The announcement was made at North Hobart Oval on Wednesday afternoon following an NEC Tassie Hawks Regional Shield match between St Virgils and New Town high schools.
Thanks to the support from international electronics company NEC, AFL Tasmania’s state high school championship series will now be known as the NEC Tassie Hawks Regional Shield. The program will be established to enable each winning region to compete in a round robin competition at Aurora Stadium called the NEC Tassie Hawks Cup to be held in September.
The NEC Tassie Hawks Cup is open to students in grades 9 and 10 across all Tasmanian high schools and is expected to involve more than 60 teams across the State. Junior teams, those aged from grades 7-8 (future NEC Tassie Hawks Cup participants) will be introduced to the program through regional competitions. This is expected to see the NEC Tassie Hawks Cup program reach over 90 teams, 45 Tasmanian high schools and more than 2,000 students.
Hawthorn Football Club President Jeff Kennett said the NEC Tassie Hawks Cup was another good example of how the Hawks, in collaboration with AFL Tasmania, can continue to promote football in Tasmania.
“In this 150th year celebration of Australian Football it is important to recognise the role football plays within the Tasmanian community, particularly within schools,” said Mr Kennett.
“The Tassie Hawks Cup will bring young people together from communities across the state in an enjoyable and healthy environment and encourage skill development and most importantly fun,” added Mr Kennett.
The Hawthorn president also thanked the hard work put in by AFL Tasmania staff and the backing of NEC in helping make the program possible.
“The support of NEC in helping deliver this program, in association with AFL Tasmania and the Tasmanian Education Department has been greatly appreciated in realising this exciting community initiative.”
The winning team of the NEC Tassie Hawks Cup will fly to Melbourne for a development program at Hawthorn’s training and administrative headquarters at Waverley Park. However, every student who participates will take home an NEC Tassie Hawks Cup pack.
Deputy Managing Director NEC Australia, Martin Yoyasu, was delighted to be providing their support to this community initiative.
“NEC is proud to continue its long history of supporting grassroots football and community sport by sponsoring the NEC Tassie Hawks Cup,” said Mr Yoyasu.
“The NEC Tassie Hawks Cup is a great way for us to help raise the profile of grass roots football in Tasmania and nationally. By supporting this innovative competition, we can help our people, our customers and the next generation of Tasmanians make their dreams reality.”
“NEC is a strong believer in community involvement programs and we target four key areas: earth conservation, youth education, social welfare, and arts, culture and sports. Our initiatives underpin a social commitment that goes beyond the advanced technologies and environmentally friendly production that define our business,” Mr Yoyasu concluded.
The Tasmanian Minister for Education and Skills, David Bartlett, said the Tassie Hawks Regional Shield was a fantastic community initiative.
“This program is a wonderful example of how sporting and community groups can work with schools for mutual benefit,” Mr Bartlett said.
“It’s also a great way for students to stay fit and enjoy some healthy competition with other schools.
“I’d like to congratulate the Hawthorn Football Club for supporting Tasmanian students,” Mr Bartlett said.
AFL Tasmania Chairman, Dominic Baker was delighted to welcome NEC and the Tassie Hawks onboard to announce this new and exciting joint school football initiative that will benefit all existing regional high school competitions and will help promote participation within a professionally supported and AFL endorsed competition.
“AFL Tasmania will work hard to ensure that exposure to football through the NEC Tassie Hawks Cup also increases the likelihood of students participating at a local community club, which will continue to strengthen the game at grassroots level in all areas of Tasmania,” noted Baker.
Running in parallel with the three Tasmania school semesters, teams will compete for their respective NEC Regional Shield until August (May for South Region). Each regional winner will qualify for the Wednesday 3 September NEC Tassie Hawks Cup Finals, held at Aurora Stadium, with the overall winning team being flown to Melbourne as guests of the Hawks.
