Emily Stanyer still has a great love for Australian Rules Football. 81474 Picture: DAMJAN JANEVSKI
By XAVIER SMERDON
A LAVERTON woman who wanted nothing more than to play football with her favourite team has become the subject of a documentary.
Emily Stanyer was at the centre of a famous feud in Australian sport when she, along with two other girls, took Football Victoria to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Council to defend her right to play Australian Rules Football with a boys’ team in 2003.
The landmark case, and the fallout from it, has now been turned into a documentary as part of Law Week, so that other lawyers can learn from Emily’s experience.
Emily was playing for the Hampton Rovers at the time and last week she told Star she did not regret taking the case to court.
“I had played with that team since I was about four-years-old, so about 10 years,” Ms Stanyer said.
“It was the only sport I had ever loved that much and I wasn’t ready to stop.”
Now a full-time forklift driver, Ms Stanyer said it took her a long time to recover from losing the court case.
“I just went downhill. I was pretty much heartbroken,” she said.
“It took me seven years to get over it and to start playing footy again.”
Ms Stanyer said she still believed in mixed teams up to a certain age.
“Now I don’t believe in mixed teams at a senior level, but I think at least until you are 18 it should be allowed,” she said.
“If someone else is going through what I did they should try and fight it if they feel like they are good enough.”
For more information on the documentary visit www.victorialawfoundation.org.au.
