Around the World in 80 Clubs: Coastal Breakers Gaelic Football Club, Perth, Western Australia (#45)

You’ll go a long way to find a GAA club with a better name than this.

In fact, you’ll go a long way to even find Coastal Breakers Gaelic Football club in the first place, located as it is a short distance from Perth city centre at the south-western tip of a bloody great big country Down Under. A women’s football club, Coastal Breakers motto is a simple one, to create a vibrant and fun-loving sporting community where everyone feels welcome, valued, and can openly contribute to the Breakers spirit. Celebrating their tenth anniversary this year, the club has attracted a vast array of sportswomen over the years, from those who have played other sports like water polo, soccer and basketball, to others who ‘quit sport in high school, but are ready for a comeback’. Coastal Breakers are constantly on the lookout for new members, including Irish people with experience of GAA, with the season running from April to September, with matches on Friday nights and Sundays. If you would like to find out more information about the club and how to join as a Breaker, then you can email the club here or find them on Facebook. If you do end up joining, here’s an insight into the type of characters you’ll be joining in the dressing room.

Focus on Coastal Breakers GFC

Club: Coastal Breakers Gaelic Football Club Year established: 2007. We are just about to have our 10-year anniversary. Number of members: 40 players each season, with another 50 social members who continue to be part of the ‘Breakers Family’. Biggest rivals: All the other teams in the league! Biggest representation from a club/county in Ireland: We need more Irish… so please join us. We are also proud of having five Aboriginal women play for us. Most famous ever member: Joey Langdon. Our inaugural member, she has reached 100 games and is still going strong. Will she ever retire?! Most memorable moment in the club’s history: In 2009 we entered two ladies’ teams into the competition. Most eye-catching scoreline in the club’s history: Winning the Plate in 2016. Player who makes the longest commute to training: We have two players from Geraldton, which is a five-hour drive from Perth. Most dedicated club person: It takes a family to run a club, everyone helps out in different ways. Player who could have made it big if love/career/drink didn’t get in the way: The Williamson twins Biggest character: Georgie Major. Keeps the spirit up on and off the field. Loudest in the dressing room: That would be Georgie again! Number of romances started in the club: Too many to count, although two resulted in marriage and another in an engagement. If you're a member of a GAA club abroad and would like to be featured on the site, feel free to send a mail to conor.heneghan@JOE.ie or find us on Facebook or Twitter.