Cultures unite for game day

AFTER five years of planning, two of Ballarat’s cultural groups will come together in a friendly competition aimed at fostering unity and celebrating shared history.

Coordinated between the Ballarat Italian Association, and the Ballarat and District Irish Association, the inaugural Uprising Cup will see the two groups represent their culture with games of Gaelic football and Italian soccer.

Members of the Ballarat Clovers, as well as Croatian players sourced through the Croatian Association of Ballarat will be among those on the field.

Ballarat Italian Association president Sofia Sarra said the event is about strengthening the connections between the cultural groups.

“It’s primarily the relationships,” she said.

“It’s an interesting way to bring two different cultures together in a playful way. It won’t be about the structure but about everyone having a go and showcasing each other’s culture.”

Kicking off from 11am on Sunday 27 October at Russell Square’s southern oval, the event will conclude with the winning team being awarded the titular Uprising Cup.

The eponymous accolade was named in reference to the Eureka Stockade, specifically to acknowledge the relationship between Raffaello Carboni and Peter Lalor, two key figures in the event.

“Pretty much since we reformed in 2018, we’ve been talking about putting on a Carboni-Lalor function in some way,” said Ballarat and District Irish Association president Helen Bath.

“It’s particularly relevant this year as it’s the 170th anniversary of the event. It was a bit of a happy coincidence, but it really pushed the importance of giving this a go this year.

“The classic line is at that time there were about 20 different nationalities in the mines at that time, and they all came together under that Eureka flag.”

Tickets are $10 and can be booked via bit.ly/3Nu0uMU.

Children under 14, and adults aged 65 and over will enter free.