Goodooga Central School hosts the Indigenous Games each year and the event held on Thursday 4 August was a spectacle despite the dark skies and damp ground.

The 2022 Games saw a great turn out with around 480 students, around 70 staff from 24 schools all over the region.

Organisation by the Goodooga school community took more than six months. A total of 32 schools were invited, but due to COVID some schools couldn’t attend.

Students participated in many activities throughout the day and students and staff are mixed into different teams to promote social interactions.

The day also attracts hundreds of community members from surrounding towns and Goodooga.

Spectators and supporters pack out the field of play.

In particular, the First Nations' elders enjoy seeing the kids participating in cultural activities.

The day got underway with an opening ceremony in the cultural garden. This is the first major event that has been held in the cultural garden since it was built and designed by the students at Goodooga Central School.

Part of the welcoming ceremony.

The students are shuffled out of their school and peer groups and put into 16 teams to play eight different Indigenous games throughout the day.

All the games that were played are derived from traditional games played by Indigenous people before settlement.

The games have been gathered from all around the nation and this year included:

KOKAN

Various hockey-type games were played in many areas of the Torres Strait and Papua and New Guinea. A hockey game called kokan, which was played on Mabuiag Island, was the name of the ball itself.

Sorting students out of their comfort zones and into mix and matched teams.

GORRI

Bowl-ball or disc games were played by Aboriginal boys and men in all parts of Australia. For example, in the disc-rolling game common throughout Western Australia a piece of rounded bark (disc) was rolled by one of the players for the other boys to aim at.

BUROINJIN

This is a ball game played by the Kabi Kabi people of southern Queensland. The game was played with a ball made of kangaroo skin which was called a buroinjin.

WEME

The Walibiri people of Central Australia played a stone bowling game.

PULYUGGE

A running, passing game and ball —catching game of team keeping away.

Keep-away types of ball games were played in many parts of Australia.

KEENTAN

A keep-away game of catch ball from the north-west central districts of Queensland played by both genders.

KEE'AN

In areas of North Queensland, a game of throwing skill was played. A large sized animal bone (with twine attached to it) was thrown over a net (used to catch emus) and into a pit or hole.

WULIJINI

This hand hitting or handball game was played with a samia (Cycas media) seed by the people of Bathurst Island in northern Australia. In the Meda district of north-western Australia players used flat pieces of wood.

Medal winners are selected for their sportsmanship, enthusiasm and participation.

Lunch was catered for by Goodooga Central School, this year catering for over 800 people.

Following the BBQ there is a presentation and medals are awarded. Each team votes for one member of the team that they feel is the most deserving teammate. They will consider the person who participated the most and showed great sportsmanship.

In all, a day of great spirit and socialising and learning.