| Full name | Cronulla Seagulls Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Seagulls | ||
| Founded | 1959 | ||
| League | SSFA (Sutherland Shire Football Assosciation) | ||
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Cronulla Seagulls Football Club is an amateur not-for-profit Australian football (soccer) club based in Woolooware, New South Wales.
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In 1959 Cronulla resident Gordon Gillham decided to try and start a soccer club in his local area. After a poor initial response and much further effort a total of 5 teams were formed.
The club that later became known as the Seagulls grew slowly but steadily thereafter.
Cronulla Seagulls has grown to become the third largest of the 26 clubs that make up the Sutherland Shire Football Association. Given that the SSFA is the largest Football Association in Australia[1], by implication Seagulls is one of the larger clubs in the country. Cronulla Seagulls is particularly strong in Small-Sided Football (Under 6 to Under 11) where its 2011 complement of 61 teams is the largest in the Association ahead of Lilli Pilli FC (59) and Gymea United (59).[2]
For the 2011 season Cronulla Seagulls is fielding 98 teams[3] and has some 1060 registered players.
Small-Sided Football teams
Under 6: 18 teams (15 all boys or mixed, 3 all girls)
Under 7: 13 teams (11 all boys or mixed, 2 all girls)
Under 8: 7 teams (all boys or mixed)
Under 9: 11 teams (9 all boys or mixed, 2 all girls)
Under 10: 6 teams (4 all boys or mixed, 2 all girls)
Under 11: 5 teams (6 all boys or mixed, 1 all girls)
Junior Boys teams
Under 12: 4 teams
Under 13: 3 teams
Under 14: 2 teams
Under 16: 2 teams
Under 18: 3 teams
Junior Girls teams
Under 12: 1 team
Under 13: 1 team
Under 14: 1 team
Under 15: 2 teams
Under 16: 1 team
Under 18: 2 teams
Senior Men teams
Under 21: 3 teams
Premier League/ All Age: 7 teams
Over 35: 3 teams
Over 45: 1 team
Senior Women teams
Senior Women: 1 team
Anybody resident or attending a primary or secondary school in the Sutherland Shire is eligible to play for the Cronulla Seagulls.[4] However, given the large number of local clubs the majority of players come from the nearby suburbs of Cronulla, Burraneer and Woolooware.
Seagulls' youngest players are aged just 4 (they must turn 5 before the end of the calendar year to qualify,[5] and they play in the Under 6 age group). Young players can 'stay down' to play Under 6 for a second season.
Seagulls' oldest active player was born in 1948, with a further 7 born in the 1950s.
All Seagulls' home games are played at Woolooware Oval in Woolooware, located at the corner of Kingsway & Woolooware Road.
The Geoff Turner clubhouse is next to Caronia Avenue of the south side of the oval.
Woolooware has 2 full-size pitches, both running East-West. On a Saturday morning Field 1 is sub-divided into 8 smaller pitches for Under 6 & Under 7 matches. Field 2 is sub-divided into 4 quarter-sized pitches for Under 8 & Under 9 matches and into 2 half-sized pitches for Under 10 & Under 11 matches.
The growth of the Cronulla Seagulls has meant that Woolooware Oval is very busy on match days. On Saturday 14 May 2011 a total of 37 games will be hosted there, with a further 7 on Sunday 15 May 2011[6]. Overspill games have to be played at Cronulla RSL's home ground at Solander fields.