Tara Murray
Footscray Hockey Club hosted its fourth Indigenous round on the weekend.
The round is one of four inclusion rounds set out by Hockey Victoria that clubs can mark throughout the season.
With the Bulldogs having the most Indigenous players registered according to Hockey Victoria, it’s a special day for the club.
Prescient Nicole Virtuoso said the whole club gets involved in the day. She said the club’s event is one of the biggest of the round.
“Our first year we received a grant to be able to hold the day,” she said. “We’ve received some grants every year to fund the day.
“We engaged with an Aboriginal designer to develop a design an Indigenous shirts, hoodies and caps.
“During the development process there was a lot of consultation to try and tell the club’s story throughout the design.”
Virtuoso said the design included the Maribyrnong River, grass and boomerangs to look like hockey sticks.
Each year, the Bulldogs face Waverley in the Indigenous round.
They play for two trophies, one for the men’s matches and one for the women’s matches, with the winner with the most wins out for the premier and premier reserves for each.
This year Footscray won the women’s trophy and Waverley won the men’s trophy.
Virtuoso said it’s more than just about the club.
“We had Indigenous art and craft and we’ve had a van come out with a native animals,” she said.
“We’ve had Indigenous vendors and restaurants come to the club and offer their food.
“We have a smoking ceremony every year and a didgeridoo performance by Uncle Mark Brown. Uncle Mark Brown is a proud Gunditjmara man through his mother’s lineage and a Bunurong man through his father’s side.”
