Netball Australia is making big moves to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander talent are given their chance to shine and be seen.
This year Netball Australia proudly announced the establishment of its inaugural First Nations national invitational team to compete in the Pacific Netball Series held in Meanjin (Brisbane) at Nissan Arena. The team showcased 12 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander netballers form across the country based on their experience in the national high performance pathway programs. Guided and supported by netball royalty such as Ali Tucker-Munro and Beryl Friday, the Black Swans came together after only meeting 48hrs prior (and training as a team once), taking to the court over the week which saw them finishing top of the ladder!
A very exciting time in netball, as more meaningful initiative such as the Black Swans are developed - opening up important pathways for young Indigenous talent to be seen and supported as they work hard on their netball journeys to reach their goal of playing at the top level.
KYKOE is proud to have been included in what was a wonderful week of netball by designing and creating scrunchies for players and coaching staff. A beautiful physical link to each other, mob and culture.
*As an invitee, and non-World Netball sanctioned team, the First Nations Black Swans were not eligible to receive World Netball ranking points at the Pacific Netball Series. Therefore they could not compete in medal matches and finished the tournament in sixth place.
Images courtesy of Netball Australia & Brook Lacey