Aboriginal Basketball Academy partnership

Wirltu Yarlu Aboriginal Education at the University of Adelaide and the Aboriginal Basketball Academy (ABA) have announced an exciting new partnership that aims to boost the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students engaging with education through to a university level.

The ABA along with the support of the South Australian Aboriginal Sports Training Academy (SAASTA) has already seen great success with its program that builds on students’ passion for basketball to lift their school attendance and engagement and ultimately see them graduate with their SACE certificate.

The partnership with The University of Adelaide is the next logical step, building student awareness of higher education and introducing them to targeted engagement pathways and nurturing support through Wirltu Yarlu. Both organisations hope that the joint partnership will raise the bar of expectation students place on themselves and their peers in areas such as educational achievement and participation.

Dean of Indigenous Research and Education Strategy, Professor Shane Hearn said, “We are very excited to work with the ABA and build on the excellent work they’re already doing in the community.

“Sport and education share a lot of similarities and can teach you a lot about persistence and hard work. We hope that this partnership will show our young people the immense extent of their potential and help them to thrive in all aspects of their life, from the basketball court to lecture hall.”

This partnership is born from a common goal of assisting Indigenous students to become valuable and valued contributors to their communities. 24 student athletes will participate in the joint program for 2018/19 and will be supported to transition into higher education pathways should they so desire.

Scott Whitmore board member of the Aboriginal Basketball Academy said, “The ABA was set up specifically to help young Aboriginal students complete year 12 and then explore employment an further education opportunities, this partnership generates a fantastic pathway to university for our students, we are excited by the possibilities and can all ready see our students thinking about university as the next challenge”.