Nearly 100 women marched in solidarity on the grounds of the Congupna Recreation Reserve on Saturday, May 7, as part of the annual Unity Cup with Rumbalara Football Netball Club, celebrating women in sport.
It was the first time Congupna Football Netball Club had hosted the event in more than a decade.
Netball operations manager Debbie Mccoll said the event was about empowering women and involved sporting clubs and families uniting.
“It’s competitive on and off the court, but we come into this environment where we all come together,” she said.
“I think it’s really powerful to show that you can be competitors, but you can be part of the community together.”
Ms Mccoll said the Unity Cup Ladies Day showed the inclusion between men and women and their contribution outside of sport too.
“It’s great that the players show their respect and acknowledge the contribution that women make to not only sporting clubs, but to the community in general,” she said.
“For them (men) to be able to participate in some of these things, it’s often the ladies in the family that are helping them get there.”
Rumbalara board member and Yorta Yorta woman Karyn Ferguson attended the event and said the Unity Cup was a “good vehicle” for First Nations people and non-Indigenous people to enjoy sport.
“Sport’s a great connector, so I think the way we can celebrate different cultures is by celebrating women and by celebrating sport,” she said.
“It’s important that these two clubs do it together because it can create relationships and friendships because we share the same town.”
Ms Ferguson said it was especially important considering the barriers First Nations people could still face in sport.
“While we’re an Aboriginal-led club, we’re not exclusively Aboriginal, anyone can come and play with us,” she said.
“It’s difficult because there’s barriers to our participation, racism still exists. We do a lot of work to address those issues.”
Ms Ferguson said events like the Unity Cup could help bring the town together and tackle racism.
“We still experience racism, and I think the more we can do these types of things where we can connect at a community level, it’s important in building those foundations,” she said.
“We face a lot of things, and I don’t think it’s necessarily our job to fix the problems alone.
“We empower Congupna or whoever the other club is to do the same.”