The Australian Sports Commission (ASC) celebrated NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) Week in July, commemorating the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within sport and other fields.

Linda Muir, Assistant Director of Sports Development, says the upcoming London 2012 Olympic Games provide a range of reasons to celebrate the sporting achievements of Indigenous Australians.

‘With all eyes turning to the London Olympics in coming weeks, many will note the performances of elite Indigenous athletes representing our country, such as Patrick Mills in basketball, Des Abbott and Joel Carroll in hockey, Cameron Hammond and Damien Hooper in boxing, Josh Ross in athletics and Ben Harradine in discus,’ said Muir.

Athletes at the elite level provide inspiration and encouragement to children in grassroots programs, such as the Active After-school communities (AASC) program. In fact many members of The Rubies, Australia’s first female Indigenous hockey team, were introduced to the sport of hockey in AASC programs on Horn Island, Thursday Island, Kubin Island and Badu Island.

A number of The Rubies have now become role models themselves as they coach hockey in AASC programs throughout north Queensland. Aged from 14 to 19 years, the girls participated in their first overseas competition last year when they visited Singapore to compete in the International Hockey Sixes.

Last month the team were fortunate to meet two Indigenous Australians at the top of their sport in Cairns – Kookaburras members Des Abbott and Joel Carroll. The girls, who all hail from north Queensland, were delighted to realise they had something in common with their Olympic role models – a taste for the music of Chris Brown and Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Muir notes the meeting is a great example of the range of involvement of Indigenous Australians throughout the entire sport community.

‘In NAIDOC Week we celebrate the fantastic contributions Indigenous Australians make to all levels of sport –from the community right through to the elite,’ she said.

In addition to the AASC, the ASC provides support to a number of programs which include funding for Indigenous sportspeople of all levels, such as the Sports Leadership Grants for Women and the Elite Indigenous Travel and Accommodation Assistance Program (EITAAP).

Recent recipients of the EITAAP include the Gapuwiyak Boys Basketball team from East Arnhem Land, which was founded in 2003 as an alternative sport activity when the football season ended. EITAAP funding helped them to attend the 2012 Australian Schools Championship in Victoria, providing an opportunity for some team members to venture outside Arnhem Land for the first time in their lives.

Another highlight of NAIDOC week was the Black Gold Sporting Excellence Exhibition at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra, which featured photos of local communities engaged in Australian Sporting Outreach Programs throughout the Pacific. Photos provided by participants in Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu and the Caribbean were displayed to celebrate a diverse range of indigenous athletes at the grassroots level.

To wrap up the week, the ASC staff team (which includes staff with Indigenous backgrounds) won the 2012 NAIDOC Touch Football Competition held in Canberra. Celebrating its ten-year milestone, the annual competition is held by the Australian Public Service Commission and now includes 23 agencies.