Eight Indigenous boys from across Australia will today make history by stepping out as the first ever junior Indigenous representative team.
A joint initiative by Golf Australia and the PGA of Australia, the First Nations team will compete against some of Australia’s top junior talent in the week-long sports festival, the Pacific School Games.
“Golf Australia is extremely excited to offer an opportunity for an Indigenous team to compete within a national competition for the first time,” said Golf Australia’s national school co-ordinator Shaun Hickman.
“The team has been made up completely by Aboriginal students from right across the country ranging from far north Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and South Australia.
“All eight boys have been practising frantically to be prepared for this opportunity and are very excited to be selected as the first golfers to represent their Indigenous heritage at such a significant event.”
Hosted by School Sport Australia, the Pacific School Games will have approximately 4000 school students – aged from 10-19 from at least 10 countries and every Australian state and territory – compete across 11 sports throughout Adelaide from 3-9 December.
One of the key aspects to the event, aside from the competition, is the education players and parents receive through tailored forums delivered by Golf Australia. All players and parents from both 12 and 17 and under age groups are given valuable information on the Golf Australia pathway.
“Golf Australia sees the School Sport Australia golf program as a very important pathway for emerging talent. It is an excellent opportunity for us to connect with the players and parents from across Australia and give them the information they need to get the best out of their ability,” said Brad James, GA’s high performance director.
“We have had some absolute stars of Australian golf come through the School Sport Australia events including Jason Day, Karrie Webb, Adam Scott, Su Oh, Geoff Ogilvy and, most recently, Australian Open winner Cameron Davis, so we recognise the importance of this step on the elite golfing pathway.”
Courses to be played during the week will be Glenelg, West Lakes, The Grange, Mount Osmond, North Adelaide, Adelaide Shores and finally Kooyonga where both age groups will come together for a presentation lunch after the final round.
For those interested in seeing our next batch of golfing superstars in action, head to the Pacific School Games website for event program and scheduling.
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