Safe Sport

A study on the incidence of injury in junior rugby league in the Penrith & District Junior Rugby League area has revealed some interesting statistics on both the safety of junior footy and other sports which are commonly promoted as the ?safe sport? options.

With a new junior rugby league competition kicking off next year in the Jimboomba area the Queensland Rugby League believes local parents should have access to all the information on just how well organised and safe ?Mini Footy? is?.

QRL Southern Division Executive Officer Troy Morton said ?there is a perception out there that the NRL or State of Origin game we see on TV is that same as the game our kids play, where in reality that full range of rules is not implemented until the kids reach the under 16 grade.?

?What we have at the Mini Footy level is among the safest and best organised junior sport experiences available. There are so few injuries at the under 7-10 age groups that some parents are even suggesting that there is no need for insurance. However the QRL insist on everyone being covered from the players right through to the mandatory qualified coaches and referees?.

Morton said ?I know our sport provides a great structure for child development with all coaches requiring a minimum qualification and referees a similar ticket, I am not sure all other sports have this in place?.

?On top of this we also have the ?Safe Play Code? in the Mini & Mod Footy age groups and in southern Queensland ?Junior League Just For The Fun Of It? campaign? Morton said.

Some of the findings of the study conducted by the Children?s Hospital Institute of Sport Medicine ? Penrith (CHISM Report) include:

?Public perception of Junior Rugby League as being a high injurious sport has been developed from MEDIA exposure of the ELITE game? Children aged 6-11 had an injury rate of 4.1 injuries per 1000 player hours. These figures confirm there is a very small risk of injury to junior rugby league players in the 6-11 year age bracket.

In almost 3 of the 4 cases considered, the injury was of a minor nature and the player did not miss a game.

Injury rate comparison for rugby league juniors indicated that occurrences of injury in junior rugby league are similar, if not lower, when compared to the published data, than other sports including non-football sports such as cricket and basketball ?. often promoted as ?safe sports?. Reference: Incidence of Injury in junior rugby league in the Penrith & District Junior Rugby League Area, (Raferty, Parker, Stacy, Peat, Wang) August 1999. The new Jimboomba club and competition will kick off with a public meeting and family fun day this Sunday 12th October at Hills International School playing fields from 10.00am.

For more information contact Troy Morton (0412008669) or Greg Driese on 55460214 / 0416104004.