Super Netball 2023: Netball Australia supports First Nations Voice to parliament
Ahead of Super Netball’s First Nations round over the next fortnight, Netball Australia has confirmed they will support an Indigenous Voice to parliament.
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Netball Australia has become the latest national sporting body to confirm it will support an Indigenous Voice to parliament.
The board of NA has released a statement confirming it supports the yes case for the Voice in the upcoming referendum.
“As a signatory of the Declaration of Commitment, Netball Australia pledged to take significant action to break down the barriers that have prevented Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander players, coaches, umpires and administrators from flourishing in the sport,” the statement said.
“The board believes that altering the constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice, will benefit all Australians.
“Netball Australia believes that the referendum is an opportunity for netball to continue to educate itself on the importance of First Nations culture and history.”
The move has the support of NA’s newly-appointed First Nations director Cheryl Kickett-Tucker – one of the architects of the Voice – who said it was a strong statement from the national body.
“This is a board decision is to sign this (statement) but we’re not there to go, ‘well, we’ve done this now, you do what we say’. It is not that at all,” Kickett-Tucker said.
“It’s just our perspective for our sport across the nation – and it’s up to everyone else to work out what they think and feel about and how they’re going to vote.
“I think that’s a really strong statement from Netball Australia because they’re capturing a large cohort of people – and non-Aboriginal people in this space.”
She said sport could play an important role in bringing people together and it was entirely appropriate that national sporting bodies were facilitating discussions about the Voice.
“Sport is a great bridge to bring all cultures and people together,” she said.
“How we maintain that bridge so people can go back and forth, that is where we need things like the Voice to make to make sure that happens.
“We need organisations that have a huge reach in all communities (to have their say).
“I’m really proud of the group. I’ve only just joined and they were already thinking about this before I even turned up.
“So that’s actually a good thing. I know that goodwill of the board is the right will – now we just have to put stuff into practice and we will do that, I’m pretty confident of that.”
Kickett-Tucker was aware of NA’s less than stellar past record on First Nations matter that led to the Declaration of Commitment.
While recognising that, she prefers to look forward and work on a better future, than dwell on the past.
“If we look back in history and go: ‘Look at that, look at that, look at that’ and then not think about now and the future, we’re damned,” she said.
“I’m a very optimistic person and I’m a doer. And whatever I say will match what I do – and I will make sure we do that as a board as well.”
NA has provided education resources for staff to learn about and understand the conversation regarding the referendum to enshrine a First Nations Voice in the Australian constitution.
And as Kickett-Tucker said, there was no directive to the netball community on how it had to vote.
“The Board accepts there is a wide range of views within the community and supports the rights of its member organisations, staff and players to make an informed individual decision as to how they exercise their vote,” the statement said.
Super Netball First Nations round: Every club’s dress revealed
Athletes from all eight teams across the league are set to explore the stories of their region with custom dresses as part of Super Netball’s First Nations celebrations.
Rounds 11 and 12 of competition will be dedicated to First Nations celebrations, ensuring all clubs have a home game at which the Indigenous people of the area, their history and traditions, can be recognised.
This year’s league artwork, titled ‘Gather as One’, was designed by Gamilaroi woman Krystal Dallinger – who has also designed the Giants dress, and combines traditional and modern techniques to share a story of togetherness.
The work will be showcased across First Nations Round with a custom match ball, umpire uniforms, and centre circle design.
“The story behind the design is that we all come together and share the same love for netball no matter our background or where we came from,” Dallinger said.
The design features an emu, goanna and kangaroo to represent past Elders, and present and emerging leaders.
Adelaide Thunderbirds
The dress has been designed by Shane Mankitya Cook, a proud Wulli Wulli and Guwa descendant from Queensland, who created the design in conjunction with the South Australian Aboriginal Secondary Training Academy (SAASTA)’s Aboriginal Netball Academy.
The design focuses on community and connection, with the big circles representing a safe meeting place for all players and club members to come together, while the lines and dots within the circles represent the different pathways and places individuals have come from.
The hills and mountains depicted on the bottom of the dress represent challenges the players have faced and overcome in their journeys and the stars represent the supporters and people who have helped them along the way.
Collingwood Magpies
The Magpies’ dress, designed by Djab Wurrong and Kirrae Wurrong artist Tarni Jarvis, tells the story of the many individuals and groups that make up the Collingwood Football Club. The design features circles within the black stripes on the dress, with each circle unique and representing the people, and their stories, that make up the club.
Crosshatching – a commonly used technique within Aboriginal artwork in the southwest region of Victoria – is used to create the white stripes of the dress.
