After the success of the 2003 AFL Community Camps, the AFL has made the four day camp a regular event on the footy calendar. Essendon will spend four days in Warrnambool next February conducting school visits, open training sessions, development activities and footy forums. Bombers’ football manager Dominic Cato and fitness coach John Quinn visited Warrnambool earlier this month and were overwhelmed by the excitement amongst the local community about the Essendon camp.

“John and I met with a number of different people from Warrnambool including council members and sporting club representatives and it was quite infectious their enthusiasm about our visit in February. They were very welcoming and there preparedness to help out was terrific and as a result we are very much looking forward to coming down,” Cato said.

Cato said that Essendon has a fantastic following in the Warrnambool region and the camp will give the team a good opportunity to interact with the locals. “The Bendigo community really embraced the team earlier this year when we went on the four day community camp. It was fantastic to see big crowds turn out for training to support the team and we are hoping for the same response in Warrnambool,” Cato said.

The camps will include activities to promote participation and assist club administrators and coaches at grassroots level. The Warrnambool Community Camp will give kids in the area the chance to meet the stars of the Essendon Football Club and provides local coaches and managers an opportunity to learn from the best in the business.

The Essendon team will be in Warrnambool from February 3-6. More details of the Community Camp will be provided on the BomberLand website in the new year.

Where other clubs are heading:
Adelaide - Riverland
Brisbane - Sunshine Coast
Carlton - Ballarat
Collingwood - Greater West of Sydney
Fremantle - Geraldton
Geelong - Gold Coast
Melbourne - Echuca
Hawthorn - Launceston – Devonport
Kangaroos - Canberra
Port Adelaide - Murray Bridge
Richmond - Mornington Peninsula
St Kilda - Hobart
Sydney - Newcastle
West Coast - Kalgoorlie
Western Bulldogs - Darwin

During the AFL Community Camps in 2003:

  • 45,000 primary school students met AFL players

  • 13,000 secondary school student met AFL players

  • 28 AFL Auskick Superclinics were conducted including 8400 participants.

  • 45 hospitals/aged homes/welfare centres were visited by AFL players.

  • 2400 football volunteers attended forums to hear from AFL coaches, administrators, medical staff and umpires.

  • More than $25,000 was raised for local junior development and various charity/community groups

    • Click here to renew or purchase your 2004 Essendon membership.