Torquay pair to represent Victoria

TORQUAY youngsters Sienna Schmidt and Remy Sliwa will make history by being part of the inaugural Victorian State U/12 Girls football team for the U/12 Australian School Girls Football Carnival in Adelaide.

Schmidt and Sliwa who are both Torquay Tigers and St Therese Primary School products are thrilled to be involved in the inaugural U/12 tournament after ousting over 200 girls to be picked in the squad.

“It’s really exciting to be involved in the first carnival for girls our age and I can’t wait to play with the best girls in our state and hopefully take home the win,” Silwa said.

“It’s a great feeling to be picked into the team, and I am really looking forward to meeting new girls from around Australia and making some new friends along the way,” Schmidt said.

“To both play for the same club and go to same school is also pretty cool as well as we hope to do them all proud,” Silwa said.

The girls are both Torquay Tigers junior girls players. Photo: NATHAN RIVALLAND

Thanks to some generous local support from McCartney Real Estate in Torquay, Schmidt and Sliwa will don the big V with a bit of extra backing, making the costs a bit lighter for the travelling families.

Through the McCartney Foundation which aims to champion and assist people in the community who are doing great things, the girls won’t have to worry about their registration fees or other hire costs.

“We are thrilled for both Sienna and Remy for making the inaugural U/12 school girls carnival and it’s a true credit to the outstanding level of women’s and girls’ football we have down here,” Director of McCartney Real Estate, Tim Carson said.

“We hope our donation will assist the girls in covering some of the costs associated with the trip and we wish them the best of luck.”

Parent Darren Schmidt said that the carnival was a fantastic opportunity for the girls to showcase their football talents on the national stage, giving the girls another avenue and pathway that they have never had.

“For both Siena and Remy to receive this opportunity is truly wonderful and it’s amazing that now the girls can have that same pathway that the boy’s football has had for a long time,” Mr Schmidt said.

“There are five girls in total from the Greater Geelong region which makes up over 1/5 of the actual team, so for our girls to be apart of that and to be involved in such a football rich area like Geelong and the Surf Coast is pretty special.”