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OUR NEW HOME – SYDNEY SWANS HQ AND COMMUNITY CENTRE
SYDNEY SWANS HQ AND COMMUNITY CENTRE
In October 2018, the Sydney Swans announced that it had secured a long-term lease of one of Sydney’s most iconic buildings; the Royal Hall of Industries (RHI).
Located in Driver Avenue, just a few hundred metres from the SCG, the RHI would become New South Wales’ premier sports training and administration facility and a vibrant community hub.
In April 2020 the project was put on hold, reflecting the considerable uncertainty relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the challenges presented to the RHI development by a global pandemic have been no match to the determination and vision of the many people committed to transforming the RHI into what will be an iconic sporting and community hub of global scale.
Channelling the never say die Bloods spirit, and with thanks to the significant support of the New South Wales Government and the Sydney Swans Foundation, the Club are delighted to reignite this exciting project.
It is the most significant project undertaken by the Swans since the move to Sydney in 1982 and provides a long-term home for the club’s men’s, women’s and academy programs, all within a drop punt of the SCG at the Moore Park precinct.
With completion planned for late 2022 the RHI will be transformed into a state- ofthe-art high-performance sport and community facility for our players, coaches and staff, as well as the QBE Sydney Swans Youth Girls and Youth Boys Academies.
With the successful licence of a Sydney Swans AFL team for season 2022/23, the new facility will be a hub for our incoming AFLW team.
Equal access and equal importance. The inaugural Sydney Swans AFLW team will train alongside the AFL team, and hundreds of aspiring young girls and boys engaged in the QBE Academy programs. One club under one roof.
The club’s new headquarters will be much more than a training facility. It will be a meeting place that will allow the club to interact and engage with our people and communities on a daily basis.
...COMING LATE 2022
Meaningful community connection is fundamental to the Sydney Swans story, our growth and our future. Maximising the public interaction and access to this proposed facility is critical to success.
The GO Foundation, the Indigenous education and mentoring organisation founded by Swans’ champions Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin, along with the Clontarf Academy, will be headquartered in the building and utilise the facilities to expand their programs. There will also be a Red Cross Blood Bank, a new café, retail outlet and a Swans museum for fans to enjoy.
The club’s new headquarters will be a place where we welcome all our people, and the community, in a way that has never been possible before.
The open foyer will allow our members and fans insight into the behind-the- scenes workings of the club, while the plaza directly outside the building will be open to the public every day.
It will be the space for a dedicated fan zone, and a vibrant pre and post-game meeting place for all our supporters.
The club is looking forward to welcoming members and fans back to the SCG for season 2022 so next time you are on Driver Avenue, take a look at the Royal Hall of Industries.
Opened to great fanfare in 1913, it is one of Sydney’s most loved buildings. Its deep red brickwork and white trimmed windows make it the perfect home for the Sydney Swans community.
For more information on the Swans HQ project visit sydneyswans.com.au. Members can donate to the project via the Sydney Swans Foundation.
By Chris Smith – Head of Academy Football
The QBE Sydney Swans Academy kicked goals both on and off the field in 2021, despite another Covidinterrupted season.
The year got off to a memorable start in February when history was made as the QBE Sydney Swans Academy senior female teams ran out in the red and white for the first time. The Academy’s newly formed Under 17 and Under 19 teams took on the GWS GIANTS Academy and performed incredibly well against their cross-town rivals. The Under 19s also enjoyed a strong performance on the road, defeating the previously undefeated Geelong Falcons in Victoria.
Unfortunately the season was once again put to a standstill due to the Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney however the Academy staff worked hard to stay connected to Academy players during the lockdown and were impressed to see each and every girl and boy commit to their individual based training, showing discipline and application in testing times.
July was a special month for the female athletes in the QBE Sydney Swans Academy with their path to AFLW becoming clear with the announcement that the Swans would enter the AFLW competition in season seven in 2022/23.
Many of the Academy athletes will get the chance to participate in the AFL’s inaugural Women’s Summer series in February 2022, in what will be the first opportunity to showcase their talent. The program is already seeing some of the athletes start to shine, and many are expected to have careers in the red and white as the club’s presence in the AFLW competition draws nearer.
During the suspension of the QBE Sydney Swans Academy Program, head coaches and staff also worked hard to enhance and improve the Academy program for 2022 and beyond. The QBE Sydney Swans Academy has now been in operation for 10 years and undergone enormous growth in that time. The participation numbers have increased from 450 players in 2011, to 756 in 2021.
In exciting times for AFL in New South Wales and the program, the most growth has occurred in the past four years. In 2018, the Academy had eight different age groups, from under 11 to under 18, and all Academy members were male. In 2022, there will be 18 groups of players, nine male and nine female, ranging from Under-11 to Under-19.
The club is incredibly proud of the Academy’s achievements over the past decade. Underpinned by the incredible support from the Academy community, the
programs have trained and developed thousands of young athletes and played a vital role in helping to create a strong AFL culture in NSW.
From a high performance perspective it was incredibly rewarding for all involved in the Academy program to see a larger proportion of the senior team in 2021 made up of Academy alumni. Nick Blakey, Errol Gulden, Braeden Campbell, Sam Wicks and James Bell all performed strongly for the Sydney Swans in season 2021. At some stages throughout the course of the season, the club had eight Academy graduates playing in the senior team at any one time.
With strong foundations in place, now is the time for the club to sharpen the focus on talent development objectives, including elite talent outcomes for the Swans men’s and women’s AFL programs. From 2022, the Academy will place greater emphasis on developing players who strongly aspire to be part of state and national representative programs, and who demonstrate the potential to play at the elite levels, and ultimately be drafted into the AFL and AFLW.
To facilitate this change, the tough decision was made to reduce overall numbers of participants by approximately 25%. Importantly, this reduction in numbers will enable the club to provide more targeted, individual, and effective player development.
Whilst the Academy understands these changes will result in disappointment for those young footballers who do not progress through the selection process, the club strongly believes this step was necessary for the Academy to continue to provide broad opportunities for boys and girls across multiple age groups. Importantly, it will enable the club to offer programs that will maximise talent outcomes for our participants, and the Sydney Swans AFL and AFLW teams.
