[Archive 2013-05-14] National Rugby League Women in League Round celebrates sons

Historical archive — originally published 2013-05-14. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

Australia's National Rugby League (NRL) is to celebrate "Women in League" week, starting yesterday, with themes including sons, raising funds for breast cancer support, and club-related specials to encourage women to attend rugby league games. The week-long celebration of women was started in 2006 to highlight the importance of women to the sport and make the game female-friendlier.

The NRL has been promoting the event on their Women in League Facebook page. In the past month, their Facebook updates have included posts featuring male players discussing support they received from women in their lives, sales of pink coloured NRL merchandise, plugs encouraging people to vote for their favourite son, pictures of men supporting Women in League, NRL club promotions for tickets and other events connected to Women in League, and information on a school visit promoting anti-bullying. The Facebook page has also promoted women's participation and profiles of women's players as recently as a month ago, when on April 9, it promoted the Girls 'Come and Try' Day in Canberra. Prior to that, women were last promoted as players on February 10 when pictures were shared of the Women's All Stars team match with the Indigenous All Stars team.

140,000 women in Australia are involved with rugby league as players, sport administrators, coaches, employees, club members, or volunteers. Karen Hardy of The Canberra Times estimates this number could easily be quadrupled if wives, girlfriends, mothers, and other female family members who support male players were included. Participation is also increasing, with almost a thousand new female players taking up the sport between 2011 and 2012 for 5,801 total registered female players in 2012.

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