For the fourth consecutive year, the Purple Hands Foundation and the Fremantle Dockers returned to Broome for the Kimberley 9’s AFL beach carnival, with roughly 400 primary and secondary school kids from the Pilbara getting involved over the two days.

The carnival took place on Broome’s Gantheaume Point and is part of the wider “Kimberley Connected” program, which is proudly supported by Containers for Change.

The program has seen schools from across the Kimberley take part in workshops encouraging students to attend school and make positive choices for themselves and their peers.

The Kimberley 9s serves as a reward for those who have participated in Kimberley Connected workshops throughout 2024.

The primary students who took part in the carnival on Wednesday wore their specially designed 2024 Kimberley 9s shirts, which were created through input from 165 students across the Kimberley region.

Day one began with a Welcome to Country with all staff and students eagerly gathered on Broome beach before getting stuck into a day of building connections through football.

Students participated in a round-robin-style football carnival, breaking into teams, with Fremantle players Bailey Banfield and Michael Frederick assisting with umpiring and offering coaching tips.

Frederick, who completed his first Kimberley 9s carnival, expressed his excitement about experiencing the event alongside his teammate Banfield.

“It’s been an early start, but the day’s been ticked off and it’s been a good day so far having a run around with the kids,” Frederick said.

“Banners comes down every year, and for him to show his face and where he’s from, it’s inspiring for a lot of the young kids here who are playing footy — not just them, but kids across the Kimberley."

“I get joy out of seeing them have a bit of fun, and Banners inspiring all the young lads and girls to play some footy, so it’s been good.”

A tremendous amount of work by staff and volunteers goes into setting up each day on the beach, but it’s clear that the impact makes it all worthwhile.

“Everyone had an early rise to get the place set up, which was nice, and then today I’ve just been running around to any of the groups to have a kick and trying to spot a bit of talent,” Frederick said.

“There was one lad, he was mucking around and had a good left foot on him, so hopefully we’ll see him in Dockers colours when he’s a bit older.”

A small but notable highlight of the day was when Frederick called fellow teammate Michael Walters, giving him the opportunity to greet the students.

“When the school kids got here, I rang Sonny (Walters) because they were asking where he was and things like that. So, I gave him a call, put all the kids on the phone, and straight away you could see how much they smiled and how much someone like Sonny means to a lot of these kids,” Frederick said.

“Seeing that first-hand brings a massive smile, and I know Sonny will be grateful for that.”

Travelling around 2,000 km from Cockburn to sunny Broome, Fremantle Dockers’ premier partner DP World helped deliver all the equipment the Purple Hands Foundation team needed for the event, including marquees, footballs, signage, field marking ribbons, and much more.

This annual Kimberley 9s event would not have been possible without countless volunteers and partners who moved mountains and invested in the program.

EVENT PARTNERS AND SUPPORTERS

The event would not be possible without the help of these organisations moving mountains and coming together to make magic happen.

MAJOR PARTNERS

• WA Police: Using the power of sport to break down barriers and volunteers assisting with umpiring, event setup, student interaction and more.
• Containers for Change: Delivering 'caring for country' workshops for all students in the lead up to the carnival, interactive workshops at the carnival
• Shire of Broome: Carnival funding
• Kimberley Regional Service Providers: Supporting Purple Hands in servicing local communities through funding, equipment and volunteers

THANK-YOU

• KAMS & Broome Headspace: Carnival workshops promoting education and awareness of mental health strategies
• Alive & Kicking Goals: Education around mindfulness tips and techniques to the students
• All Abilities Football Football Association: Volunteers assisting with umpiring, running inclusive football games at the carnival
• DP World: Assisted with packing the truck and transporting all the equipment from Perth to Broome.
• Holdfast: Providing the student giveaway bags
• Garnduwa and Western Australian Football Commission: for providing carnival assistance and volunteers
• Programmed: Providing carnival catering
• Chef Elby: Assisting with local community connections
• Broome PCYC: Supporting with accommodation and and providing catering for all travelling students
• Broome Turf Club: Providing storage and other equipment
• Elastoplast: Providing first-aid tents and supplies, along with student giveaways
• Broome Surf Life Saving Club: First Aid volunteer support
• Woodside: Keeping everyone sun safe providing sunscreen
• Safestyle sunglasses: Providing 500 pairs of sunglasses to the event
• Cable Beach Club Resort: Providing staff accommodation
• SEDA Group: Student volunteer cohort
• Woolworths: Providing fresh fruit and ice for students