Port Adelaide has launched a new guernsey that it will wear once only in Saturday’s clash with Richmond.

As part of a unique competition which began last year, the guernsey – seen in the accompanying photo on Steven Salopek, Danyle Pearce, and Jacob Surjan – has been designed by an 11-year-old student and was chosen from more than 2,400 entries.

The guernsey has an all teal top with a black bottom and features a large fist holding a lightning bolt. The back is all teal with white numbers.

The winner of the competition was Troy Andrews from Waikerie Primary School and not only will he see his team wear his guernsey on Saturday but he will also run onto the ground with the team. His whole class will also be involved in the pre-game entertainment including forming a guard of honour for the players. And his family will be guests of the club on the day.

The competition, asking primary school children to design a Power guernsey, was run in conjunction with Come Out Arts Festival, a long-running festival that involves more than 100,000 young people throughout South Australia.

It is believed to be a sporting first.

The official launch of the guernsey was at the Festival Theatre on Thursday and featured Troy the designer, Greg Bentley, Josh Mahoney and Come Out dance act Reckless Valour who involved the other three in a dance routine on stage!

The theme of Saturday’s game, sponsored by Come Out, is Kids Day Out: Come Out to the Footy. The Come Out Power guernsey will form the central part of the day, but there will also be a range of other fun activities for kids starting from 12.40pm when the Planet Teal Zone opens.

Power captain Warren Tredrea applauded the club for such an innovative idea and gave the thumbs up to young Troy.

“The great thing about the Port Adelaide Football Club is we’re always looking to do things differently and to get a primary school student to design our guernsey is a great idea,” Tredrea said.

“I think it looks great. It still very much looks like a Port Adelaide guernsey but it’s different. Hopefully we get a big crowd along to share in a pretty unique day.”

Port Adelaide chief executive John James heralded the partnership with Come Out as a great success.

“The Come Out partnership has allowed us to engage young people from a wide range of cultural and socio economic backgrounds right across the state,” said James.

“It has also allowed us to expose and engage those children in a unique way to AFL football and in particular the Port Adelaide Football Club.”

Come Our Artistic Director Sally Chance praised the guernsey project.

“The entire project from start to finish has been wonderful highlighting the creativity and design skills of young people all over South Australia. They are all winners,” said Chance.

The Come Out Festival officially kicked off on Monday and runs through to Saturday, May 19. Over 100,000 young people will participate in Come Out 2007. They will attend performances in theatres, in schools; attend exhibitions, workshops, film screenings and participate in state wide arts education projects.

The Come Out partnership has helped the Port Adelaide Football Club expose its youth brand – Planet Teal – to 100,000 youngsters. The Planet Teal logo features above the Scott’s sponsor logo on the guernsey.

The 10-person judging panel included officials from the Port Adelaide Football Club, Come Out and Reebok with final approval from the AFL. The design was selected according to established criteria as follows: the inclusion of club colours; not dark in base; simple and clear so it is easily seen on television and by supporters at the ground; and unique, in that it has not been worn as a guernsey by the club previously.

The unique Come Out Power guernsey will not be made for retail sale. However, 18 of the 22 match-worn guernseys will be available for purchase via the club’s website PortAdelaideFC.com.au starting on Friday and running through for seven to 10 days.

  • See more photos of the Power Come Out guernsey, including pics of Troy and his winning design (and pics from the artistic launch at the Festival Theatre) at the Your Photos section of PlanetTeal.com.au
  • Have Your Say on the Power Come Out guernsey
  • Read more about our 11-year-old guernsey designer Troy Andrews