Over 50 of the Northern Inland region’s aspiring young indigenous athletes, aged 13-16 years will descend on Inverell next Wednesday to participate in the annual NIAS / UAA Indigenous Talent Identification Day.
“The UAA Indigenous Talent ID Day is designed for aspiring athletes wishing to advance their opportunities in sport, any sport. Talent ID is an effort to identify people with specific skills, personal qualities and physical attributes that may lead them to become a high performing athlete, and it’s all supported by a fabulous statewide sponsor, UAA (Underwriting Agencies of Australia) who has partnered with Regional Academies of Sport for quite a few years now,” commented former NIAS CEO, now Regional Academies of Sport Ltd, Advancement Services Manager, Mrs Shona Eichorn.
“We have encouraged all aspiring athletes of Aboriginal or Torres Straight Islander descent to join us for a free and fun day of fitness testing (by Rural Fit) and sports activities at Inverell Sports Complex/Basketball stadium on Wednesday 27 August, from 10am and 2pm. Sports included this year are basketball, netball, football (soccer), and golf. The focus is not on the specific sport, but for us to identify athletic talent and potential, regardless of sport. These athletes may not have even considered taking up golf for example, but on assessment we might discover they have an aptitude for the game.”
NIAS has been supporting regional athletes for 33 years and during this time more than 5000 athletes (along with 450 coaches and volunteers) have been a part of the NIAS community, many progressing to higher levels of achievement, including special guest, NIAS graduate Australian Rugby League representative and former Tingha local, Nathan Blacklock, who will join in on the day.
“We have incredible talent within our region and it’s important that we provide the opportunities, pathways and access for our youth to thrive and transition to higher levels of competition and performance, and ultimately become better people as a result.”
“We will have quality coaches there on the day who are experienced in talent identification. The athletes identified will then be provided an invitation to join the NIAS Sports Programs selection trials later in the next month or so,” Mrs Eichorn said.
For more information, please contact the NIAS team on 02 6766 2526 or admin@nias.org.au.
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