St Blazey ladies

[Guest zimbo]

Mullion arrived at Blaise Park with only nine players and were immediately under pressure.

St Blazey ladies triumphed 14-0, but i must congratulate mullion for not giving up, they played with extreme

dedication knowing they were on the wrong end of a thrashing. HATS OFF TO THEM!!!

St Blazey scorers were: Stacy Dickinson(6), Leesa Grainger(5), Lauren Dowrick(2) and Zena Walker.

[Guest neild]

Credit to Mullion - however I notice that St Blazey lost the points a week earlier for not being able to raise a side?.

[Guest zimbo]

yeh, ya rite.

They only had six available players so withdrew the fixture unfortunately.

The league states that seven is the minimum a team can play with.

[chairman]

Credit to Mullion - however I notice that St Blazey lost the points a week earlier for not being able to raise a side?.

I agree full credit to Mullion and no real credit to us.

[Dave Deacon]

Is the interest in Womens football not what it was?

[Guest]

The simple answer is down to the FA. Their only interest is in England and the Centers of Excellence. This is of no help whatsoever to the womens game at grass roots level.

[Dave Deacon]

So what help can the FA give to ensure a team turns out with 11 players each week. Surely the clubs thermselves have to carry some of the blame.

They commit at the start of a season to fulfil their games, and not more than a handful of games into it, we´re seeing the above happening!

Seems to me, as in the mens´game an overloading of teams - meaning the inevitable and obvious ... not enough players to go around!

[Guest]

I'm afraid the FA are tottaly to blame. They thought that girls were the same as boys and at a stroke destroyed a number of womens teams who had been building up their young players only to be told, sorry but you cant play open football at 14 years and then the following year you cant play open football at 15 years and you will have to wait possibly until half way through the following season to play once you reach the age of 16.

They then set up all these wonderful centres of excellence Once the girls are turfed out at 16 years of age the best are immediately snapped up by the club that runs the centres. The remaining players are then let loose on local teams if any that are way below the standard they had already achieved. Hence a a major, major problem. Why should good players have to hang around for two years to play at a decent level when the FA more or less said. We have no interest in you the grass roots of the game we are only interested in excellence.

it is not an overloading of teams it is more a question of young girls not prepared to hang around to play open age football as well as there are other things in life than football. In other words they don't see a future in the game they enjoy.

[Guest zimbo]

yeh.

Its seems very obvious that the grass roots game is suffering cus the FA have got their heads in the sand.

Most of the ladies who play just love the game and are happy to play every week. Shouldn't that be incentive enough for the FA to look more closly at them.

[Dave Deacon]

As you will no doubt have guessed, I admit to having a lack of knowledge on the womens´game but what I have learnt today is that in fact I am told there is a HUGE amount of interest still in womens football.

This season 4 teams from Division 1 got promoted which left the number of teams in Cornwall less - in the same way as one needs to continue to work hard at the male game to encourage new players and keep the old ones interested its needed with the female squads. One can also throw into the pot woman having babies - yes, some clubs have women break the rules and get pregnant!

The events that happened over the last few years over the creation of 'a team' leading to the loss and folding of other teams (eg Goonhavern and St Columb) resulted in lots of women leaving the game - but some of these are now returning.

The setting up of the Centre of Excellence did have a bit of a knock on - but the centre in Cornwall is run by the CCFA at Newquay Sports Centre and Truro College not by a club so whilst I am sure players ended up at different clubs it may not necessarily be because of the Centre of Excellence.

Yes, the change of the age group did have a bit of an effect - but it has done the same in boys football -but as there are less girls than boys playing football it hasn't helped maintain squads.

All in all, womens football is growing again and I´m told the CCFA has appointed Warren Parker as Women, Girls and Disability Officer and for sure over a period of time his hard work and efforts will pay off.

There is still a reluctance within some clubs to have and/or support a female side - that is a hard wheel to turn - perhaps an incentive for clubs to encourage them could help but not sure quite what that could be.

Those involved in the Ladies League in Cornwall have worked hard to promote and make playing Ladies league football as easy as possible and this year have reduced the affiliation fee again and introduced an incentive of £50 per club towards training another female coach each - coaching course costs £75 so each club could get a coach club trained for £25 - good eh? They will also consider a fixture break if necessary to facilitate the completion of the coaching course with the assessment days which tend to be on a Sunday.

Also, they make the playing season as flexible as possible - no xmas/mothers day games - and it can also be stated at the beginning of the season what days one wants fixture breaks.

