By Mikayla van Loon
The second annual Montrose Girls Day Out event is scheduled for this week, looking to champion women and girls in sport and bringing the broader community together.
To say the event has grown since its inaugural debut last year, Montrose senior women’s coach Shilette Baker would say is an understatement.
With the support of the Eastern Football Netball League, the junior girls and senior women’s games were all scheduled to be played on the day of the event being Sunday 23 June.
Baker said she was incredibly grateful to see the event garnering so much support from the league and the Waverley Blues senior women’s team who agreed to play on Sunday.
“This has been a challenge for the EFNL to not only coordinate our womens/girls games at the same location, but with one of the biggest junior clubs in the league, to coordinate all of our boys teams offsite, has been a huge undertaking,” she said.
Receiving such incredible feedback, not only from within the Montrose Football Netball Club but from community members who attended in 2023, Baker said the idea of celebrating women and girls in sport, business owners and female leaders really resonated with everyone.
“We’ve gone along with the same thoughts of what our Girls Day Out has been about all along, and that is to give a platform to promote and support local girls/womens programs, whilst gathering a crowd to increase our profile as a women’s team at Montrose, but with more time up our sleeves, market stalls and other businesses have been able to jump on board and be present on the day,” she said.
Being able to coordinate more speakers, including Yarra Ranges Council chief executive officer Tammi Rose, Bridge Builders director Beck Mitchell and Zae and Co founder Bonnie Davey, as well as AFLW players Mia Austin and Delany Madigan, Baker said touches on all aspects of health and wellbeing, business and community.
“All of the speakers we approached were on board straight away and could see it as a chance to tell their stories and to inspire women and girls on how we can connect, grow and support each other to achieve our individual or community goals.”
This year’s event will also be raising funds for the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation, something Baker said was an important crossover with the demographics of women and girls potentially attending or participating in Girls Day Out.
“By raising awareness of regular Cervical Screening Tests, (formerly referred to as the Pap test), and the availability of the HPV vaccine, ACCF is making enormous strides towards keeping Australia on track to make cervical cancer a thing of the past, and is on track to effectively eliminate cervical cancer by 2035.
“We are proud that 100 per cent of profits from our donations, raffles and morning tea will be donated directly to the ACCF. Giving the ACCF a platform on a day celebrating girls and women, we can encourage more regular Cervical Screening Tests that can help save lives.”
Wanting the event to be all inclusive, Baker said she was also proud to have two All Abilities Netball clubs running some clinics and games on the day.
And while all of the junior boys games have been scheduled to be played offsite for the day, Baker said it was important to remember that men and boys were welcome to join the festivities.
“This isn’t just a day for women and girls to support each other, we need and welcome support from men and boys – fathers, sons, brothers, friends, for not only these special days, but every game, every business, every charity on a day to day basis,” she said.
“The main message I would like everyone to take away from the day, is that it doesn’t need to be a special day for us to continue to see, recognise and support women and girls in all of these fields.”
With a full day planned, it all gets underway at 9am with a wellbeing morning tea before showcasing the talents of the women’s and girls football and netball teams, as well as local creators, artisans and traders.
