Teacher Brings the Joy of Golf to Elcho Island
When you go to school on a remote island in the Northern Territory the last thing you would think about would be playing golf, but for the students at Gawa Christian School this could not be further from the truth. Thanks to one passionate teacher the students of Gawa Christian School are taking part in a regular golf program and are absolutely loving it.
Gäwa Christian School is one of the most remote Indigenous schools in Australia so when teacher Geoff David approached JNJG about introducing the students to golf, naturally we jumped at the opportunity. Geoff was a teacher based in the Illawarra and being a passionate golfer he loved the MyGolf Schools Program and so after accepting a teaching position on the remote Elcho Island in the Northern Territory he decided he wanted to bring the game of golf to his new students. Geoff approached JNJG Territory Manager Tanya Kirby with the idea and JNJG set in place a plan to send a MyGolf kit to the Island so that the students could experience golf for the first time.
After some initial postage issues, the golf kit finally managed to reach the remote community and Geoff got his students swinging a golf club for the very first time. In April JNJG received correspondence from Geoff and the students at Gawa about how much they were enjoying the program. Geoff wrote: 'our ‘Damala’ class students had their first lesson last week- it was a lot of fun. None of the students had ever held a club before!'
"The students playing golf are 9-16 years old. We have done 'Putt It', 'Chip It' and 'Rip It'. Still haven't got to the golf balls yet, still using tennis balls. Had our first go at playing a 'hole' on Monday (that is taking more than one shot to get to the 'green' (sand)). We have one teacher (myself) and an Indigenous assistant teacher (Dwayne) who are loving it as much as the kids. We are all having a great time and they are really get the hang of a completely new sport. Plenty of air swings, plenty of laughs and lots of fun."
Introducing golf to school students has been a focus for JNJG over the past few years and to be a part of this experience is so rewarding. We want to give as many children as possible the opportunity to experience the game of golf and have fun along the way. We look forward to watching the Gawa students progress in their golf and we would like to thank Geoff for sharing his passion for the sport with his students.
If you would like to know more about Gawa Christian School click here.
Also if you would like to know more about Jack Newton Junior Golf and how you can get your school involved please call us on 02 9567 7736 or visit the education section of our website.
