$A2 million of additional funding will be injected into the sport…………

February 13, 2023 by Kerry Corker

In a Business/Sport World of professional female and male teams, Australia continues to lead the way with one professional Chess player.
In a sport where just one of the companies has 80,000,000 paying customers (Chess.com) , we don’t have ANY teams.
If only half their customers pay $40 per year as I do, that is a minimum of, well you can do the rest.
I still cannot work out why Australian kids are not allowed to aspire to playing for Australian Chess Teams.
WHO CAN FINANCE THESE TEAMS?
The same people we locked out of the Australian Junior Blitz Championships when nobody thought to bring a backup plan. That’s right, get em sitting outside on the stairs until you get the Apple 2C up and running again.
I thought chess was a good way to learn planning.
And no, sitting in a school room with 40 Statler and Waldorfs all weekend is not the same.
In a country that now has a published plan for professional female Rugby Players and Teams, we cannot get enough Women to hold a Qld. Championship!! We only needed 5 or 6 for a Round Robin.
C’mon Australia, we can do better that this! – Kerry Corker
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For the full report, go to –
The national women’s rugby team will receive centralised part-time contracts from Rugby Australia for the 2023 season as the nation moves towards a fully professional program ahead of hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2029.

Rugby Australia announced on Saturday more than $A2 million of additional funding will be injected into the sport for the coming campaign with up to 35 players to be centrally contracted.

“Australia hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup in 2029 presents us with a great target for women’s rugby,” said RA chairman Hamish McLennan.

“We want the Wallaroos to win our home World Cup with a fully professional squad of heroes inspiring the next generation.

“Rugby Australia has committed additional funding into women’s rugby this year and is pushing hard for further investment and corporate support.

“It is just the beginning, but the future for women’s rugby in Australia looks very bright.”

Recently appointed Wallabies coach Eddie Jones will serve as an adviser to the team, who were knocked out in the quarter-finals of last year’s World Cup, which was dominated by professional squads from England, France and New Zealand.

A parenting and pregnancy guideline has also been agreed in principle, which will see contracted players continue to receive full pay for a year while on maternity leave.

The country’s Sevens team, which won gold at the Olympic Games in 2016 and are the reigning Commonwealth Games champions, are already fully professional and their success will serve as a template for the 15-a-side version of the game.

“This is just the beginning,” said RA chief executive Andy Marinos.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but this is far and away the largest investment that we have ever made into women’s rugby.

“We are determined to continue the growth in coming years to ensure that our goals become a reality.”

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