UAA Indigenous Talent ID 2022 – Get Involved
The first NCAS Underwriting Agencies Australia (UAA) Indigenous Talent ID Day for 2022 was held on Wednesday 11th May at Southern Cross University Coffs Harbour with representation from high schools from Wauchope to Grafton.
Indigenous students from the North Coast got the opportunity to come together under the watchful eyes of some of the region’s most experienced sports coaches. Students got active early with sport testing and measurements to start the day provided by ACE Performance Coffs Harbour. Following on with sporting disciplines including Basketball, Volleyball and Netball run with support from Basketball NSW, Coffs Harbour Volleyball Association and Netball NSW.
This same concept will be run in the Far North Coast at the Cavanbah Centre, Byron Bay on Thursday 11th August. Schools are encouraged to sign up for last minute spots.
The concept of an ITID Day was developed in partnership between the Regional Academies of Sport and Underwriting Agencies Australia (UAA) with a focus to ‘unearth’ local indigenous talent from the regions and to then be able to provide full scholarships to academy programs.
The end goal includes the Academy providing the top performers from the day to take part in a six (6) week training and education program. From here students will be invited to join one of the eleven (11) sports programs operated by the NCAS throughout 2022-23.
Michael Murphy, Chief Executive Officer of UAA said of the day, “UAA is committed to supporting pathways for Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders to succeed in life and sport may help with that goal. We are delighted to partner with NCAS, as well as seven other Regional Academies of Sport throughout NSW to provide this unique opportunity locally. This event has run successfully for the past 6 years on the Central Coast and we are excited to see this expanded throughout NSW.”
He continued, “We are delighted with how this event ran and the extension into the NCAS Indigenous Extension Program or the full NCAS Sports Program is just fantastic. I appreciate that coming out of COVID-19 has had some significant considerations for the local high schools and to those schools who saw the benefit of participation, a huge thank you”.
Claire McCulloch, NCAS Sport Programs Manager said of the program “the day was fun and busy, by offering different sports and sport science we were able to record some excellent data on all the students’ fitness and skill levels. The support from our sporting partners has been brilliant and I can’t thank our coaches enough for volunteering their time and expertise. The Academy was so pleased to see 75 athletes across seven schools get in a give it a red hot go.”
D’Arcy Van den Bossche, NCAS Executive Director added “UAA has been a committed and involved partner of this entire program and have given us the opportunity to reach local athletes we might not usually see considering our programs. We have the talent in the North Coast, UAA has provided an opportunity for us all to connect.”
TERM 3 ITID SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE
11 August 2022, Term 3 Indigenous Talent ID Day in Byron Bay still has athlete spots available. If you are a school or individual, sign up via: https://ncas.org.au/sport-programs/indigenous-talent-program/
