Port Adelaide star Ash Saint engages with students in the APY Lands, as part of the industry-leading Santos Aboriginal Power Cup. Image: Michael Sullivan.

THE Power Community Limited (PCL) team have returned to the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands to deliver the industry leading Santos Aboriginal Power Cup program to First Nations students, thanks to a landmark new partnership with Enerven.

The partnership between PCL and Enerven was first established to provide the critical funding required to enable 35 program participants located in APY Lands to travel to Adelaide for the Santos Aboriginal Power Cup carnival – a first for the program in its 16-year history.

And now, the PCL team have followed up with a trip to the APY Lands to reconnect with students across a week, providing support in keeping First Nations students engaged in their education.  

Since its inception 16 years ago, the Santos Aboriginal Power Cup has gone on to be one of the most powerful and important programs facilitated by the club’s not-for-profit arm, with outcomes aligned to National Closing the Gap targets.

The Santos Aboriginal Power Cup started in 2008 as a school engagement tool for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Image: Michael Sullivan.

PCL’s Head of Programs, Braedon Talbot has credited Enerven’s support has an important factor in delivering the programs at what is a critical time for students in the APY Lands.

“Enerven’s support of our programs has been incredibly important in enabling us to have the funding required to not only deliver the programs to these students both in Adelaide and the APY Lands, but also to create unforgettable life-long memories for these young people,” Mr. Talbot said.

“The programs use football as the ultimate driver to re-engage First Nations students with their education, but also provide tangible education and career pathways.

The PCL team have reconnected with students across a week, providing support in keeping First Nations students engaged in their education. Image: Michael Sullivan.

“A major focus for us is ensuring that education is at the core of what we do, both on the APY Lands and in metro and regional SA.

“We’ve been in the classrooms of three schools so far delivering programs that drive messages on leadership, healthy lifestyles, and respectful relationships. It’s been very rewarding to reconnect with these students, and to see so many of them in the classroom engaging with their learning is wonderful.  

“We don’t want to bring these students to the Santos Aboriginal Power Cup carnival in Adelaide or return to the lands just to kick a football around. There is and will always be a strong focus on education and providing the best opportunities and pathways we can.

“When we bought students from schools in the APY Lands down to Adelaide for the carnival in May as a reward for their behaviour and schoolwork, they had the opportunity to go to our Sir Doug Nicholls round AFL game at Adelaide Oval and a couple of students ran out with the team.

Santos Aboriginal Power Cup program participants run out in Sir Doug Nicholls Round, 2023. Image: Matt Sampson.

“To see the excitement on the faces of all students in Adelaide is something I’ll never forget, and creating once in a lifetime opportunities for the students is so important when we speak to them about tangible career pathways. As the saying goes, you can’t be what you can’t see.

The Santos Aboriginal Power Cup started in 2008 as a school engagement tool for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, and in recent years has been directly linked with helping achieve the Closing the Gap target.