Local North Coast Students shine at 2024 Indigenous talent identification camps

INDIGENOUS students from the North Coast gathered at Southern Cross University for the 2024 UAA and NCAS Indigenous Talent Identification Camps.

The camps, organised by the Regional Academies of Sport and Underwriting Agencies Australia (UAA), aimed to discover and nurture local Indigenous talent, integrating sport with cultural traditions.

NCAS sport programs manager Claire McCulloch described the event as both fun and productive.

“By offering different sports and sport science we were able to record some excellent data on all the students’ fitness and skill levels,” McCulloch said.

“The support from our sporting partners has been brilliant and I can’t thank our coaches enough for volunteering their time and expertise.

“The Academy was so pleased to see 82 athletes across 12 schools get in and give it a red-hot go.”

The events featured high school students from Port Macquarie to Tweed Heads.

Students began their day with sport testing and measurements provided by ACE Performance Coffs Harbour.

This was followed by sessions in Basketball and Rugby League, supported by Basketball NSW and NRL Development Officers.

D’Arcy Van den Bossche, NCAS executive director, praised UAA for its continued partnership.

“UAA has been a committed and involved partner of this entire program for a third year and has given us the opportunity to reach local athletes we might not usually see considering our programs,” Van den Bossche said.

“We have the talent in the North Coast, UAA has provided an opportunity for us all to connect.”

The initiative aims to offer full scholarships to academy programs, providing top performers from the camps with a six-week training and education program.

From there, students will be invited to join one of the nine sports programs operated by NCAS throughout 2024-25.