NOW MORE THAN EVER: NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WEEK

In light of Reconciliation Week, Athletics West is excited to shine a light on some of the remarkable First Nations people in our community and how their contribution to our sport paves the way for younger people.

Benjamin Catley is a proud Bardi Man from the Dampier Peninsula Region. Born on Boonwurrung Country in Victoria and growing up in regional WA, Catley is a First Nations role model to many in the Athletics Community.

Catley’s athletics journey began when he was 13, competing in sprinting, hurdles and decathlon events, with a dream to follow in the footsteps of Olympic Champion Cathy Freeman. 

“I was an athlete first and had dreams to be as good or better than Cathy Freeman as she was the gold standard in our sport,” said Catley.

While still competing, Catley’s father, Bernard, encouraged him to undertake the level one and two coaching courses, but it wasn’t until seven years later while battling injury in 2015 that he made the tough decision to pause his dreams and instead help others to achieve theirs.

“I had to give up on my dreams in the sport, but I definitely made the right choice because now I get to help others try and make their dreams come true through coaching.”

Catley has been a familiar face for many years, working hard to establish himself as an athletics coach to lead athletes to national medals. His partnership with several junior athletes has produced several milestones not only for himself as a coach but also for the state. Most recently he coached Sophie Williams to a new Under 16 Heptathlon record at the Australian Athletics Championships, breaking Olympian Jane Jamieson’s 33 year-old record.

In November 2023 Catley was awarded the Indigenous Coaching Scholarship, a Scholarship administered by the Australian Olympic Committee and the Toyota Foundation. Nominated by Athletics West Board Director and Athletics Australia RAP Chair, Dr Rishelle Hume, the scholarship is designed to provide practical support for coaches in Olympic sports to further their careers and provide instruction for First Nations athletes around the country.  

“I have enjoyed this program so much as I’ve gotten to meet some amazing Australian Olympians and have made some great connections with the coaches in this program.”

“For the first part of the program, we got to meet each other and take community students through a sports lesson, yarn about our experiences in sports and how it’s important for younger kids to participate and feel like they belong.”

The group are now set to travel to Canberra in June for the second part of the scholarship, where they will graduate from the program.

“It has been great to represent my community and sport through this scholarship. I’ll never forget and cherish this opportunity for years to come. Hopefully, it will open new opportunities down the road.”            

The Indigenous Coaching Scholarship and other grants such as The Brayshaw Aboriginal Regional Scholarship Program aim to provide participation and development opportunities to First Nations athletes, coaches, and officials.

“I appreciate all the support I have received from the Aboriginal grants, without these I would not have been able to achieve as much as I have in sport and with my education,” Catley said.

For other young First Nations athletes and coaches, Catley’s advice is ‘to believe in yourself and trust the process.’

“Just be confident and believe in yourself. If you want to coach or be an athlete at any level you’ll be tested mentally on numerous occasions and you’ll start to doubt yourself, but I’ve learnt season after season to believe in myself, look at my accomplishments from the past, tell myself everything will come together, trust the process and I can be one of the best coaches in Australia.”

Athletics West is committed to promoting and developing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. To find out more about how you can play an active part in reconciliation, visit the Reconciliation WA website for more information and to discover what activities and events are taking place in your local area during National Reconciliation Week https://www.recwa.org.au/nrw-2024/.

You can follow all athletics action via the Athletics West Facebook and Instagram pages.

For more information on how you can get involved in athletics, contact Athletics West on 08 6272 0480 or via admin@athleticswest.com.au.

By Imogen McDonald, Athletics West

Posted 30 May 2024