AOC: Olympians, Lyndsie Fogarty and Stephanie Moorhouse travelled to Tamworth over the weekend to attend the inaugural National Primary Games and promote and inspire Olympism to around 1500 young athletes.
These two Olympians were on hand to cheer on and motivate athletes that were participating in the two-day tournament across 12 different sports.
Dual-Olympian, Lyndsie Fogarty brought home bronze in her debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in the K4 kayak women’s fours team. Fogarty, then 28-years-old, doubled up again at the London Olympic Games.
Moorhouse was a part of the 2004 Australian Olympic Team and competed in Gymnastics at the Athens Games. Moorhouse was also a Commonwealth Games gold medallist at the 2002 Manchester Games.
The event was coordinated by the Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS) and both girls were very excited to be in Tamworth for this festival of sport, and had the opportunity to check out all of the different sports on show.
The National Primary Games included teams playing and competing in Australian rules, basketball, football (soccer), gymnastics, hockey, mountain biking, netball, rugby union and league sevens, tennis, touch, and water polo.
The inaugural event, sponsored by Macquarie Bank, was a huge success, and saw athletes come from as far north as the Sunshine Coast, all throughout regional Queensland and NSW, right down to Bowral.
The response well and truly exceeding NIAS’ expectations, with director Jason Lincoln saying the support of the AOC was fantastic.
“It was after receiving their backing that the concept really came to fruition,” he said
“They could see the value of an event that is not elite or pathways focused, but rather focused on the spirit of sport.”
Both Moorhouse and Fogarty had the opportunity to speak to the participants at a post-games function on Saturday night, where they were able to share their Olympic journeys and sporting careers.
Throughout the weekend, Moorhouse and Fogarty also had the opportunity to speak to a number of local media outlets, promoting the Olympic movement and sharing their own sporting experiences.
Both athletes thought the weekend was a fantastic showcase of what is great about sport, with lots of examples of excellent sportsmanship and many young athletes representing themselves in the spirit of the Olympic Games.
The Australian Olympic Committee was very honoured to be invited to attend the inaugural National Primary Games, and hopes to stay involved with this excellent initiative in the future.
To learn more about the AOC Education Program visit education.olympics.com.au
