THE BARWON BULLETIN
The official noticeboard for AFL Barwon Club Officials & Volunteers.
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EDITION 57
October 15, 2025
(LAST UPDATED - October 15, 2025)

General Updates
Key Updates

The annual AFL Victoria Community Football Awards were held on Friday night at IKON Park, to celebrate the end of another season of local footy across the state.
Australian Rules Football is driven by volunteers, coaches, umpires and administrators who are the heartbeat of the local game. Tens of thousands of people in Victoria dedicate significant time and effort towards ensuring the success of their clubs and communities.
Chris Jones and Luke McNamara were amongst the award winners for their contributions to Umpiring and Participation within the AFL Barwon region.
AFL Barwon are seeking an enthusiastic, and motivated person(s) to coordinate the AFL Barwon Junior Netball midweek competitions.
The Netball Competition Coordinator is primarily responsible for managing and coordinating all onsite venue requirements for the AFL Barwon Junior Netball midweek competitions. The AFL Barwon Junior Netball competitions are run across Tuesday and Friday evenings at multiple venues.
The successful applicant will be responsible for liaising with key stakeholders, clubs, netball umpires, AFL Barwon staff and other valuable groups present at our midweek competitions.
We are seeking nominations from clubs for BFNL & GFNL Life Membership.
The criteria for nomination for Geelong FNL or Bellarine FNL Life Membership are that the nominee must have:
- held the position of Football Club President, Secretary or Treasurer with 10 years accumulated service in any of the three roles. This would also include service for a continuous period in a combination of any of the three positions or
- provided 15 years continuous service directly for either league or
- held the position of chairperson of Netball section of a Club serving for 10 continuous years
- and offered the service voluntarily
To nominate, please fill in the below form.
Club Development
Registrations are now open for sporting clubs and organisations to become a Get Active Kids Activity Provider ahead of round 9 of the Get Active Kids Voucher Program, opening in October clubs and sporting organisations can register as a provider, which allows families to sign up their kids by used the voucher up front and reducing out-of-pocket expenses.
Important Dates
- Round 9 applications open: 10am 15th October 2025
- Round 9 applications close: 13 November 2025 (or earlier if the budget allocation is fully exhausted)
- Voucher expiry date: 31 December 2025
The Volunteer Connect was sent to registered volunteers on the 8th of October. Click here to see some of the stories added, including eSafety Commissioner webinars and much more.
A recent study investigated the way parents are engaged in youth sport (including junior footy) and how this relates to the experience of new families at sporting clubs. Three key themes were identified: (1) Personalising the onboarding experience, (2) Thanks and recognition, and (3) Chats, Check-ins, and Consultation. Click here to read more.
AFL Barwon/AFL Victoria are excited to present an opportunity for existing (Female) Women & Girls coaches who are eager to enhance their skills and advance in their coaching careers. Introducing the Female Coaching Academy which focuses on creating quality coaching environments, coaching at training/game and an opportunity to attend an open training session with local talent league coaches.
Details are found below.
AFL Barwon - Women & Girls Coaching Academy
Elevate Coaching Course (Level 2)
Venue: AFLB HQ at Highton Reserve
Date: Sunday, 9 November 2025
Time: 9:30am - 4:00pm – Three workshops combined in the one day.
Cost: FREE
SRV Regional All Abilities Participation Grants
Supports grassroots sport and active recreation clubs and community-based not-for-profit organisations, to enable ongoing, sustainable, and meaningful participation for people with disability in regional Victoria.
Grant amount: up to $25,000 / category. Open: October 1 2025 / Close: 19 November 2025.
For more information - All Abilities funding
Local Sports infrastructure Fund
The Victorian State Government has recently announced the opening of their Local Sports Infrastructure Fund for 2025/26.
This program has 3 funding streams available for funding each with a different maximum grant amounts available.
- Community Facilities
- Lighting
- Planning
As per any Sport and Recreation Victoria Facilities grant, only LGA's are eligible to apply, with applications closing at 5pm, 2 December, 2025.
Can I encourage you to reach out to their Local council contact to discuss any projects that fit the criteria.
Our recommendation is that these discussions should occur sooner rather than later, as most LGA's will formalise a list to present to Sport and Recreation Victoria prior to starting any applications.
SRV 2026-27 Country Football Netball Program
The current round of SRV Country Football Netball Program is open and will close at 5pm Thursday February 26, 2026
See the Link for more information on this State Government program (up to $250k per LGA).
This program is available to AFL Victoria Country affiliated clubs with only LGA's are eligible to apply. Clubs are encouraged to speak to their local council contact to discuss potential projects that may be eligible for submission in either of the two available SRV funding programs.
Any queries regarding these articles can be directed to:
Tim Secombe
AFL Barwon Club Development Lead
0417 665 173

