The annual round recognising and celebrating indigenous players and culture kicks off this Friday, May 27 - 29. Streamlining down from the AFL, this weekend AFL Canberra will be celebrating the round on a local level, celebrating our Indigenous players, umpires, coaches and volunteers.
By Sophie Steele
What is your involvement in the AFL?
I started playing as a junior in 2000 to play with some friends, but was too small to be any good as a player. I wanted to stay involved in the game, so I started umpiring as a goal umpire in 2002 as a 15 year old, which turned out great because I could work outside in a social environment and stay around footy, instead of getting paid less to work in a fast food joint somewhere. Thanks to a lot of high-quality coaching, and a really good strong local community which has kept umpiring fun over the years, I was selected to join the AFL national panel in 2013.
What is your families story/background?
My family came from the central west of NSW, in Wiradjuri country, and moved in to Sydney after the gold rush ended out there. After the move to Sydney lots of the family links back to the central west were lost, but we’ve been able to piece together a lot of what happened to the family from archives and service records and the like, as well as some family stories that have been passed on.
Has your culture influenced who you are today?
My Aboriginal heritage is a part of who I am, just the same as my English and my Scottish ancestors are a part of my heritage and my family history. We’ve all got different backgrounds, and I think it’s important that we should all be able to embrace our different stories. So when my children are a bit older I’ll tell them all about our family story and pass everything I know on to them, so that they can grow up with a full understanding and appreciation of their history. The best part about footy is that it doesn’t matter what your background or story is, everyone can be involved in the game in some way or other and people from all different backgrounds are joining in.
AFL is based on an Indigenous game called Marn Grook which was played by Aboriginal people thousands of years ago. This round is to celebrate our indigenous players, umpires and fans for their commitment to our game. How does this make you feel as an Aboriginal person?
I think it’s a great recognition of the oldest surviving cultures in the world. What we have here in our game and our history is unique, and I think it’s important to acknowledge and celebrate that, and I think this is a wonderful way to do it.
Last Modified on 27/05/2016 19:10