The second Kimberley Gift will be run in Broome, Western Australia on Saturday with the winners earning an opportunity to travel interstate in the new year to compete in Australia’s richest footrace.
The main event will see First Nations athletes over the age of 14 go head-to-head in a 100-metre race titled the Mintel Kimberley Gift.
The winners of the men’s and women’s races will each receive a $500 cash prize plus flights and accommodation to head to Victoria in April next year for the Stawell Giftbut also the opportunity to compete in the Parkdale Gift in February.
Event organiser and co-founder Tim Mason told NITV News the motive behind establishing the Kimberley Gift was to give First Nations peoples an opportunity to compete in the events that otherwise wouldn't necessarily attract their interest.
“It is also an opportunity to showcase the talents of community but also potentially trying to expose them to different pathways,” he said.
“We are really trying to build this and take it across Australia. in January we are going to Darwin and Katherine… we are starting to get some momentum.”
The winners from the Northern Territory's Darwin and Katherine will also be flown to Stawell and Parkdale.
Mr Mason said he is expecting more competitors and their supporters to turn up to the track in 2019, after the inaugural event went well last year.
“I think from what I’ve been hearing from social media… The event seems to have a really good buzz about it,” he said.
The event is funded from donations, individual contributions from the community and from the back pockets of the organisers themselves to encourage healthy lifestyles and to keep the tradition of pro-running alive.
Other races open to athletes on Saturday include an under-14 race for boys and girls and an open invitation 150m race for anyone 15-years and over which also carries $500 in prize money.
-The event will be held at BRAC Oval in Broome, on Saturday from 5pm.
