The idea has been in the pipeline for more than a year and a half, according to club president Anthony Chapman, in an effort to recognise the contributions Indigenous people have made to the club.
“Over the last 18 months, the club has been looking into the development of an Indigenous jumper and netball dress design to highlight and celebrate the involvement of the Indigenous participants in our club,” he said.
“It was felt that any new design was not to be used in a single game where we celebrated Indigenous involvement in the club, rather to be incorporated into the club colours in a manner that was respectful to those who have contributed to our club, but also feel organic in its use.”
Designed by Dede Atkinson, a proud Bangerang woman and former Echuca United player, the design denotes the similarities between eagles and the Echuca United players.
“The eagles fly high in the mountains (the hill and star symbols), they look for their prey and fly up over storms because they are built for such heights, but here in Echuca the Eagles are on the ground (the footprints),” she said.
“They are built for whatever challenges that come their way in whatever community they are in, and win, lose or draw, they are still winners.”
In an effort to create “dual-purpose items” which firstly allow participants to feel a deeper connection to the land and Indigenous community, Echuca United also made sure the design was functional, eliminating colour clashes with several clubs, meaning it can be worn multiple times throughout the year.
“The club and committee are pleased with the use of the design in this manner,” Chapman said.
“It will see it used four to eight times per year depending on the draw, which then allows the new designs to pay the due respect to the Indigenous culture that has been a large part of our history and will continue to be a large part of our future.”
Coinciding with the launch of the new design, the club hosted a cultural awareness session on Tuesday night, led by proud Yorta Yorta, Kokatha, Kaurna and Narungga man Josh Wanganeen.
“We had all the senior footballers and netballers, and some of the juniors (attend),” Chapman said.
“It was just around Josh Wanganeen presenting his Dungala Dreaming session, which was more highlighting the history of the Indigenous people in the area, and some of the background and some of the connection to not only our club, but to the local area.
“It was a really informative session, I know the players and I certainly got a lot out of it.
“We sort of presented to the group what the design was, and tried to explain it to the group, just so they had a little bit of meaning behind what we are trying to achieve, and they can understand the netball dress and football jumper that they are going to wear on the weekend.”
Additionally, the best player from both the senior football and A-grade netball clashes at the weekend will receive a medal named in honour of the Wanganeen family, who have contributed greatly to both Echuca United and Rumbalara.
“The main games on Saturday will play for the Wanganeen medal for the best-on-ground for the senior football and A-grade netball,” Chapman said.
“The Wanganeen family having such a rich history with the two clubs felt like a natural fit for such an honour for the best players on the day.”
Prior to the senior football and A-grade netball matches, there will be a short ceremony to acknowledge the new design, with supporters encouraged to attend.
The A-grade netball will get under way at 1.30pm on Saturday afternoon, while the first bounce in the senior football will be at 2pm.
