Premier League hockey to celebrate Indigenous Round

Premier League sides in WA will celebrate and acknowledge the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in hockey and the wider community, when the Premier League Indigenous Round kicks off on Friday 1 July. 

The round, which runs until Sunday 3 July, and starts the celebrations of NAIDOC Week, will see sides don custom kits with indigenous artwork, with a number of clubs holding respective celebrations at their home turfs. 

Melville men’s Premier League captain, Tim Geers, says it’s a significant opportunity to celebrate the indigenous culture through hockey, a sport with a rich history of indigenous participants. 

“The whole round is fantastic – it’s great to be able to celebrate the contribution of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island culture, particularly in hockey, which has, and still does, have a number of indigenous stars,” Geers says. 

“For us it’s about continuing to learn and celebrate the indigenous culture and what happened on the land that our club is based on.” 

Melville young-gun Aimee Clark says Melville’s first-ever Indigenous Round kit is significant and celebrates the rich history of the club. 

“It’s fantastic to be able to don a special Indigenous Round kit this year – the first time ever Melville has been able to do this,” Clark says. 

“The design celebrates the club’s foundations, with 16 stars representing the young boys who formed the club, wanting to play closer to home. 

“There’s also journey lines that continue down the front from a meeting place, our first ground, representing the club’s significant moments, which finishes at a meeting place which is our now home ground, with each ‘U’ shape within representing all of our life members – it’s quite significant.” 

Curtin University, Whitford, UWA, Old Guildfordians Mundaring and Fremantle Cockburn have all taken part with their own respective designs, with many of the designers connected to the club. 

“Our design for Curtin was done by Jarni McGuire, who has a long history with the club,” Curtin women’s Premier League star Kate Denning says. 

“Jarni and her family are long-time pirate players and supporters, so we’re really proud as a club to wear her design.” 

Reds Hockey Club have had an impact in the round for several years, with Reds’ Brodee Foster sharing his delight on the club’s efforts to celebrate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander contribution to the sport of hockey. 

“We had our playing uniform designed by Dr Len Collard a few years ago now and it’s a really special design,” Foster says. 

“It’s great to be able to celebrate the indigenous culture and not only showcase the amazing art on the kit, but the significance of the culture to the sport – I’m really proud of my club (Reds) and hope it continues for years to come.” 

The round continues to have an impact, with Hockey WA CEO Fabian Ross pleased that it continues to evolve with the WA hockey community right behind the celebrations.

“It’s such a magnificent round, the Indigenous Round – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have, and still do, have a significant impact on our sport,” Ross says. 

“It’s fantastic to see so many clubs involved and it’s pleasing that it’s also expanding beyond our Premier League sides, with whole clubs celebrating the round – it’s important that our members continue to celebrate and learn about such a rich culture.” 

The round itself in a hockey sense is key to the men’s and women’s Premier League standings heading into the back end of the season, with plenty of the fixtures set to please with top-class hockey across the board – keep up with all the fixtures and scores here.