More than half the CAFL league say NO MORE

The number of football clubs to commit to taking a stand against family violence by working alongside the NO MORE Campaign to develop their own in-house Family Violence Action Plans continues to grow with more than half of the clubs affiliated to AFL Central Australia now on board.     

Premier League and foundation AFLCA club Pioneer signed onto an Action Plan last weekend, following on from similar commitments made earlier this month by Division 1 clubs Western Aranda and Ltyentye Apurte.

Pioneer Coach John Glasson said the commitment to an Action Plan was an extension of the strong family basis the club was built from and has maintained throughout its 69 year history.

“The club owes its origins to several local Indigenous families and those families’ surnames are still prominent throughout the playing ranks almost 70 years later,” said Glasson.

“We have a reputation of being a family club and helping reduce the instance of family violence is clearly in our best interests as well as the best interests of the wider community.”   

Western Aranda Coach Lofty Katakarintja, his coaching assistants and senior players met with NO MORE Campaign workers in Hermannsburg before deciding to commit to an Action Plan as a means through which the club could make a positive difference in the community.

“Our football club receives plenty of support from the community and it is one of the few activities that regularly bring the whole community together,” said Katakarintja.

“We think that sort of influence can be used to build a positive club culture, to better educate our young men about family violence issues, and raise awareness about the problem throughout the whole community.”

The club’s Action Plan includes a playing group family violence education session, which was delivered in the week leading into the community’s sports carnival and was attended by more than 80 players, officials and community leaders.

The Action Plan commitment by Ltyentye Apurte confirms that club’s long association with the NO MORE message, which began not long after founder Charlie King first established the campaign almost a decade ago.

Ltyentye Apurte club official Phil Alice highlighted that the club had regularly promoted the campaign’s symbolic gesture of linking arms.  

“We linked arms in support of the NO MORE message at the MCG back in 2008 when the team played in an AFL Indigenous Round curtain raiser to the traditional Essendon versus Richmond match”, said Alice. 

“More recently we have invited the NO MORE crew out to the past two Santa Teresa sports weekends and the anti-violence message they have promoted has had a positive impact with the carnivals being trouble free events on and off the field.”  

“We think we can extend that message through a club Action Plan that provides our players with increased education and awareness about family violence issues.”

The three recent signings brings the number of AFLCA clubs to commit to developing club Action Plans up to 8 out of the 15 playing across the League’s three divisions.

As well as those AFLCA clubs, AFL Barkly premiers Sporties Spitfires and the CAFC Redtails representative side are also supporters of NO MORE and have developed club Action Plans.