West Coast Fever come to town for the inaugural Port Hedland Netball Association NAIDOC round

The first-ever NAIDOC round for the Port Hedland Netball Association has attracted some of sports’ biggest names with West Coast Fever players coming to the North West to take part in the celebration. On Tuesday, July 25, the PHNA hosted a full day of activities that featured Fever players Kim Jenner and Ruth Aryang who provided a skills workshop for local players. NAIDOC round celebrated the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with this year’s theme being ‘for our elders’. PHNA president Cath Widdup said that given how many Indigenous people play netball in Port Hedland it was incredibly important for the association to start hosting a NAIDOC round. “It’s a really good opportunity for us to acknowledge Indigenous Torres Strait Islanders because around 21 per cent of our netball community are identified as Aboriginal and Torres Strait,” she said. “It’s really important for us to respect and value those players.” As part of the NAIDOC round the PHNA announced a new partnership with Spinifex Hill Studio and will have new jerseys and training kits that will feature a design by Kariyarra artist Sally Mac. From 3pm to 9pm Kim Jenner and Ruth Aryang were down at Wanangkura Stadium signing autographs and talking to young players. Jenner, who is originally from Townsville, said it was important to host clinics in regional towns where people might not always get the same access to these types of events. “It’s so good that we get to the opportunity to go out to these regional towns and see the grass roots at any towns,” she said. “A lot of us players come from regional towns and it’s great to see the talent that is out there.’’ The PHNA runs one of the biggest sports competitions in Port Hedland with 35 teams across senior and junior divisions.