Hundreds of young footballers and netballers will converge on Mandurah for the Aboriginal Youth Sports Super Carnival next month.
The event will see Netball WA hold their annual Aboriginal Youth Gala Day at the Mandurah Netball Association courts, while footballers will hit the field Bendigo Bank Stadium for the WA Football Commission’s annual Nicky Winmar Youth Boys Carnival.
The netball festival is round-robin competition open to all Junior Aboriginal community teams, and is gearing up for its 10th year.
The carnival aims to provide an opportunity for players to showcase their skills in a competition environment and has grown into one of Netball WA’s most important events of the year.
Originally designed for teams involved in Netball WA’s Aboriginal Grassroots Netball Program, a change in 2015 to open registrations to all Aboriginal community teams has seen the event flourish.
The change opened the door for a large number of Aboriginal athletes to participate in the carnival, giving them an opportunity to refine their skills and link in with local clubs and associations.
“The skills of some of our netballers throughout Western Australia are outstanding and the Aboriginal Youth Gala Day is the ideal event to see so many teams far and wide come together,” Netball WA general manager of community Liz Booth said.
“In 2017, not only were there teams from Mandurah and Perth, but regional teams from as far as Katanning, Bunbury and Narrogin also competed.”
“I’d strongly recommended anyone to get involved and be part of an event that keeps on growing year on year.”
The Nicky Winmar carnival sees young up and coming Aboriginal football talents take to the field for their own round-robin style tournament.
The two events together make up the Aboriginal Youth Sports Super Carnival, and will be held on Sunday, March 4.
Registrations for the netball event close on Wednesday, February 21.
Visit wa.netball.com.au/indigenous/aboriginal-youth-gala-day/ to register or find out more about the competition.
For more information on the Nicky Winmar Carnival, visit nwcarnival.com.au
