Back for its second year, Marathon Health has partnered with the Bathurst Panthers Junior Rugby League to raise awareness about Aboriginal health.
On Saturday 2nd July the Bathurst Panthers Junior Rugby League will be holding the Closing the Gap round at Carrington Park Oval.
Craig Glawson, President of Bathurst Panthers Junior Rugby League, says the Closing the Gap round will be bigger than last year. “We have seen the rugby kids, parents and community show a lot of enthusiasm towards the Closing the Gap round and we’ll be holding some special guests and ceremonies this year.”
“We’ll have the Wagganah Aboriginal Dance Group to perform a traditional dance and the Bathurst Local Aboriginal Land Council hosting an Aboriginal weapon and tools workshop. We also have some Country NRL football players coming to help out.”
On the day a winner will be announced for the Make your Mark 2016 Indigenous Jersey Design Competition. The competition was aimed at kids aged 5 – 16, from Primary & High Schools across the Bathurst area to help the club decide on a new Indigenous jersey for the 2017 season, and promote the Close the Gap Round.
“The lucky winner will not only have their design displayed on-field in 2017, they’ll also have made their mark in Panther’s and Country Rugby League history,” highlighted Glawson.
There will be a host of other activities for the kids to enjoy such as face painting, Story Time and Close the Gap ‘Sports Trading Cards’.
“We’re also very excited about a Footy Boot painting workshop run by local artist, Taylor Curry, to encourage kids to have a go at traditional painting,” comments Glawson.
Improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people is a critical component of Closing the Gap and Marathon Health’s Aboriginal Health programs aim to improve life expectancy for Aboriginal people by increasing access to mainstream primary health care services.
“We want to make sure that our Aboriginal community is healthy, active and with us for a long time. We’ve received great feedback from the footy socks we donated last year and have donated a new supply this year. We have also contributed to the new Panthers jersey design,” comments Bryan Hoolahan, Marathon Health’s Executive Manager of Clinical Services.
The 715 Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) Health Check item is helping to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people receive primary health care matched to their needs, by encouraging early detection, diagnosis and intervention for common and treatable conditions that cause morbidity and early mortality.
For more information about Marathon Health and its services, go to: www.marathonhealth.com.au.