Twice on top
Profile of an ADF football star

LCpl Chavvauhn Calver handballs into the clear while playing at the ADF National Interservice Championships at Manuka. Photo by Jo Button, ASAFA

By Jo Button

THIS is the second year in a row that LCpl Chavvauhn Calver has competed in the Women’s AFL National Championships, the pinnacle of Women’s football in Australia.

LCpl Calver said the competition had increased as more women took up Aussie Rules.

“The ADF team is much stronger this year, as there was a greater selection of females arising out of the National Interservice Championship Carnival,” she said.

LCpl Calver, coming from a family of AFL fans, said she couldn’t settle for simply watching the sport.

“I was looking for something challenging and physical and I haven’t looked back since.”

LCpl Calver, originally from Perth, has played the past three seasons for Newtown Breakaways in her local league – the Sydney Women’s AFL.

She is the 2IC of the Transport section at HQ LSF, Randwick, and said the Army’s enthusiasm for sport had helped her get the backing she needed to compete.

“The support I have received from my home unit has been very encouraging,” she said.

“My unit can see my motivation, passion and love for footy, my desire to improve my game and the benefits in terms of physical training.

“Players need the support of their unit in order to commit themselves.

“The support from coaching staff, management and our major sponsor, Toll Transitions, has been huge. People do not realise how much work goes into fielding a team in a national competition such as this.”

Chavvauhn said Women’s Aussie Rules is a very different game to Men’s Aussie Rules, as a lot of women have not grown up playing contact sports like the men have.

“It is a young sport undergoing development and women bring a variety of skills, as they come from different sporting backgrounds.”