“For us as supporters, Collingwood is more than just a club, it is a connection to another community that inspires and allows us to be a part of something greater than our everyday lives,” Jarvis said.
“Within this artwork, I have captured the different people who are a part of the Club and the Collingwood community, from its players and staff to the supporters.”
Giants Netball
Gamilaroi woman Krystal Dallinger, who has also developed artwork for the league for custom match ball, s umpire uniforms and centre circle design, has against designed the Giants’ dress, the sixth year she has done so after starting in 2018.
Melbourne Vixens
Artist Rebecca Atkinson, a Moiradu woman from the Bangerang Nation on her father’s side
and Kerrupmara woman from the Gunditjmara Nation on her mother’s side, has designed the Vixens dress.
Different elements highlight the themes of fearless, togetherness and resilience which empowers the journey of the Melbourne Vixens in 2023.
Fearlessness is portrayed by the inner design from the seven circles which represent the seven players on the court, while the elements attached to the circles are the players who are
not on court but supporting from the sidelines.
Resilience is marked by the colour pink, with Atkinson saying the “obstacles
facing different generations (of First Nations people) has shaped who we are in today’s world”.
Togetherness is symbolised by the large outer circles which represent the coaches, staff and supporters of the Melbourne Vixens.
NSW Swifts
The club’s First Nations dress has been designed by Wongaibon woman Tarsha Hawley, a former Swifts Academy athlete and current Netball NSW Premier League player with the Sutherland Stingrays.
This is the third year that Hawley has designed the Swifts’ Indigenous uniform and the dress again incorporates the innovate circular bibs which have been a feature of her designs since first being commissioned back in 2021.
Hawley says this year’s artwork is “a representation of growth, development and the importance of remembering where you came from and where you started.”
The design features Hawley’s totem of the crow, a “gift from me to the Swifts family”.
“The crow also symbolises how important it is to grow our game in rural communities, how important it is to have Indigenous people coming through the pathways and in academies, leading to more Indigenous people within the Suncorp Super Netball league,” Hawley said.
Queensland Firebirds
The Firebirds dress features multiple elements from Goreng Goreng artist Rachael Sarra’s artwork ‘The Future Reignited. Healing Smoke, Uniting Flames’ which represents how netball is about more than just the seven players on a court at one time.
Fans can own their own First Nations dress, with seven of them – one for each position on court – being auctioned online.
All proceeds go towards the club’s Diamond Spirit program which uses netball as a vehicle to engage, empower and educate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in remote and regional communities across Queensland.
The auction is live now and runs until June 6 at www.fanplus.com/auctions/firebirds-first-nations-2023-dress-with-bibs.
Sunshine Coast Lightning
Jerome Wano, a Wakka Wakka and Tūwharetoa artist, has designed the Lightning dress which portrays three stories – the creation of country, women and the Sunshine Coast Lightning players.
“This sacred country, Australia, was created by the Rainbow Serpent, and this painting depicts part of the serpent’s journey over Kabi Kabi Country,” Wano said.
“The second story is about our women. Our culture reveres women for their role as keepers of language, song, story, and lore.
“The final story is about the Sunshine Coast Lightning players. The sitting people represent the different birthplaces of the women on the team and their family groups. The lines connecting the sitting people represent the women’s life journeys ... (and) the lines represent their new-found connections and the merging of their journeys.”
West Coast Fever
The Fever dress, designed by designed by Noongar artists Peter Farmer and Kylie Graham, has design elements including seven circular symbols representing the players on court coming together; the unpredictable path water weaves throughout the landscape; 90-degree angles symbolising both the sections of the netball court and the sometimes-sharp turns that life takes each individual on in their journey; and symbols of Aboriginal culture that represent the female.
Fever captain Courtney Bruce said the Club had been a leader among Super Netball teams in their acknowledgment of Indigenous culture since the introduction of the inaugural First Nations Round held in 2014.
“Our Club is very proud of our connection with the Indigenous community in Western Australia and we love wearing our First Nations dress each and every year,” Bruce said.
CRUSHING VIXENS BLOW
Big blow for the Melbourne Vixens during the week with the club revealing they will be without goaler Rahni Samason for the entire season.
Samason suffered a leg injury early in the year and while it was initially thought she would recover in time to play a part in the season, the club’s performance manager confirmed she would be sidelined for the remainder of the year.
Kim Borger, who was drafted into the squad in Round 4 to replace Samason, will retain her place as a temporary replacement player for the rest of the year.
The Vixens were set to run a three-woman shooting rotation this season, with Samason, Mwai Kumwenda and Kiera Austin sharing duties.
