WA Football Unites to Celebrate NAIDOC Round August 28th -30th Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - 8:32 AM

The West Australian Football Commission, and its affiliate leagues and associations will come together on August 28th-30th to celebrate the 2020 NAIDOC Indigenous Round. 

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July, this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic NAIDOC Week Celebrations have been rescheduled until the week of the 8-15th November 2020. 

The West Australian Football Commission invites teams, officials, and communities to celebrate NAIDOC Week 2020 on the weekend of the 28-30th August 2020. NAIDOC week is not only celebrated in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities, other Australians from all walks of life are encouraged to participate in the week of celebrations. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community.

The WAFC NAIDOC Round will this year follow a week after the AFL’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round (August 21- 23). This video has been produced by the AFL to promote the round, clubs and leagues are encouraged to use this video as promotions on their social media platforms SDNR TVC to aid promoting the weekend.

The below points are some ideas on how your club can celebrate the WAFC NAIDOC Indigenous Round in your communities  

1.    Display the National NAIDOC Poster or other Indigenous posters around your clubrooms/ 
2.    Make your own Indigenous trivia quiz.
3.    Research the traditional Indigenous owners of your area.
4.    Work with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artist to produce an artwork representing the theme.
5.    Visit local Indigenous sites of significance or interest.
6.    Learn the meanings of local or national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander place names and words.
7.    Invite local Indigenous Elders to speak or give a Welcome to Country at your club. 
8.    Invite an Indigenous sportsperson or artist to visit you and be a guest speaker.
9.    Invite Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander dancers to perform.
10.    Host a community BBQ or luncheon.
11.    Hold a flag raising ceremony.
12.    Organise a smoking ceremony.
13.    Aboriginal Players to Toss the Coin. 
14.    Aboriginal Players to Captain the Game
15.    Wear your aboriginal football Guernsey

Here is a preamble clubs can read prior to their 28-30th August Fixture. 

Here is a list of Noongars available to contact for Welcome to Country Ceremonies.

The AFL this year is recognizing WA Football Hall Of Fame inductee Sydney (Syd) Jackson. Syd played 254 games (East Perth 104, Carlton 136, Glenelg 13 & WA 1) between 1963 & 1977, and kicked 265 goals across his career.  

The ‘Sir Doug Nicholls Round’ will take on added significance this season, with 2020 marking the 25th anniversary of the AFL’s introduction of its Discrimination and Racial and Religious Vilification Act. “This act clearly signalled that racial and religious vilification would no longer be tolerated in Australian football,” AFL social policy and inclusion manager Tanya Hosch said.

“We continue to prioritise an inclusive environment for all people within the industry and focus on identifying strategies targeted at the prevention of vilification before it occurs.

“Through the hard work and dedication of our playing group, past and present, community leaders and industry leaders, we’re able to collectively work towards a future with no racism in our game.”
WAFC Aboriginal & Inclusions Leader Brad Collard said “This year’s theme for NAIDOC week 2020 is ‘Always was and always will be’ it will be fantastic to have the entire WA Football community come together to acknowledge Aboriginal peoples contribution to the game of Australian Rules Football and provide a strong statement that Racism is not to be tolerated in our communities”

Each year NAIDOC Week has a different theme and a different focus city for the National NAIDOC Awards ceremony. The national NAIDOC committee selects the theme, focus city, NAIDOC Award recipients and national NAIDOC poster design winners. Local community celebrations during the week are encouraged and often organized by local communities, sporting organizations, schools, and workplaces. The following link will provide further information on NAIDOC Week https://www.naidoc.org.au/about/naidoc-week.

Be aware that Traditional Smoking Ceremonies and Traditional Welcome to Country ceremonies will come at a cost to your club / leagues. Elders will charge generally between $400 - $600 for their services to conduct these ceremonies (please see the attached list of some metropolitan elders). If Clubs and Leagues are not in a position to pay for an elder to conduct one of these ceremonies they are encouraged to use the attached WAFC Acknowledgement to Country statement that can be read by a club official or community member. Using Aboriginal players or family members to read the statement will be a strong reconciliation message and should be encouraged wherever possible. The preamble will need to be changed to suit which Traditional Owners country the football game is to be played on , please contact WAFC Aboriginal and Inclusion Leader Brad Collard if you are unsure.