Torres Strait Islanders aspire to elite team
TODAY more than 60 students attending schools on Thursday, Badu, Mabuiag and Horn Islands will catch various modes of transport – be it small plane, ferry or bus – to converge at Tagai State College Horn Island campus with hockey sticks in hand for the annual Migi Kokan Shield.
Migi Kokan, meaning “little hockey” in Torres Strait Creole, brings together players 12 years and under as an initiative of Cairns Hockey’s Aspire to be Deadly hockey program, Tagai State College and local Torres Strait Islands community support.
In the past few weeks leading up to the tournament, Aspire’s Cairns-based regional program co-ordinator, Wes Ferns, has been travelling throughout the Torres Strait, visiting schools, hosting hockey clinics and upskilling coaches.
The tournament is particularly special because for the first time state selector Vicki Sparks will also attend to select talented players to participate in the state titles as members of the President’s team.
Also visiting will be representatives from Tropicana Lodge in Cairns to recruit potential students to attend their facility in Cairns when it becomes a dedicated girls only residential facility from January next year.
Cairns Hockey Association and the BDO North Queensland’s Aspire to be Deadly program is a sport-based partnership that has a strong history focusing on delivering training and educational support, access to ambassadors and role models, talent identification programs and workshops across the remote regions of Far North Queensland and the Torres Strait Islands.
Cairns West State School has become a local Aspire school and a team of under-11s compete weekly in the Cairns Hockey junior competition.
Twelve indigenous girls and their families are involved in the Cairns Hockey Aspire to be Deadly squad and already Carleah Flinders has captained Cairns Hockey’s Singapore development squad and Sarah Cochran was co-captain of the Queensland under-15 girls.