Queensland Country Women’s Rugby Forum to be held in Rockhampton
A leading researcher and two former Australian representatives will be among the special guests at this weekend’s Queensland Country Women’s Rugby Forum in Rockhampton. Read what it’s all about.
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Females and their safety in contact sport will be the focus of an innovative assembly in Rockhampton headlined by a former Wallaroos’ star and a leading researcher.
The Queensland Country Women’s Rugby Forum is open to players, coaches, referees and administrators.
It is being run by the Rugby Capricornia Referees Association, which received funding through the Queensland Government’s Active Women and Girls Program.
Association president Charlene McKenzie said leading experts, such as Professor Deirdre McGhee, had been engaged to cover the biggest issues facing women in rugby and other contact sports.
The forum will start with an under-10 girls clinic with Queensland Rugby Union female projects officer and ex-Super W player Ashlee Knight.
That would lead into a day-long program on Saturday, which would start with a morning session structured to encompass all female contact sports before moving into rugby-specific sessions in the afternoon covering things such as scrummaging and refereeing.
McKenzie said there would also be a panel featuring Knight, former Wallaroos’ captain and Olympic gold medallist Shannon Parry, ex-Wallaroo Chloe Butler and Queensland Country Orchids player Simone Peri.
Parry would be the keynote speaker on Saturday night and the forum would round out with another clinic on Sunday morning, with Parry and Knight.
McKenzie said it was a coup to be hosting the forum.
“I don’t know if there’s been anything quite like it held anywhere before,” she said.
“We received the funding in October and it’s been a bit of a whirlwind getting it all organised but it’s come together really well.
“We want people attending the forum to leave with greater knowledge and better equipped to understand the unique health considerations for women in contact sport.”
McKenzie said it was incredible to have key figures involved in the forum, especially Prof. McGhee who is Australia’s leading sports breast expert.
While the majority of attendees will come from Central Queensland, people are travelling from as far afield as Townsville and the Darling Downs.
Tickets for each of the events are available online but will close on Friday afternoon.
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Originally published as Queensland Country Women’s Rugby Forum to be held in Rockhampton
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