RAISE THE BAR CAMP HELPING STUDENTS TO ACHIEVE HIGHER

The second Raise the Bar camp of the year was recently held in Perth, giving Indigenous high school students an opportunity to not only access facilities used by WA’s high performance athletes, but also make important connections with other students.

Students from Frog Hollow, Kununurra, Wyndham, Broome and Cunderdin were given the chance to train at the WA Athletics Stadium with Athletics Australia accredited coaches and train alongside other WA Athletes.

The students also toured the training and recovery facilities at the Western Australian Institute of Sport (WAIS), giving them a look into how WA’s elite athletes prepare to compete on the world stage. The tour allowed students to test equipment which is used to monitor performance and aid in recovery post training.

Athletics West First Nations Coordinator Kyle Ennis spoke about the positive outcomes of the Raise the Bar camp.

“I feel the biggest positive from this camp is students getting exposure to different elements of life, which builds them into a better version of themselves, whilst widening their personal perception of what they can achieve.”

“This camp also allows participants to get top technical coaching throughout the week, along with tips which they can then take home if they don’t have a coach accessible to them. This means they leave the camp educated on how athletics can help improve their skills in various sports. 

Providing development both on and off the track, students participated in various activities, including getting the chance to learn about physics, sports science and astronomy from experts within their respective fields.

“The camp assists students by showing them around The University of Western Australia and the School of Indigenous Studies. Participants got to be a part of interactive classes and got insights in various university courses, as well as being informed on the ways they can enter university and the scholarships and grants available to them.”

“They enjoyed meeting the SIS mentors and also the Dandjoo Darbalung students, making these connections with them before university allows them to be more eased with the idea of university.”

Students also got the chance to visit the WA Museum Boola Bardip for the Boola Bardip Aboriginal Tour, as well as getting the blood pumping by taking place in abseiling.

To wrap up the camp, students got the chance to build connections with Dandjoo Darbalung students, taking part in a boomerang painting session, and getting the chance to take part in an Aboriginal Voices Class.

“When I see past camp participants, I feel overwhelmingly proud of them. For some it’s a very daunting steppingstone in life, even more so when you don’t have your own mob around you to support you. It’s great seeing them at UWA and Dandjoo Darbalung with new and likeminded mob around them who are following the further education path and supporting each other.”

Athletics Australia and Athletics West recognize the cultural and social barriers that Indigenous Students face when moving from remote or regional areas to Perth, especially being so far from Country and family. Raise the Bar Camps aims to help provide support for young First Nations people and assist by establishing connections for rural athletes in capital cities to help provide support to engage in the Athletics High Performance pathway.

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

For more information about how you can get involved in athletics, contact Athletics West on 08 6272 0480.

By Dylan Gane, Athletics West

Posted 13 October 2023