21 October, 2019
21 October 2019
NSWALC Meets with Koori Knockout Winners as Planning Commences for 50th Anniversary Event
With the dust having just settled from this year’s NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout, planning has already commenced for next year’s 50th anniversary event.
New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council CEO James Christian recently met with the executive team of this year’s winners, the South Coast Black Cockatoos who will organise and deliver this major community event in 2020.
Sibling trio Ben, Melissa and Cleone Wellington have taken on the executive roles to lead on the planning and delivery of the event.
“As a major sponsor of the Knockout, NSWALC wanted to meet with the host team as early as possible to talk about how we can best support them to hopefully make next year’s event the best ever,” Mr Christian said.
“2020 is a milestone year for the Knockout as it turns 50 and it is sure to be celebrated in style. I am very enthused by the vision of the South Coast Black Cockatoos’ executive team and their commitment to paying tribute to the 50 year milestone of this great event.”
This year, NSWALC approved a grant of $80 thousand to support the event and secured $200,000 in Federal Government funding for the next three years to help fund the Knockout.
The NSWALC grant of $1000 per team provided a fee discount for the first 80 male or female teams to register for the event.
“We’ve supported the Knockout for decades and anticipate this continuing because it is the number one event on the calendar for pretty well every Aboriginal community across the state,” Mr Christian said.
The South Coast Black Cockatoos secured the hosting rights for the 2020 Knockout with a resounding 40-12 victory over Griffith Three Ways in this year’s final.
The executive committee will now undertake the process of finalising a venue to host the Knockout in 2020 on the South Coast, with an announcement to be made in due course.