Taiwanese Indigenous students ‘smash’ it out of class
Four Taiwanese Indigenous sports science students are kicking goals with a cultural and study program at Charles Darwin University this week.
Exercise and Sport Science Lecturer Daniel Gahreman said the students were visiting Darwin from the National Taiwanese University of Sports until 20 August.
“We have had an action-packed schedule with locker room, game prep and training with the male NT Thunder players,” Dr Gahreman said. “They had a great time meeting the players and kicking a football around.
“With baseball as their national sport, the students enjoyed Aussie Rules and learning about the strategies and physiological requirements of the game.”
Dr Gahreman said the College of Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society also organised a range of Australian Indigenous activities including carving, spear throwing, and painting.
“The Taiwanese Indigenous students have had a crash course into the Australian way of life,” he said.
“In return, they shared with us the rich beauty of their own traditional music, dance and culture.
“This has been an opportunity of a lifetime for these provincial students with this being their first visit to Australia.”
The students also went to an Indigenous soccer training session, the NT Institute of Sports and Marrara Sporting Complex as well as a number of sports science classes at the University. They will attend a female NT Thunders game and Discover CDU this Sunday, 19 August.
The National Taiwan University of Sport and the Government of Taiwanese funded the visit.