MEDIA RELEASE
2 October 2013	Embargoed: 11.30 am Canberra Time	165/2013

The National Rugby League (NRL) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) have teamed up to improve student's understanding and every day use of statistics with an innovative statistical learning program officially launched today.

In an introductory video featuring Nathan Hindmarsh from the Parramatta Eels; Nathan talks about the importance of statistical literacy and how statistics are used to enhance the performance of the game based on data collected.

This is a great opportunity to improve school student's statistical literacy, it doesn't matter which team or player they follow, said Dr. Paul Jelfs from the ABS.

Each year over 1.5 million spectators nationally tune into an NRL game. Boys aged between five to 14 years old reported NRL in the top 10 sports played in 2012, with over 107,000 participating in the sport.

"Join the ABS and NRL to get started with the Footy Stats program today," Dr. Jelfs said.

You can watch the video by following this link: ABS Footy Stats

Media note: Please ensure when reporting on ABS data that you attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS) as the source.