Claremont Colts embark on a cultural trip to Broome

The Claremont Colts will travel to the Kimberley region from Friday 15th July to Sunday 17th July to play a competitive exhibition match against the Kimberley Spirit where they will also spend the night in the community of One Arm Point.

CFC Player Development Officer (PDO) Kepler Bradley, along with Captain Jake Murphy, senior player Dylan Ross and Kimberley product Keifer Yu traveled to the Kimberley Region on Monday 11th July where they drive from Kununurra to Broome over 4 days, stopping at various communities along the way and running football clinics with the local kids.

The trip, which is now in its 3rd year, was implemented as an initiative to assist the club’s metro based players in understanding the cultural differences and vast expanses of the Kimberley Region as well as assisting the transition of talented Kimberley zoned players to the club.

The Kimberley Spirit is a CFC aligned talent development squad consisting of talented players from around the Kimberley Region that acts as a pathway squad for members to reach a WAFL level.

There are various factors that limit Kimberley based player’s ability to reach WAFL football including travel over large distances from remote communities and transition from Kimberley life to Perth life. The Kimberley Spirit aims to develop and educate players both on and off field to enhance talented player’s abilities to make such a transition.

The Colts will fly to Broome on Friday 15th July where they will meet Garnduwa staff who will assist them to travel to the Community of One Arm Point which is located roughly 2-3 hours north of Broome.

The players will conduct a football clinic aimed at the kids of the community before participating in a cultural awareness activity which will educate the players about the community itself and the people who call it home. They will also spend the night in swags at the local school.

On Saturday 16th July the players will travel back to Broome to compete in a competitive match against the Kimberley Spirit as part of a big local day of football matches.

After the match players from each squad will sit down to dinner and enjoy each other’s company at the official awards ceremony where the winning team will be awarded the KRSP Shield.

The trip is often one of the highlights of the season for both player’s and participating CFC staff and the outcomes have been great for both the CFC and the Kimberley players.

CFC players such as Sam Petrevski-Seton, Francis Watson, Lawrence Evans, C.J. Oakley and Keanu Shandley have all represented the Kimberley Spirit and have benefited greatly from this involvement.

As have the CFC players and staff involved in the trip who all gain a great deal of awareness about the challenges that our Kimberley based players face when relocating to Perth to pursue their footballing dreams.

This awareness has assisted the club as we endeavour to cater for a number these player’s needs and will continue to enhance the Kimberly player’s chances of success when leaving home to become a valued Claremont Football Club representative.

The Claremont Football Club is extremely grateful to have our Major Support Sponsor Kimberley Regional Service Providers (KRSP) fund the trip each year. KRSP provides a range of quality services including maintenance, repair and capital works that improve the quality of life for Indigenous people living in the Kimberley Region of Western Australia. Without their support, the trip wouldn’t be possible. 

FOLLOW THE TRIP!

Please like us on Facebook (Claremont Football Club), follow us on Twitter (@ClaremontTigers) or Instagram (claremonttigers) to keep up with the boys on their trip. 
 
CFC Colts vs Kimberley Spirit

6pm – Saturday, 16 July 2016
Broome Recreation and Aquatic Centre (BRAC) oval (Broome)
FREE Entry