Women at forefront of GWABA carnivals with introduction of netball competition and football exhibition game

Women will be at the forefront of this year’s annual GWABA carnival, which will feature a netball tournament and an exhibition women’s football game for the first time. Thirteen teams will participate in the netball carnival, which will take place in its entirety at Eaton Recreation Centre on Friday. The women’s football game — which will be contested between sides representing the South West and Perth — will be held at Kelly Park at 5.20pm on Saturday, ahead of the grand final of the men’s tournament at 6.15pm. Organiser Les Wallam said making the tournament more inclusive had been a key priority. “We’ve been talking about it for a number of years, involvement for women, and we’ve managed to do that this year,” he said. As well as the women’s initiatives, the men’s football carnival will enter its 24th edition on Saturday, with games to be staged across Kelly Park and Payne Park. Wallam said he was expecting the tournament, which always attracts AFL and WAFL stars, to be one of the most competitive ever. “Everybody looks forward to this, it’s the main event for Aboriginal people in Western Australia,” he said. “When it culminates in the finals, when all the teams come together to play the last few games, it’s a very good atmosphere. “The management teams, they recruit from far and wide ... it’s very competitive.” Syd Jackson, a legendary Indigenous footballer who the men’s premiership cup is named after, said the carnival was always one of the highlights of his year. “I still can’t believe it’s named after me. It’s a great honour,” he said. “When you think of all the great players that went before me and after me in the South West ... it’s something I can’t explain, how excited I am about that. “I’m sure there’s going to be a lot more (growth) coming along soon.” The tournament had originally been slated for 16 teams but was reduced to 12 due to the unavailability of Hands Oval, which Wallam conceded was “unfortunate”.