AFL Barwon communities come together for inaugural Indigenous Round

FOOTBALL and netball clubs across Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast will celebrate First Nations people this weekend as part of AFL Barwon’s first league-wide Indigenous Round.

AFL Barwon general manager Ed Wilson said he was extremely proud to see AFL Barwon players, club and league officials and First Nations representatives come together for the round’s formation.

“At AFL Barwon, we’ve always spoken about how we’re more than just football and netball administrators, we’ve got to support our clubs in their respective communities, and that means taking leadership as the first region across the state to lead an Indigenous Round.

“It makes me extremely proud to see so many club representatives to be wearing their Indigenous uniforms, prepared for the weekend wanting to celebrate, recognise and continue our conversations with First Nations people.”

AFL Barwon’s Indigenous Round runs from July 3-9.

Geelong Amateur female footballer and Yorta Yorta woman Hayley Boehm originally tried to say no when she was offered the task of designing an Indigenous uniform for her club.

“I don’t really see myself as an artist, I learnt the symbols and what they mean from my elders, but I love using symbols to tell a story, which is why I decided to give it a go,” she said.

“The middle piece of the design represents a woman with ochre on her face, which is what we wear in the Wathaurong Community Dance Group.

“The U shape on her face means ‘Warrior Woman’ and then the five dots on her head represent the Kulin nations.”

AFL Barwon senior field umpires head coach and Noongar Wardandi Boodja man Josh James was tasked with producing a design for Geelong Umpires’ Indigenous uniform for both football and netball.

Using the landscape of the Barwon region, James used his artwork to bring the design to life with details referring to James’s family, the land’s wildlife, waterways, and people.

“I grew up on country in Western Australia for 20 years before moving here in 2015,” he said.

“When I spoke with the umpiring group earlier this week, I told them to wear the uniform with pride and take 30 seconds to reflect on what the design means and how they can have an impact on the Aboriginal community.

“The umpires uniform and the clubs uniforms are gorgeous designs, but it’s also about the story behind it, the connection with the land, people and spirit.

“You can see when an Aboriginal player walks out onto a ground the spiritual connection they have with the land, and that’s how I feel as well.”

AFL Barwon representatives took part in an official Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony at AFL Barwon HQ on Tuesday this week ahead of Indigenous Round.