EAST Point footballer Ginger Howard found she quickly made new friends in girls from other schools once they pulled on the boots together.
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They have lots of fun in what Ginger, who plays under-16s, said was like a big family.
The Dragons are somewhat of a hidden gem based at White Flat Oval.
East Point Bulldogs' junior boys football and junior netball are based at Russell Square while the club's senior arm, the Kangaroos, call Eastern Oval home.
Now the Dragons want to capture more attention, let the community know what they are about and to play a role in helping to boost female participation in the game in an environment dedicated to girls.
Dragons president Alex Campbell said the pandemic had hit the girls game particularly hard.
The Dragons have regrouped and, after a season with only under-14s and under-16s, has plans to rally the community in a bid to add girls' Auskick and an under-18 female team next year.
"We noticed girls footy was hit hard with interrupted seasons. Most girls were only one or two seasons into their footy before the pandemic," Mr Campbell said.
"A lot of boys their age had already been playing footy seven or eight years and were more eager to get back into playing what they knew. It's been a lot harder for girls in coming back but we know there is certainly an appetite for it.
"We have an environment in which they can feel really welcome."
Ginger got involved in football at the suggestion of one of her friends, whose mum was a team manager and looking for some players.
Now Ginger's dad has joined as a coach.
The Dragons celebrated their season with a big family pizza party on Tuesday night after missing out on finals. The girls are determined to get back to being more competitive on the field.
Female football has long been a key feature at White Flat Oval.
The Dragons emerged under Golden Point and became the club's focal point after the junior boys teams went into recess due to dwindling player and volunteers numbers almost a decade ago.
Golden Point was one of the Ballarat Football League's founding youth girls clubs and joined Redan as the first BFL clubs to enter open-age women's team in a restructured Victorian Women's Football League in 2014.
VWFL has since been disbanded at the end of 2016 with a move back to regional competitions.
The girls want to get back to generating some of the success of the Dragons who played before them.
This is also driven by a new committee passionate about building the Dragons back up.
"There is a real emphasis to try and have all teams next season, from Auskick to seniors, and trying to get participation back up in girls' footy," Mr Campbell said.
"We want to be competitive, for our teams to find success and see what comes from that."
The Dragons are set to launch a recruitment campaign, including through schools, in a bid to actively encourage more girls to give football a go.
The club is also planning come-and-try sessions before Christmas.
IN OTHER NEWS
The Dragons' White Flat Oval home has undergone a massive face-lift with more than $200,000 worth of security, lighting and landscape upgrades carried out early in the pandemic. This followed changeroom and grandstand refreshes in the past five years.
White Flat Oval is also home to Ballarat Bulldogs, a mixed gender football team for people with intellectual disabilities, and hosts Golden Point cricket club.
Ballarat Football League youth girls finals start next week with the final home-and-away matches this weekend. East Point has the bye.
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