On Tuesday 19 February, Australian netballer Bianca Franklin will join the Australian Sports Commission’s (ASC) Indigenous Sport Program (ISP) and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation to deliver swimming equipment to remote Aboriginal community, Areyonga, near Alice Springs. 

Bianca Franklin is one of a team of ambassadors which includes Sydney Swan Adam Goodes, Brisbane Bronco Sam Thaiday and Olympic sprinter Patrick Johnson helping to promote the work of the Indigenous Sport Program.

The equipment donated by the ASC and Laureus includes kickboards, flippers, goggles, swim-noodles, lane ropes, pool buoys, backstroke flags, a pace clock and an equipment trolley.

In addition to the donated equipment, Northern Territory Swimming through its existing partnership with the ASC, will continue to provide ongoing support by running Learn to Swim programs and assisting communities to run the programs themselves.

Australian Sports Commission CEO Mark Peters said today’s activities in Areyonga were an example of the work the ASC’s Indigenous Sport Program does in Indigenous communities across Australia.

‘The ISP and partners like Laureus and the state/territory governments are committed to providing better sporting opportunities for Indigenous Australians and helping communities to develop the resources to sustain sport for the future,’ Mr Peters said.

‘Our Indigenous Sport Development Officers, many of whom are from these communities, assist in identifying and developing sporting opportunities that bring with them wider social and health benefits for the community.’

The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, founded in 2000, is an apolitical charitable initiative that uses the positive influence of sport to tackle society's most pressing challenges. It celebrates the universal power of sport to bring people together as a force for good and uses the passion that sport inspires to effect social change across the globe.

The ASC’s Indigenous Sport Program aims to increase Indigenous Australians’ participation in structured sport at all levels, builds the capacity of Indigenous people to run sustainable sporting programs and supports talented Indigenous sportspeople to achieve their sporting goals.

For more information on the ASC’s Indigenous Sport Program and opportunities in sport for Indigenous Australians go to http://www.ausport.gov.au/participating/all/indigenous

Note: Photos of Bianca Franklin and Indigenous kids at the pool will be available February 20

Contact: Simon Langford, ASC Media Manager, 02 6214 1298 or 0418 605 541