But Samason’s injury has meant the club has leant on Kumwenda and Austin, who continue to get the job done – with Austin sealing consecutive one-goal wins in rounds 8 and 9 by sinking super shots in the dying seconds.
The Vixens host the Swifts on Sunday in a sold-out clash that could help shape the top four ahead of finals.
LANGMAN BACK FOR FERNS
Lost in the madness of the past week were a couple of World Cup announcements – good and bad.
As well as England and hosts announcing their squads for Cape Town, former New Zealand captain and midcourt legend Laura Langman was announced as a specialist coach for the Silver Ferns in the lead-up to the tournament.
The woman many regard as netball’s GOAT will take on a technical role assisting Ferns coach Noeline Taurua with a focus on strategy while the Kiwis are in camp on the Sunshine Coast in early July.
Taurua and Langman famously teamed up on the Coast, leading the Lightning to the first two Super Netball premierships in 2017 and 2018 before Taurua returned to New Zealand and took over the reins of the national team.
With Langman back in the black dress as captain, the Ferns won the 2019 World Cup, beating the Diamonds by a goal in the final.
NO PEACE FOR UGANDA
Langman’s return is a massive fillip for New Zealand but there was only tough news for Uganda, with the revelation star goaler Peace Proscovia would miss the World Cup with illness.
Proscovia, a former Lightning shooter who left Super Netball at the end of the 2021 season, moving to the English Super League, has been starring for Surrey Storm, where she led all goalers in the competition before the announcement her season had ended.
Uganda Netball has also announced the illness will prevent Proscovia from playing for the She Cranes in Cape Town.
It’s a blow for Uganda, who will also be without Scotland-based goaler Stella Ovella, another Super League player, who suffered an ACL injury.
It’s a massive blow for the She Cranes, who are in the same pool as New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago and Singapore and who could now struggle to make the second stage of preliminaries at the tournament.
Trinidad and Tobago have issues of their own, with NSW Swifts goaler Sam Wallace ruled out of the tournament due to ongoing recovery of her knee injury.
ROUND 11 FIXTURES
(All times AEST)
SATURDAY
Sunshine Coast Lightning v Collingwood Magpies
UniSC Arena, Sunshine Coast, 5pm
Both clubs are out of the finals equation and playing for pride, with the Magpies limping towards the finish line and desperate to salvage something from what could be their final Super Netball season. There are Diamonds spots on the line though and Sophie Garbin’s showing against South Africa defender Karla Pretorius will be watched carefully by Stacey Marinkovich and her selectors, while the Pies defensive unit has their work cut out against Diamonds shooters Steph Wood and Cara Koenen.
Watch: Foxtel, Kayo Freebies
Umpires: Tim Marshall and Nicole Bullen
Adelaide Thunderbirds v West Coast Fever
Netball SA Stadium, Adelaide, 7pm
A quirk in the draw has the top four teams meeting each other this week in a round that could help determine the minor premiership. The Thunderbirds set the tone through the opening round but stumbled badly against a disciplined Vixens side last week, although the injured Tippah Dwan and Hannah Petty are tracking well and expected to return this week. They face a Fever side high on confidence after their record-breaking score against the Firebirds, with the defending premiers keen to claw their way back to the top of the ladder ahead of finals.
Watch: Foxtel, Kayo Freebies
Umpires:
SUNDAY
Melbourne Vixens v NSW Swifts
John Cain Arena, Melbourne, 2pm
With the cavernous John Cain Arena already sold out, Sunday’s clash promises plenty as the traditional rivals take each other on in arguably the match of the round. Just as in Saturday’s Thunderbirds-Fever clash, there’s plenty on the line here, with the minor premiership and finals positions potentially shaped by the result. There are also mighty clashes across the court as four Diamonds midcourters and international goalers and defenders clash with World Cup spots on the line.
Watch: Foxtel, Kayo Freebies
Umpires: Bronwen Adams and Nathan Begley
Giants Netball v Queensland Firebirds
Ken Rosewall Arena, Sydney, 4pm
The Giants’ finals hopes may be on life support but they’re not entirely done yet – although they could be by the time this game starts depending on other results over the weekend. Julie Fitzgerald’s side looked much improved in their win against the Lightning last week and they will want to perform for veteran defender April Brandley in her 150th national league game. The Firebirds – the only club with Indigenous players – alway rise in First Nations round and will be led by Donnell Wallam and possibly midcourter Leesa Mi Mi, who made her Super Netball debut last week.
Watch: Foxtel, Kayo Freebies
Umpires: Jordan Kiss and Rachael Stebbings
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Originally published as Super Netball 2023: Netball Australia supports First Nations Voice to parliament
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