Action from the boys' match at Alberton Oval.
Santos' Teof Rodrigues and Jodie Blyzno with students at the careers expo in the Alberton Oval clubrooms.
Alberton Oval – the spiritual home of the famous Port Adelaide Football Club – resembled a vibrant festival recently as over 300 Aboriginal high school students converged for the annual Aboriginal Power Cup carnival.
Santos is major sponsor of the Cup, and this year 20 employees volunteered as goal umpires, talked with students at a careers expo, and shared their experiences at a leadership workshop.
>> Watch a video about the 2011 Aboriginal Power Cup.
The Aboriginal Power Cup is one of Santos’ key indigenous sponsorships. The company made a commitment in 2009 to help young Aboriginal people reach their full potential by generating training and employment opportunities in the energy sector.
While the Aboriginal Power Cup uses footy as a tool to engage Aboriginal students, it’s not all about the game.
The students participate in a broader program over terms 1 and 2 to complete one of two SACE (South Australian Certificate of Education) curriculum tasks including organising a coach, a trainer, a mentor, a training schedule, designing their team guernsey and polo shirt, producing a team song and planning and preparing a healthy eating program.
The participants will use the curriculum tasks as a base to learn new skills linked to education and healthy living, that will encourage them to continue with their education and make positive life choices.
The theme for 2011 was leadership development. Kerrynne Liddle, Santos’ Manager Aboriginal Community & Stakeholder Participation, led the Santos workshop with John Briggs, General Manager Intract Indigenous Contractors, and Wesley Middleton, Wangkamurra Cultural Heritage Officer at Ballera. Each shared their stories and encouraged students to take advantage of opportunities before them.
The Chairman of Power Community Limited, Simon Forrest, commended the speakers for their honesty and passion. He told guests at an official function before the Aboriginal Power Cup Final at AAMI Stadium that he was impressed to hear such inspirational stories which epitomised exactly what the Aboriginal Power Cup is all about.
The tournament culminated with the final games serving as the curtain-raiser to the Port Adelaide Power versus North Melbourne AFL match at AAMI Stadium. Windsor Gardens Vocational College triumphed in the girls’ final, while Salisbury High School took out the boys’ match.
The Aboriginal Power Cup is an initiative of the South Australian Government in partnership with the Port Adelaide Football Club, Santos, the South Australian Aboriginal Sports Training Academy and the South Australian National Football League.
>> Visit the Aboriginal Power Cup website.
Filed under:
Community relations, Community wellbeing, Education/youth, Health, Indigenous, South Australia