Netball
Netball Victoria
Applications for the 2025-26 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund are now open
The 2025-2026 Local Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSIF) offers up to $500,000 for upgrades to sports facilities across Victoria. The fund supports councils to enhance local sports grounds, courts, lighting, and more, with a focus on increasing participation, especially in women and girls.
The fund offers three streams:
Community facilities: Up to $500,000
Community sports lighting: Up to $250,000
Planning projects: Up to $40,000
Applications open: Tuesday 2 September 2025
Applications close: Tuesday 2 December 2025
Outcomes: Announced in April 2026
As this is processed through councils, we encourage early planning and submission to ensure your project meets the timeline.
Regional all abilities grants now open
Regional all abilities participation grants assist organisations to increase participation opportunities and address barriers for people with disability in regional Victoria, helping netball remain a sport for all.
Applications close19 November 2025.
Monthly Online Education Session
Please view the recordings from the October Session
Session 1- Netball Connect - Match Day
Session 3- Child Safe practices
The next session, and final for the year, will take place on Monday 10 November. Details to come.
2026 Talent Academy Umpire Program
Become an Umpire Coach with the Talent Academy Umpire program and support talented umpires as they progress towards a higher accreditation.
Applications close Friday 24 October.
Impact of Australian Government social media age restrictions
Following the announcement of the social media age restrictions from the Federal Government, Netball Victoria is working with the government to understand what this means for our affiliates and netball communities moving forward.
The restrictions come into effect from the Wednesday 10 December, and we hope to be able to provide some clear direction by that time.
Everyone belongs in netball video
Netball Victoria and the Melbourne Vixens have created a video to encourage the message that ‘everyone belongs’ in our sport.
The video is available to our affiliates to download and use across social media channels, in venue or in digital newsletters.
Pride in Sport survey - have your say!
Netball Victoria is a proudly diverse and an inclusive organisation and we're inviting the netball community to have their say.
The survey helps to inform our commitment to initiatives that promote greater inclusion of people of diverse sexuality and gender in the netball community.
Spending 10 minutes to complete the survey will enable Netball Victoria to understand the views and experiences from everyone in the netball community.
Survey closes Sunday 15 December.
Junior Netball
Uniform Reminders
- Please be reminded that all clubs must be in their registered uniform. Teams not wearing their registered club uniform must seek approval from AFL Barwon for this to occur. Please email
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if this impacts you. - Jewellery is NOT permitted. Taping of earrings is NOT permitted.
- Teams listed second are responsible for providing CLASH bibs.
Due to the Australian Diamonds game this Friday 17 October creating a high volume of forfeits, along with several team withdrawals, unfortunately a number of fixture requests could not be accommodated.
Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause, but we appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
Please also take a moment to double check the fixture and notify your teams of any potential venue and/or time changes.
Coaching applications for the 2026 AFL Barwon Netball Representative program are now open.
The Bellarine and Geelong Representative Programs are an opportunity for athletes, coaches and umpires within these competitions to compete at a higher level and provide an opportunity for skills development and talent identification.
Netball Umpiring
Season starts Friday 10 October
You will receive an email with further instructions to complete prior to competition starting.
You will receive an email to confirm your role as a mentor at the end of September and will be required to sign a document outlining roles and expectations if you did mentor during the winter season.
If this sounds like you, please complete the below expression of interest.