BMA staff were in force supporting from the sidelines and on the field over the three-day Mackay Indigenous Rugby League Carnival.
Rohan Breayley, Superintendent Production, and Neil Seden, Mine Services Supervisor, at Peak Downs Mine attended as key representatives of the Mackay Stallions Indigenous Corporation, who organised the annual community event and recognised the extensive support from BMA.
“The support of BMA helped maintain a safe community event through quality referee funding. Many volunteers who are BMA employees gave tirelessly to this event,” Rohan said.
The BMA Benefiting My Community Program provided $10,000 in monetary support for this year’s event, a contribution that was vital to ensuring the event was fun, safe and accessible for all.
The event attracted an average of 6000 attendees over the three days with 28 teams participating in this year’s carnival and players travelled from all over Queensland and the remote islands off North Queensland.
More than just a sporting carnival, Rohan said the event plays host for variety of organisations to reach First Nations people and their families.
“We use sport as a vehicle to drive initiatives for organisations to provide pathways for Indigenous people to participate, engage and make better choices to improve their lifestyles.”
This year’s event saw stall attendance from several organisations and initiatives including the BHP Future Fit Academy.
BHP Future Fit Academy representative Shaun Brady said that the event was a great opportunity to showcase the program to hopeful participants.
“It was a great opportunity to get the word out there about what the Future Fit Academy does and provide support to help people get involved.”
BMA’s Benefiting My Community Program also supported the Mackay Triathlon Multisport Festival, an event that doubled in popularity this year with over 170 athletes entering in various events across the weekend.
BMA’s contribution was seen as vital to the success of the event according to Event and Race Director, Stephanie Allen.
“The Benefiting My Community Program funding helped us with the overall costs to run our event. The funds were used to contribute to the costs of traffic management services required to run a safe cycle leg for the athletes.
“The brand recognition the BMA logos gave us on our posters, flyers, socials and media releases bolstered the events standing within the community and we certainly appreciate the opportunity to broaden the reach of our festival.”
The festival’s improved reach was seen in the number of athletes who travelled from across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria to attend.
BMA Hay Point Terminal Operations Manager, Linda Murry, presented cash and prizes to the winners and congratulated them on their efforts.
“Well done and a huge congratulations to all competitors and their support teams – it’s fantastic to see so many people supporting this significant annual event.”
