Source : ABC NEWS
It’s a hot and humid evening in the West Australian mining town of Newman and, like many regional towns during summer, the local swimming pool is a hive of activity.
A steady stream of young people arrive and head to a cordoned-off section of the pool.
Two goals are being set up while two teams are selected.
They are about to start a game of Aqua Footy — a sport believed to be unique to the Pilbara town, about 1,170 kilometres north-west of Perth.
Organiser Brendon Daily says it just made sense to combine the popular sport of AFL with a way to keep cool, especially in a town where the temperatures regularly exceed 40 degrees.
Aqua Footy combines the principles of AFL, water polo, and basketball. (ABC Pilbara: Rosemary Murphy)
Hybrid game
Mr Daily used to live in Newman and continues to visit in his role as the youth engagement coordinator for the West Coast Eagles.
He says the rules of the game are pretty basic.
“It’s a bit of a hybrid,” he says.
“It’s a bit of a basketball, water polo, footy kind of game.”
As kicking the footy is not an option in the water, the game is centred around handballing.
“It’s great for the kids to work on their handball skills,” Mr Daily says.
“Although I do allow the throwing of the footy, especially for the smaller kids if they are struggling with their handballs.”
Kids will be able to play Aqua Footy throughout summer. (ABC Pilbara: Rosemary Murphy)
The Monday afternoon sessions attract a range of ages, including Duane Scomparin, 16, who volunteers as an umpire.
“It’s pretty fun actually, just seeing the kids have fun and blowing [a whistle for] a few calls,” he says.
“We usually just blow the whistle and get two people to ruck and that restarts it, everyone spreads out and the game just runs.”
Ned Bastick (left) and Duane Scomparin (middle) volunteer as umpires. (ABC Pilbara: Rosemary Murphy)
Ned Bastik, another volunteer umpire, says it is a good way to stay cool.
“We do 30 minutes and then we take a dinner break or lunch, and then after we’ll go for another 20 or 30 minutes,” he says.
“[It’s] really just until everyone just starts having enough and does their own thing.”
Second season
Sammi Ryder from the youth engagement group Newman Y says the event is more than just sport.
“We do transport and drop off at the end of the night, and I have a lot of stakeholders and sponsors that jump on and supply catering,” she says.
“There’s so many kids in town and there’s not enough free events and free stuff, they know they can come down, have a feed and enjoy some sport.”
Sammi Ryder says Aqua Footy provides a great free activity for the local young people. (ABC Pilbara: Charlie Mclean)
A pilot Aqua Footy program took place last year and has grown from there.
“The first year we didn’t have any goals, it was just an end-to-end keepy-off [sic] with two teams,” Mr Daily says.
“But now, thanks to a good partnership with the Y in Newman, they’ve sponsored an awesome set of water polo-type floating goals for us.”
Floating soccer goals replace the standard AFL goalposts in the game. (ABC Pilbara: Rosemary Murphy)
Community connection
Krstel Petrevski is an AFLW player from Halls Creek and a community officer with the West Coast Eagles, who regularly travels to remote areas of the state.
She says Aqua Footy is a great way for young people of all ages to connect.
“The kids absolutely love it, they look after each other, which is really nice to see,” she says.
“You don’t need to kick, so if you’re struggling with kicking you have that luxury to throw or handball it if you’re lucky.”
The weekly Aqua Footy sessions are held at the Newman Aquatic Centre. (ABC Pilbara: Rosemary Murphy)
Further opportunities
Organisers are considering a possible expansion of the program to Port Hedland and Geraldton.
“You don’t have to be a footballer to play and live in the footy world,” Ms Petrevski says.
“You can be an umpire, you can work in communities giving back, you can work in all different departments within a footy club.
“So to share that and to know that it’s in reach for these kids, it’s something we pride ourselves on and we encourage our next generation to do.”
