Nicky Winmar Carnival & Kirby Bentley CupThursday, March 21, 2019 - 1:30 PM - by Steve Tuohey

The 2019 Nicky Winmar Carnival and Kirby Bentley Cup for Aboriginal boys and girls aged 13 to 17 will be held together for the first time at David Gray's Arena in Mandurah this Saturday, March 23.

The Nicky Winmar Carnival for boys, which is in its 13th year, has been a great success engaging and showcasing talented Aboriginal football players, who travel from across Western Australia to participate.

This year, the Kirby Bentley Cup for girls, which is entering its sixth year, will be played for the first time at the same venue, on the same day.

Teams from as far as the Pilbara, Goldfields, South West and Wheatbelt, as well as the Perth metropolitan area, will participate in a round-robin format.
 
WAFC Executive Manager Youth, Community & Game Development Troy Kirkham said the WAFC was excited to combine the events in 2019, which will see the overall number of teams participating across the day more than double from 15 to 32.

“This event is a great opportunity to bring the Aboriginal community together to enjoy a fantastic day of football," he said.

"It not only provides a participation and development opportunity for Aboriginal players, coaches and support staff, but a talent pathway to WA’s male and female high-performance Kickstart programs and an opportunity to be selected in the national Boomerangs or Woomeras squads."
 
“Thanks to everyone involved with organising, volunteering, umpiring, coaching and participating in the carnival and best of luck to all the teams.

"I would also like to acknowledge Defence Force Recruitment and the City of Mandurah as our major partners for the event and thank them for their support.”

The overall number of Aboriginal participants in Western Australia increased by 18% last season to 15,740 and WA's State U15 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander team won it's 8th consecutive Kickstart National Championship.