UPCOMING EVENTS
5th - 20th August 2017 - International Cup 17 - Melbourne
In 2017, the GB Swans will be making their first appearence at the International Cup in Melbourne playing against teams such as USA, Canada and Fiji. It will be a really test for the girls to test their skills and team work against other nations. With the AFL London League in it's second year, the England Vixens Euro Champions and footy growing stronger in Scotland we are confident we will have a strong team that will be selected over numerous selection periods. To play in the tournament see Team Selection or to find out how to get involved in other ways see Get Involved.
COACHES
Assistant Coach
Assistant Coach
Garth Nevin
Ian started playing in 2008 after returning from a year in Australia where he became (and remain!) a big Adelaide Crows fan.
He started playing for Birmingham Bears before deciding to start up a club in my hometown of Wolverhampton; the Wolverines. The club is in it's seventh year and it's membership is heavily influenced by ex-students that he's taught. He is currently president and head coach.
Ian captained England between 2011-2015 with the highlight being winning the Euro Cup in Bordeaux in 2013. He was vice-captain for GB Bulldogs at the International Cup in 2011 and captained them to runners up in the European Championships in 2013 in Dublin being awarded Best On Ground on the final in the process. Ian was lucky enough to be picked to play at The Oval in 2012 as part of a European All Stars game that preceded the Western Bulldogs v Port Adelaide showcase game.
"I'm fiercely passionate about developing the game amongst women in this country and seeing the game grow."
Lauren Spark
Lauren is Australian, and an experienced football player having played at the highest level possible for women. She played for Melbourne University for three years, including a year as Vice Captain. Swiftly excelling at the sport; Lauren was chosen to play for Victoria in the National Championships and was a member of the Victorian metro team, before being drafted to Western Bulldogs first ever Women’s AFL Team. In April 2015, Lauren moved to
London and joined the Wimbledon Hawks Ladies team, assisting in coaching the team. More recently Lauren has been selected for the Western Bulldogs in the Inaugural Australian Womens League.
Lauren is qualified as a teacher in both primary and secondary education (including outdoor education) and has been working with children for 8 years. Lauren is passionate about the outdoors, sport and educating people and is keen to promote Australian Football at all levels across the globe.
"I am excited to be given the opportunity to build into my knowledge of the game and take the chance to help build AFL in the UK and beyond."
Head Coach
The GB Swans were established in January 2016 by two England Vixens players, Charlie Eales and Lisa Wilson. As the GB Bulldogs, the men's team, have been around for many years, and due to the exponential growth of women's football in Britain, the two girls realised there was scope to create a Woman's team with sights on entering the International Cup in Melbourne in 2017.
The Women's AFL London league was established in 2015 and was stronger than anyone could have imagined and looks set to be even bigger and better this year. The England Vixens also went one better on their 2014 Euro Cup second place by bringing back the trophy from Croatia in October 2015, beating Denmark in the final. There are women's teams getting stronger and stronger in Scotland and across the country there have been teams appearing in Oxford, Birmingham, Newcastle and most recently Manchester. All this growth is producing a large amount of talent for football in Britain and will create a large pool of contenders for a place on the Swans team.
In February, a trio coaching team was announced, boasting some great experience and knowledge and across the next few months they will be running selection days across the country in order to pick a team for the European Championships in August this year, then leading on to further selection for the International Cup in Melbourne in 2017.
Australian Rules Football for Women is a hot topic over in Australia at present, with a large number of talent searches currently happening across the country with sights set for an official premiership to be established for women alongside the men.
There has never been a better time to get invovled with Australian football - so what are you waiting for!
Get in contact to find out where you can play and let's grow the game together!
ABOUT
REGISTER
TEAM MANAGEMENT
The Swans are currently being ran by an interim team and are looking for enthusiastic people to fill the committee positions. Could it be you? If you are interested and want to know what the roles entail, please get in contact on gb.swans@gmail.com.
Vacancies include:
Sponsorship Manager
Secretary
Lisa Wilson
Interim Team Manager
Charlie Eales
Kit Manager
Lisa joined the Wimbledon Hawks Australian Football Club in April 2014 and was one of the first ladies to get involved in a men’s club in London. Being part of the club she assisted in organising ladies exhibition matches across London to promote the sport for women. These exhibition matches lead to the first ever Ladies League being established in London. Being President of the Ladies team at the Wimbledon Hawks, Lisa has been a key driving force not only within the club, but also for the league as a whole. On top of this Lisa played for the England Vixens team in the 2014 & 2015 Euro Cup and has been working to promote the sport across the country, leading her to become part of the committe for AFL England.
We will be hosting a Selection Weekend for the International Cup team on 25th and 26th February. EVERYONE IS WELCOME to attend, whether you have played for the Swans before or not. Please complete the registration form below if you are going to attend. Please send any questions to GB.Swans@gmail.com
GB SWANS
Ian Mitchell
Garth started playing Under 11's at his local club. He played representative football for his county league (MPNFL) all the way up through to Under 18's. Played senior football for his club at 16 and had regular games! Kicked 4 goals in one game as a 16 year old playing senior men's football. His Aussie rules football highlight would be playing in a Senior men's Grand Final and kicking the goal that won the game by 4pts with 30 seconds left on the clock! Garth then went overseas and played for the New York Magpies for 3 years, took mark of the year and won their New York competition best and fairest player! He then moved to Sheffield and has set up and ran (President, Coach & Player) the Sheffield Thunder AFL team for the last 6 years. He is passionate about football and growing this sport globally. Garth has been assistant coach to the England Dragonslayers for the past 2 years. He is always looking for ways to pass on his knowledge of this great game.
"I see this as a great opportunity to spread my knowledge and honestly believe that the GB Swans will go onto to achieve great things as Women's AFL has only just woken up."