Brisbane 2032 Olympics: Push for AIS-style facility in Torres Strait

The uncle of Australia’s Tokyo 2020 flag-bearer Patty Mills has pitched an audacious plan to foster more Indigenous athletes.

A specialised Australian Institute of Sport should be built within the Torres Strait to ensure more Indigenous athletes can represent their country at Brisbane’s Olympic Games, island elders say.

The bold push by Olympic legend Danny Morseu – the uncle of Tokyo 2020 flag-bearer Patty Mills – came as the power of the Australian Olympic movement descended on Thursday Island this NAIDOC week for a special community clinic.

More than 2500km north of Brisbane’s Gabba – where the opening ceremony of Brisbane 2032 will be held – about 24 Torres Strait Islander children on Tuesday experienced the Olympics with some Games superstars.

The Olympics Unleashed and Indigenous clinic program, held in partnership with the Royal Australian Air Force, was designed to expose some of Queensland’s most remote communities to ­grassroots sport and the opportunities provided by the Olympic Games.

While the clinic was not designed to scope out the next gold medallist, it could mark the start of a child’s pathway to compete at the 2032 Games.

However, elders say distance to major capital city sporting facilities and the high cost of travel puts Indigenous children at a disadvantage, and could mean talented athletes miss out.

Mr Morseu – who represented Australia in basketball at the Moscow and Los Angeles Games – told The Courier-Mail Brisbane’s home Olympics provided a catalyst to significantly improve sporting infrastructure in ­Indigenous communities including on Thursday Island.

He called for the state and commonwealth governments to consider building a “mini Australian Institute of Sport” on the island ahead of the 2032 event.

Olympian Rowie Webster with Thursday Islanders (from left) Lalya Viti, Pele Ahwand and Keisha Mosb. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

“It’s going to be a great ­opportunity for us to look at getting an international standard facility up here that will cater for kids who come from the outer islands,” Mr Morseu said.

“Instead of sending kids away to a foreign environment why don’t we develop them in our own environment where they feel comfortable and they’re culturally supported.”

Mr Morseu said Brisbane’s Olympics would do more for Indigenous communities than deliver the same sporting glory his nephew Patty Mills has experienced.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health issues are really, really bad in our communities, so we want to do a lot of positive programs to promote health and wellbeing with our young people because they’re our future,” he said.

“It’s about trying to get rid of all the negative stuff like drugs, alcohol and people getting locked up in prison.”

The Thursday Island community clinic was led by Indigenous basketball coaches with support of Tokyo 2020 Stingers water polo captain Rowie Webster, two-time Olympic boxer and Indigenous man Brad Hore and ­London 2012 race walker Beki Smith. Hore, who represented Australia in Sydney and Athens, backed Mr Morseu and said future Olympic superstars could have attended the Thursday Island clinic.

“They’re at the perfect age, so we’re trying to set them some short goals, but the big goals should be Brisbane 2032,” he said.

Newly minted Australian Olympic Committee president Ian Chesterman said the visit to Thursday Island would ignite the Olympic spark among islanders and help the national body to better understand what made their Indigenous athletes tick.

“We just want to spread the message that Olympic sports is a great thing to be ­involved in and there is something for everybody.”