Netball WA, in conjunction with its subsidiaries Glass Jar Australia and West Coast Fever is proud to support National Reconciliation Week.
National Reconciliation Week will this year run under the theme In this Together.
West Coast Fever captain and Shooting Stars ambassador, Courtney Bruce said Reconciliation Week is an important time to reflect and work together to the ongoing process of achieving respect, trust and equality.
“I believe the work that Shooting Stars does in empowering young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) women using netball as a tool of engagement is incredible and this role allows me to help engage the next generation,” she said.
“I am very proud to be a Shooting Stars ambassador, as much as the girls learn from me, I learn just as much from them.
“The program has helped me learn a lot and opened my eyes to a lot and I have been able to meet some incredible young women.”
An initiative of Netball WA and Glass Jar Australia, Shooting Stars is an educational program that uses sport and other tools to encourage greater school engagement amongst young Aboriginal girls and women.
The program now engages more than 400 students across eight delivery sites, with 25% of participants improving attendance term on term, while 50% of participants maintain an average attendance rate of 80% or above.
Shooting Stars Program Coordinators are inspiring Aboriginal women who are responsible for the day-to-day management and implementation of the program. Furthermore, the Program is a key driver in creating equality for female leaders and generational change, with 85% of its staff and 66% of its Board identifying as Aboriginal.
Shooting Stars enjoys the backing of Netball WA’s 96 years of history and experience in advancing local communities and empowering women and girls and leverages the reach and connections of netball to enhance the program’s outcomes.
Netball WA Chief Executive Officer, Simon Taylor said National Reconciliation Week provided opportunities to reflect on the importance of this year’s theme.
“Netball WA has a longstanding relationship with ATSI West Australians and continues to work together to improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation at all levels,” he said.
“We have had great success with our Shooting Stars program which empowers Aboriginal girls and women, by increasing school attendance through education and sport, while also working with local shires to gain work placement opportunities.”
For the first time, West Coast Fever’s regular season dress incorporates an Aboriginal design created by Noongar artists Peter Farmer and Kylie Graham.
The Aboriginal design includes two major design features; separate Aboriginal women’s symbols representing each member of the playing squad, patterned onto a series of significant waterholes in Whadjuk Country.
Netball WA will continue to hold NAIDOC competitions in 2020, with the Perth NAIDOC carnival scheduled during the September/October school holidays, in accordance with the government’s restriction guidelines.
