The partnership between Edith Cowan University (ECU) and the Western Australian-based AFL team, the West Coast Eagles (WCE), is a collaborative effort that aims to share knowledge, expertise, resources and facilities. It also enables ECU students to enjoy hands-on experience, internships and placements within the sporting industry and broader community.
Since Corey Wilson graduated from ECU’s School of Medical and Health Sciences, he’s been tutoring sports science part-time and recently decided to explore the opportunity to share some volunteering time at the Martu Youth Festival.
“I wanted to expand my horizons in the world of sports science, and to give back to communities that just adore footy,” Wilson says.
The Martu Youth Festival is an annual celebration of sport, music and culture and features performances by local musicians and community members and brings together remote Western Desert Communities in the state’s north. It has also become a major Western Desert event and provides pathway opportunities for young Martu athletes through competitive basketball, football and softball.
The 2024 festival was held in Parnngurr, a small remote community six-hours inland from Newman. Wilson travelled more than 1500km to support the Eagles community engagement team in running football clinics – the fifth consecutive year WCE have been involved.
“Getting to be in a remote community such as Parnngurr was challenging at times, as you don’t have all the equipment and resources as you would in Perth. Helping run footy clinics and activities with the kids made me appreciate the resources we have at ECU, and I feel that the experience as a whole has made me a better sports scientist,” he says.
Practical and theoretical learning
ECU offers a diverse selection of sport-related degrees, with world-class facilities that are developed in consultation with industry to ensure students gain the relevant skills and knowledge to hit the ground running, through a balance of theory and practical learning.
Eagles Port Hedland Youth Engagement Coordinator Claudia Bailey says the festival has a growing year-on-year impact providing AFL pathway opportunities to youth living in remote communities.
She says this year was extra special because it included a competitive all-Wanti (female) game for ages 10-40-years-old.
“It’s important for Martu youth to see females playing AFL not only on television but in their own communities as well, so it was pretty awesome that we were able to make this happen again as it’s been a few years since an all-female match has been played,” says Bailey.
“Our partnership with ECU is a great example of how organisations like the Eagles can gain great benefits in support for our community programs from those trained in the field and in exchange provide real-world learning opportunities for students that gets them out of the classroom and into the community.”
Sport connects communities
Six communities from across the Martu region of WA celebrated Martu culture. Over the course of the five-day carnival – held during the recent school holiday period – matches ran during the day before the communities came together to celebrate and dance in the evenings, with Desert Wave Records organising a rotation of Martu bands to perform on-stage.
Wilson says that, because the Martu people come from remote communities across such an expansive region, it’s not often family members or friends get to see each other.
“No matter the outcome of the matches, everyone cherished the time together, whether it was through the football or the live music in the evenings, everyone came together and spent quality time with each other,” he says.
“The biggest takeaway from the experience was how passionate the communities of the Western Desert are about footy, and how powerful the sense of community and togetherness was throughout the whole festival, it was something truly special to be part of.
“The highlight of the festival was getting to represent both ECU and West Coast and getting to see the utter joy on the faces of the players and kids when we were there. Everyone being so welcoming definitely made the experience so much more enjoyable.”
“If any students get an opportunity to travel to a remote community and help out with a festival like the Martu Youth Festival, I could not recommend it more. It’s an experience that every Sports Science student should try out at least once during their degree.”