However, I do wonder why the recent demise of Penzance 1st team, to novices such as me, it came as a surprise and a great shame - there were presumably issues behind it!

Finally, I am told that there are women and girls out there who want to play football - perhaps after all we could do with some more pro-active clubs supporting them.

[Guest]

I think you will find that the 4 Cornish clubs went up because the South West regional League Division One South only had two clubs left Plymouth Argyle Reserves and Truro City Reserves. Taunton Town were promoted to the Premier Division because Clubs reserves teams were not aloowed too. Poole Town and Exeter University likewise the season before. This meant that the quality players that were with Plymouth and what was Newquay reserve teams had to watch far inferior teams and players being promoted to a higher division they were not capable of competing in.

Teams like Barnstaple Town and Alphington dropped back to county football because they got fed up with playing weach other four times and possibly twice in the cups in the season.

The Cornwall league in 2005-6 had 27 teams in three divisions - it now has 2 divisions and 15 teams.

Newquay went up and now play premier league football

Penzance moved up are now no more althoughn they do have a reserve team in the county league

Newquay Reserves (now Truro City), Bude Town, Launceston, Torpoint Athletic and Saltash United are now in The South West Regional League

So of those 27 teams who are no longer playing

St Ives Town are no more

Newmoor Rovers are no more

Wadebridge Town are no more

St Columb Minor are no more

Liskeard Atheltic became Dobwalls

Stoke Climsland are now Callington Town

Goonhavern are no more

Tremough are no more

Kerrier Terriers are no more.

What heppened to

St Just

Rosudgeon

Madron

Bodmin Dragons

St Austel

Pendeen Rovers

Storm

Porthleven

Both Cornwall and Devon took their eye off the ball After all it was they along with the other counties who decided to agree with the FA that 14 year olds, then 15 year olds were ineligble to play open age football. The devon under 16 league had a handful of teams but others wouldn't join because they were going to be hammered by Plymouth Argyle. Then the league was informed that no player attached to a league side who was part of an Academy were not allowed to play for their own teams. Again how daft was that.

Young good players had nowhere to go, there was no under 16 league football in Cornwall so where were those girls going to go. Answer - straiight out of the game and into something else. Even last season there were only 3 under 16 teams playing in a league.

What was rediculous was having players who had won a county cup winners medal with Plymouth Argyle and oplayed some firstb team games, were picked for England and were still only playing short sided games in kiddies football because the FA said they were too young. Yet they were allowed to play internationals with and against older players who were eligible to play open age football. How daft was that

As I said initially the FA completely took their eyes off the ball by changing the rules and letting girls from all over the country go out of the game.

There is another major factor. Many of the teams play on the mens pitch. If it has been heavy then the womens match is either called off or they have to play on a mud heap.

I know this started with the St Blazey team but these problems are hapenning everywhere.

Take the Devon League last Sunday. Three games didn't go ahead because teams could not raise a side.

The whole of the womens infrastucture is all wrong at the grass roots level. The FA seems to think that because there are under 16 leagues in places such as Devon and Cornwall then all should be well. Is there a Cornwall under 16 league this season?

The womens game was often treated as a joke and quite frankly some of it was. But over the years schools have encompassed the game, coaching has improved but the opportunities to progress are actually limited. Unfortunately unless a proper structure is put in place womens football at county level will always face many problems

It wasn't that long ago that many pro clubs throughout the country were given ten grand provided they had a womens team. They took the money alright but gave nothing back to the women who many eventually kicked out.

We live in a much more different world than when I was young. Girls/womens football is being played everywhere. Take athletics it wasn't that long ago that women were not allowed to run long distance races. Its all changed but for some reason the FA does not seem to understand what it actually means to try and run a womens football club at even county level That is where it is and has been going wrong. Properly Devlope the game at the grass roots level but then let there be an outlet. St Austell has the biggest population in Cornwall yet does not have a womens football team, likewise in Redruth and Camborne, Bodmin, Liskeard and so on.

WHY!!!

[Dave Deacon]

St Austell has the biggest population in Cornwall yet does not have a womens football team,

Most of us have asked that same question about the men´s side in St Austell! That area use to be the place for Cornish football! :D

[St Darren]

St Agnes ladies section is thriving, I went up there tonight for their training session and there was enough to have a full game on the pitch, but that is down to the hard work or Martyn and Mandy in getting it started.

A problem that clubs have with putting out teams, I put down to the FA. They ask clubs to meet certain standards to acheive Chartered Status or whatever. Ladies teams, Mens teams, kids teams, people in place behind the scene! there's only so many people to go round in small villages.

[Guest]

Spot on St Darren