wearing the red or purple dress though, Aiken-George’s situation highlights a shortcoming in what was once a visionary maternity policy.

Netball introduced Australian sport’s most comprehensive maternity policy in late 2016, head of the inaugural Super Netball season in 2017.

The landmark guidelines included maternity leave with 100 per cent income protection, provision for children under 12 months (or those still being breastfed) to travel with a carer to games, and babysitters to help during training commitments.

Australian Netball Players Association president Jo Weston believes the leave provisions helped pave the way for players to become mothers during their careers rather than have to wait until the end.

“We had a very revolutionary maternity leave policy, which was very exciting for the game, I think, and it sort of changed that dynamic,” Weston said.

“Players would wait to retire to have kids and that (policy) has sort of changed the trajectory of mothers in our game.”

But Aiken-George believes more needs to be done to make a policy that seems good on paper becoming a workable situation for playing mothers who remain vulnerable in contracting situations.

Romelda Aiken-George found a new home with the Swifts

“I think there should be a lot more protection around us as female athletes in general, to not take away what we know just because we’re not vital to the team anymore,” Aiken-George said.

“At least give us the opportunity to showcase whether we come back in better shape or not - and then you can adjust from there. A lot more conversation needs to be had around that area.”

Aiken-George wanted to see female athletes “protect” each other.

“Our life is netball but we do have a life outside of netball,” she said.

“We need to create that platform for girls to feel confident and okay that if pregnancy or injury, or whatever, happened, that netball has got your back.

“At the moment it’s a bit rough where that’s concerned because everyone wants to win and they want to put their strongest 10 out there on court … but I think there’s just there’s so much more opportunity for us to grow as a sport.

“I’m super passionate about it. Obviously there’s a few girls now in the competition that have babies and (what we do in playing netball), it’s a job.

“I’m sure like in any contract, if you’re doing your job and your contract finishes if you’re good enough for a job, you should be entitled to get that position.”

Originally published as Romelda Aiken-George wants her ‘sacking’ from Firebirds to act as a revolutionary shift for maternity discussion