Flinders University hosted 340 students from rural and metro schools last week, who travelled from around South Australia and the Northern Territory to take part in the Santos Aboriginal Power Cup Leadership Conference, which is part of the Santos Aboriginal Power Cup.

The Santos Aboriginal Power Cup is an education-based strategy that uses Australian Rules Football to engage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander secondary school students in their education and workforce pathways.

The program – an initiative of the Port Adelaide Football Club – is delivered in partnership with the South Australian Aboriginal Secondary Training Academy (SAASTA), with direct alignment to the South Australian School Curriculum. In 2021, Flinders University signed on as a major supporting partner of the program.

Last week, Flinders University hosted workshops and skills sessions for students involved in the program, with Flinders experts taking workshops to explain everything from nutrition to storytelling, nursing to crime and criminology. Students were also able to brush up on their football skills during an AFL skills workshop held on the University Oval.

While a competitive football carnival serves as the program’s centrepiece, it also focuses on engaging young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in positive lifestyle choices, personal identity, exercise, career, lifestyle and Aboriginal culture.

Delivered during Reconciliation Week, the carnival aligns with the AFL’s Sir Doug Nicholls Round, which sees the AFL community celebrate and recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people and their contribution to Australian Football. The Santos Aboriginal Power Cup concluded with a grand final, which was held as the curtain-raiser for the AFL clash between Port Adelaide and Essendon.