Super Sikhs Cup

AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL HITS THE SUPER SIKHS CUP

Hosted by the Super Sikhs Sports and Cultural Association, The Super Sikhs Cup will be held on Sunday, 8 October, 2017 at Valentine Sports Park, Glenwood.

This annual event aims to provide a platform for athletes, coaches, umpires and participants to showcase their talent, engage and unite the community through sport and to increase international student and female participation in sport.

The event began in 2013 as a small sports carnival at a high school ground with 100 participants attending and is now the largest multi-sports community festival in NSW.

“Through this period, we have had a dramatic increase particularly in females participating in sport, growing at a rate of over 200% annually,” Super Sikhs Sports and Cultural Association Founder, Balraj Ougra said.

“The event attracted over 3,000 people in 2016 and we anticipate close to 5,000 people to attend and participate in this year’s festival.”

This year, for the first time Australian Football (AFL) will be one of the sports on offer, with participants playing in an AFL 9s competition.

AFL NSW/ACT is strongly committed to engaging with people from diverse backgrounds and has recently been focused on developing initiatives to introduce the Sikh community to the game of AFL.

One initiative is the monthly ‘Come and Try AFL’ sessions run by Australian-born Sikh hip-hop artist and AFL Multicultural Community Ambassador L-FRESH the Lion and former GWS GIANTS player Tom Downie. Here, members of the Sikh community are invited along to learn the rules and skills of AFL 9’s, the social version of the traditional Australian game.

These sessions were established by L-FRESH the LION, as he aimed to create a pathway for young people from Multicultural backgrounds to access Australian Football.

Since the ‘Come and Try AFL’ sessions began, there has been an increase in participation rates from the Sikh community, with a team representing India playing in the AFL Diversity Cup at the 2017 AFL Multicultural Festival in July.

“Our involvement in the Super Sikhs Cup is part of the bigger plan to engage with the Indian community,” AFL NSW/ACT Multicultural Programs Manager, Nickie Flambouras said.

“Our focus at the AFL is to involve communities into our game as players, fans, administrators, volunteers and staff.

“We will also be offering an Auskick clinic at the Super Sikhs Cup for any younger children attending and we wish all of the players involved the best of luck.”

Those interested in playing AFL at the Super Sikhs Cup are encouraged to contact Nickie Flambouras Nickie.Flambouras@afl.com.au or visit aflnswact.com.au/super-sikh-cup/ for more information. Players must be over 16 years old and males and females of Indian background are welcomed to participate.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.