Nova Peris, Brad Hore among Olympians inspiring kids in remote Northern Territory
A host of Aussie Olympic heroes have toured remote schools in the Northern Territory to inspire the next generation of stars. See all the photos.
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Dual Olympian Nova Peris has called for the Territory to be put on the national agenda as a high performance location for athletes from across the country to use.
Peris joined a group of Olympians including Patrick Johnson, Brad Hore and Mack Horton who went into schools across remote NT to interact with and inspire kids who don’t see high level athletes.
The 1996 gold medal winner believes bringing more elite sportspeople to the Top End will not only help aspiring sportspeople in the Territory, but boost the profile of sport in the north as well.
“We should start lobbying to get us back on the national agenda as a high performance location where athletes can come up and use our facilities,” she said.
“Our kids need to see those athletes to inspire them, it takes utilising or upgrading our facilities so it’s more inviting for these high level people.
“There’s no reason why the NT can’t be one of these places, you just need people to think outside the box and start giving hope to our future generations.”
The Olympics Unleashed program visited Katherine last week where Olympians shared their stories of success and hardship which took them to the top.
Peris’ hero was Glynis Nunn who won gold in the Heptathlon in the 1984 Los Angeles games, and earlier Commonwealth gold in the 1982 games.
Peris got to meet Nunn in person when she was just 13 at Malak Oval, and got to hold her gold medal as well, a moment which further inspired her own journey towards Olympic glory.
“She was my hero, I was a spring chicken racking up medals in the NT, and I got to hold her gold medal, in that moment I was like ‘oh my god, I’m going to push forward’,” Peris said.
“I dreamt big and you have to dream big, it’s not smooth sailing, its bloody hard work and even when you get knocked down you have to keep going.
“And if you don’t make it as an athlete, there’s coaching or sports admin, there’s other areas in sport or you can use those skills in other aspects of your life.”
The then up-and-comer who had been touted as a future medallist for the NT from an early age later became part of the all-conquering Hockeyroos which won gold in 1996.
And with the medal won Peris went to pursue her second dream of competing in athletics at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
“Never give up, sometimes people give up way to early and they didn’t realise how close they were to achieving their dream,” Peris said.
“It’s really important getting out to these communities, because you never know where the talent lies.
“At the end of the day it might just be one moment that someone plants the seed that the kids grow their dreams from.”
Another part of the visit was teaching 12 Indigenous scholarship coaches, from across the country, who received hands-on training and delivered their own sessions with the youth of Katherine.
Shanna-Ann Casemio and Travis Carroll were two of the coaches from the NT, who both wanted to take what they learned back to the Darwin Hockey competition.
“I really hope I can give back to hockey in the NT, help out kids and go into communities to showcase our sport,” she said.
“It would be a really good opportunity to take back what we learn here and give back.
“I love to coach, I’ve been coaching since 2011 in the junior and senior space, I really enjoy giving back the knowledge I’ve gained to kids and passing on what I know and helping them develop.”
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Hore, Timmings, Burton inspire Katherine youth
Two-time Olympic boxer Brad Hore has revealed his own fight with adversity as he tours remote schools and communities in the Northern Territory this week.
As part of the Olympics Unleashed program the Indigenous athlete, who first competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympics, said sharing his words of inspiration was a way of giving back to his community.
Alongside fellow Olympians Nick Timmings and Natalie Burton, Hore is part of the program telling stories to schoolchildren in Mataranka and Katherine.
“Growing up I had a lot of people tell me I couldn’t do it, so I used that as motivation to prove them wrong and not to give up,” Hore said.
“When I go into schools I deliver that message, don’t give up, at anything whatever it is, their goals are what they want to become and it’s important not to give up so easy.
“My life was a like a roadmap, you got your speed bumps and dead ends and roundabouts, nothing’s a straight line, but you’ll get there eventually.”
The boxer, who also competed at the 2004 Athens Olympics, as well as at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games, is often the first to put his hand up to head into communities.
Part of the reason is to inspire and show young Indigenous Australians they too can become Olympic athletes, or achieve whatever they want in life.
“It’s important to come out to Aboriginal communities like this one and tell our stories to the kids and hopefully inspire them to become an Olympian or anything they want to achieve,” he said.
“It’s all about setting goals, believing in themselves and not giving up.
“It will be hard and they just need to do the best they can, and if we’ve inspired them to do that we’ve done our job.
“I’m proud to be an Indigenous Olympian, and I’ve got to give back to communities, there’s only 60 of us and we need to give them the opportunities and break down those barriers they might have.
“And for some it means moving away, if you’re at that level just go for it and take the risk, you can always come back and the family will always be there for you.
“Nothing’s easy, but you have to take risks, you never know what opportunities are going to come, that’s the best thing about sport.”
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