While sporting teams have culture and competition as priority during their respective Indigenous Round games this weekend in the NRL, AFL and Super Netball, there’s a collective Queensland push among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander athletes, to ensure optimal health outcomes for their communities from right across the country.
As the sun set at Kangaroo Point, overlooking the Brisbane River this evening, it proved a pivotal gathering for Dolphins, Broncos, Lions, Cowboys, Titans and Firebirds players, to welcome the challenge of closing the gap in health and life expectancy outcomes among their people, while reaffirming their Club’s support of Deadly Choices.
Deadly Choices encourages Indigenous brothers and sisters to make healthy choices for themselves, their families and their communities, with respect to eating healthy, maintaining regular exercise, while avoiding tobacco and alcohol consumption.
Pivotal to such an undertaking for community members young and old, is the annual 715 Health Check at their local Community-Controlled Health service, upon which every individual can then choose an incentivised club shirt emblazoned in their favourite sporting club’s design.
And while club allegiances were still evidenced in the shirts they wore today, Edrick Lee (Broncos), Tristan Sailor (Broncos), Charlie Cameron (Lions), Tallisha Harden (Cowboys), Brooke Saddler (Titans) and Donnell Wallam (Firebirds) came together as one to highlight the importance of making healthy, deadly choices to ensure the overall health and vitality of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families now, and into the future.