Country Sport
Catherine Ellis, reporter

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTIER: After a big week out on the farm, in some cases all alone, Saturday Sport is what many people in the country look forward to.

It's a huge family day and social event.

Everyone gathers early to watch the juniors, they stick around right till the end when the A-league finishes, and then it's off to celebrate or get over the loss

People of all ages get involved and help out where they can with umpiring, running the canteen and keeping score.

HARRY: Footy and netball are probably the most important things in the country. It's sort of like the social outing of the week and it's just everyone looks forward to it. If you took it away they'd just be bored.

Harry and his brother Angus go to boarding school in Adelaide but they grew up on a farm with their family on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia.

So they know just how awesome the atmosphere is at country sport matches.

HARRY: When you kick a goal you've got about 200 cars all like tooting you and people going nuts on the sidelines- it's pretty good!

Lots of sporting stars began their careers in small country towns.

Like Adelaide Crows skipper and Brownlow medallist Mark Ricciuto.

And retired Brisbane Broncos star Shane Webcke.

SHANE WEBCKE, FORMER BRISBANE BRONCO: I wouldn't have had that, had I not had a junior base for footy. So to think that I maybe couldn't have had that is just traumatic.

And the worry is that country kids in the future will miss out.

Because over time more and more rural sporting clubs are disappearing with not enough people to make up the teams.

Young people are moving to the city to get jobs or study and they're not returning to the land.

With the drought, lots of farmers are moving out and those that have stuck around are too flat out to take Saturday off to play sport.

The lack of rain has also made it difficult to keep the sporting grounds alive!

A Victorian Government inquiry in 2003 found that 50 Aussie Rules Footy clubs had closed down in that state in the last 20 years.

And more recently, in country Queensland, many rugby league teams from Warwick to the Whitsunday's have gone under.

CATHERINE, REPORTER: Some teams from different towns have had to join together because there's just not enough people to play.

MARK RICCIUTO, CAPTAIN, ADELAIDE CROWS: It would be a shocking feel to have to play for another team or your opposition that you used to be quite competitive against. Yeah so very unfortunate for them.

And when communities lose their team they lose a major source of pride and identity.

So hopefully there won't be too many more clubs closing their doors. 

 

Refugee Soccer,

Nathan Bazley, reporter

Sport can also be important for refugees. Every year Australia takes in people who have been forced to leave their country because it's not safe for them. But coming here and getting used to a new home isn't always easy either. I found out something as simple as soccer can help.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: While it may not be an international battle for World Cup qualification, this annual game to celebrate refugee week is definitely international and it's very friendly... most of the time.

It's the Friendship Cup; a game played between a team of college boys and a team of refugees in the spirit of cultural respect and mateship.

This game, from a few years back, ended in a win to the college boys.  But this year the refugee team from the Secondary School of English is training hard to even the ledger.

These boys are from all corners of the globe, from Albania to Sudan and the refugees have come from areas of terrible fighting and poverty.

But wait up... what is a refugee?

Refugees are people who've fled their home country because they were scared of being persecuted or felt their life was threatened.

They ask the Australian Government for help and if the government agrees that they're refugees it lets them come here to stay.

GABRIEL: My name is Gabriel... from the Eastern part of Congo.

Gabriel is one of the boys who will step out on the field for the refugee team...

He comes from a place called the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is across the Indian Ocean from Australia... in Africa...

GABRIEL: Before coming my dad died and I lost the rest of my brothers and sisters plus my mum.

He had to run away from the Congo when he was 13. He took three days to get out of the country.

He lived with a foster family in Uganda before coming to Australia this year.

GABRIEL: It's really good because I've seen many things that I didn't see before and what I appreciate most is peace. I have peace.

But while his life may be more secure here in Australia, it can still be hard for a refugee.

GABRIEL: I am lonely because I can't see one of my relatives behind me or near me.

Gabriel may not have his family to help him, but his foster family and classmates are all happily giving their support.

And out on the soccer field the friendship cup isn't the most glittering of prizes, but Gabriel is taking the challenge seriously.

GABRIEL: I am ready for it because this game I am preparing myself for it.

SPORTS BIAS

Catherine Ellis, Reporter

Let's hope he did!

And when it comes to selecting sports teams - it sometimes seems that size goes a long way. Well Catherine's found out there are now calls to change that, so smaller kids get a fair go.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: This is a typical year nine class, with lots of different shapes and sizes!

Which kids would you pick if you were putting together a footy team?

Mmmmm...

I bet you picked the biggest and strongest? 

Well the trouble is, this happens a lot at schools and sporting clubs and not just in footy.

So the kids who might develop and grow later on miss out - not because of their ability but because of their size.

But they could be really talented; they could potentially be future sports stars.

