THE Ellenbrook Vipers will hold a rugby day on Saturday, December 5 to grow opportunities for more female participation in the sport.

The Girls Rugby Day event will run from 10am to 3pm at Woodlake Sports Ground in Ellenbrook.

The team welcomes players of all experience levels with a goal that goes beyond teaching them how to pass or tackle.

“Rugby teaches kids how to work together, how to support each other, how to deal with challenges and how to keep going when things get tough,”  Ellenbrook Vipers Rugby Union Club president Janine Briggs said.

“It’s a sport where everyone has a role to play.

“You don’t have to be the fastest, strongest or most experienced player to be a valuable part of the team.”

This year, the Vipers fielded the U13 girls team which was their very first girls’ rugby team.

The team is now working towards having U14 and U16 girls teams in the coming year alongside their junior mixed teams.

Ms Briggs said there was a gap in the rugby playing pathways for girls at the moment which the team wanted to close.

“It’s about making sure that when a young girl joins our club, she can see a future for herself here,” she said.

“I don’t want her to get to a certain age and feel like her only option is to stop playing because there isn’t a team available and I think we’re starting to see the impact of these opportunities already.

“We’ve had girls who have grown enormously in confidence throughout the season, not just as rugby players but as young people.

“We’ve seen them form friendships, support each other through challenges and really develop that sense of belonging.”

Ms Briggs said media also played a role in shaping perceptions around female role models in sports, which impacted young people’s expectations and aspirations.

“Growing up, rugby wasn’t actually my sport – I was a swimmer and I competed in swimming at a competitive level,” she said.

“When I think back to my sporting role models, my biggest idol was actually Kieren Perkins.

“I absolutely loved watching him swim, and he was someone I really looked up to (and) I also loved watching incredible female swimmers like Susie O’Neill and Leisel Jones.

“But when I look back, I don’t think there was the same emphasis on celebrating female athletes as sporting role models that we’re starting to see today.

“From my experience, the media attention and recognition were much more focused on male athletes, and naturally, they were often the ones we looked up to.”

Ms Briggs said the engagement of female athletes with the next generation helped create the opportunities and pathways for young female athletes to progress.

“Having women like Sera Naiqama and Kahu Sturmey from the Western Force Women, along with former Wallaroo Debby Carley, involved in our Girls Rugby Day is another part of that,” she said.

“It’s one thing to watch these women playing rugby, but it’s something completely different for a young girl to meet them, ask questions, hear about their experiences and realise that they were once young girls starting out in sport too.

“I want our girls to grow up seeing strong, confident women achieving incredible things in sport.

“I want them to have female role models they can relate to and to know that their opportunities aren’t limited simply because they’re girls.

“And it’s not just about creating future professional rugby players, it’s about building confidence, giving girls something to aspire to and showing them that they belong in sport.

“If we can help create an environment where our girls feel supported, inspired and excited about their future, then I think we’re doing something pretty special.”

The group received funding through the Game On, Girls grant program, which will enable the club to further develop their girls’ program.

Registration for the free event is essential and may be accessed online.