Noosa Buoyed Up Indigenous Program - another outstanding success

by Paul Blundell on 25 Nov 2014 Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club recently invited Cherbourg State School to send 20 of their Primary School kids to attend the Five Day Buoyed Up camp at Noosa.

The Buoyed Up program, originally designed and developed by the Canberra Yacht Club for underprivileged youth, was adopted by the Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club (NYRC) in 2012 and further tweaked to focus on Indigenous kids between the ages of seven and 12 years from around South East Queensland.

Between 80 and 100 Primary School aged Indigenous school students will be invited to attend the Noosa Buoyed Up Program during 2014-15.

The Noosa Buoyed Up program Patron, Hon Glen Elmes MP, added 'the program is designed to provide this particular community of young people with a fun, confidence building sailing experience. It will build self-esteem, develop motor skills and teach these kids to value team work. Whilst at the camp they will learn about the environment and enjoy cultural sessions derived by their elders and community leaders'.

Glen Elmes, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Multicultural Affairs Minister and Member for Noosa, added that the program delivered by Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club’s Youthsail program are second to none and this new innovative program further cements the overall community spirit and commitment of the NYRC to provide for segments of the community which, in the normal course, would be overlooked.

The children from Cherbourg were selected for the Noosa Buoyed Up program as a reward for improved school attendance and behaviour and after arriving on Sunday they started their Noosa experience with a Noosa Ferry ride to Hastings Street and a walk through the National Park where they enjoyed their first group session called ‘AUS Identities’ whilst a pod of Dolphins swam in the background.

During their five days in Noosa the children complete the Yachting Australia Tackers Sailing Program, a Vegemite SurfGroms Surfing Program on Noosa Main Beach provided by Surfing Australia and Merrick’s Learn to Surf, cultural sessions delivered by Dale Chapman and Lyndon Davis, the AUS Identities program delivered by Michael White plus the group visits some great Sunshine Coast tourist spots in their spare time.

The finale was the awarding of the Yachting Australia Tackers Certificates presented by Patron Glen Elmes and some gifts from the Cherbourg program sponsor Westpac Foundation.

Funding for the Cherbourg group was arranged via an NYRC fund raising dinner with guest speaker Tom Slingsby – one of Australia’s greatest ever sailors and also from a grant received from the Westpac Foundation.

In a few weeks the next group, this time from Murgon State School, will be arriving for another five days of Buoyed Up fun.

The Murgon/Cherbourg region is the second largest Aboriginal community in Australia and it’s great to see that both these schools have now adopted the Buoyed Up Program as an annual reward for improved school attendance and behaviour.

The Noosa Buoyed Up Indigenous Program is an approved project by the Australia Sports Foundation (ASF) and as such receives Tax Deductibility for donations of $2.00 or more – donations can be made via either the NYRC or ASF websites.