JAKE: In games or in training for teams in try outs they've told me, grow a foot taller and you'd be in, so that's made me feel a bit down.

HARRISON: Being a bit shorter it's a bit harder to tackle the bigger blokes and it's a bit easier for the bigger blokes to tackle me.

Chris just missed out on making a state Under 16 footy team.

CHRIS: I got through to the last round of being cut up to the last 30 but they said I was a bit too small so they chose someone who was a bit taller than me.

Some experts worry that these kids get overlooked every year so they miss out on getting the best coaches and the best training.

PAT HEDGES, GOLD COAST SOCCER: There are many talented kids out there that we leave behind because they can't cope with going away against the bigger stronger kids.

Missing out can also cause some kids to lose confidence and give up.

It might sound weird but the size thing can work against big kids as well.

They might star when they're young but when they get to 18 or 19 a lot of the other kids catch up size wise.

So it's not as easy for them to make the top teams when there's more competition around.

This can cause them to lose confidence and chuck it in.

DANIEL: By the time someone comes to their height and grows … they won't be able to take that easy mark and therefore get spoilt because they've never had that competition against them.

The problem is, sporting teams and squads are usually selected in age groups.

Check out the size difference between Nathan and Jake and they're both exactly the same age! Is it fair that they should have to compete against each other for a spot in a footy team?

Is there a fairer way of selecting?

Well one idea is to pick teams by weight so kids compete with kids of the same weight and size regardless of age.

Gold Coast Soccer thinks clubs should have bigger squads, that way the smaller talented kids can also get picked.

So even though they might not get a game they can be looked after until they get bigger.

PAT HEDGES: I can keep them involved, working with the best coaches, working with the best people get the best information until such time that they will develop and mature as physically and hopefully go on to bigger and better things.

KID UMPIRES

Sarah Larsen, reporter

That's good advice!

and while many of us dream about being professional sports players - have you ever thought of being a professional umpire or referee? Well there could be a job vacancy for you. Sarah found out there are lots of kids are picking up whistles because there's a shortage of officials.

SARAH LARSEN, REPORTER: Umpires and refs are always at the centre of the action.

REPORTER: In the heat of the game, fans can get pretty passionate and umpires and refs can cop a fair bit of abuse for their decisions. But if you didn't have them you wouldn't have a game!

All sorts of sports all around the country are struggling because they can't get enough officials. It's a really serious problem

Not enough people are picking up whistles and trained umpires often drop out. That can be because of things like work and study taking up their time, but it can also be because of bad behaviour from players and spectators.

DAVE BAILES, 1000-GAME UMPIRE: They think why should I go out there and face that kind of criticism and abuse when I could be doing something else.

So organisations are starting to look further afield for umpires and refs and that means recruiting younger kids or getting more girls involved.

As an Aussie Rules player, Stephanie's pretty good with a ball, but it's the whistle that could take her to the big league,

STEPHANIE, 17-YEAR OLD SANFL UMPIRE: You can go all the way to the AFL and that's where I'll set myself to get and hopefully I'll get there.

She's already on her way. Stephanie recently became the first female to umpire a State League Grand Final.

STEPHANIE: It feels great. Obviously it was an awesome achievement and I had a great time doing it. I started umpiring primary school football years two -three when I was in year 8. I thought that was a pretty good part time job back then earning quite a good amount of money and avoided getting a job at Foodland part-time so that's how I got into it

REPORTER: And it's not just pocket money you can earn. Umpiring can be a serious career. Professionals earn good money and this is their office. Not bad, hey?

Stephanie says learning to shrug off insults from the crowd is part of the job.

STEPHANIE: I think especially for younger guys when they come out they get abuse from the sidelines and they think well obviously I'm not doing my job, I'd better quit now. But if they just stick at it; learn how to block it out; it goes a long way.

Some sports are bringing in special measures to help young umpires. At junior footy matches badly behaved supporters can be thrown out. And these young refs wear these bright green shirts when they're learning.

PAMELA, SOCCER REFEREE: This is just to signify that I'm a beginner so they can't really abuse me that much. I'm still learning some new rules and stuff.

ANTHONY, SOCCER REFEREE: As a player I though I knew everything but being a referee has taught me so many different things.

They have to train every week just like players. And they have to stay pretty fit. But for all that work the rewards can be big.

MATTHEW, INTERNATIONAL SOCCER REFEREE: Well I think you can go right to the top. As I say, I started when I was 15 years old and now I'm doing international matches so I travel around the world once a month and get paid to do it as a full time job so its pretty exciting.

So instead of dreaming of kicking or shooting those goals, maybe you should set your sights on signalling them.

And I reckon we've kicked a few goals here today - I don't know about you but I'm exhausted - hope you've enjoyed our Btn look at Sport - Catch you next time