Golf Vic Vol 60 No 2 2019

Sabrin Nyawela comes from Sudan, where years of brutal civil war have devastated a country now split into two. She’s not a golf person in the slightest. Not yet, anyway, but her appointment as Golf Australia’s participation officer for inclusion is significant. Because for the first time ever, golf is going after potential players from the immigrant communities, starting in Melbourne but farther down the track, nationally. It’s come about because research in 2018 showed that there was an appetite for the game so long as the communities felt that they were being welcomed at a club. Which is where Nyawela, 20, fits into the picture. What Golf Australia wanted was someone with experience of dealing with the issues of immigrant communities, not necessarily a golfer. As a footballer, Nyawela has grown up confronting the language barrier and the curse of racism, made her way in her adopted country and thrived within sport. She has worked within AFL Victoria’s All Nations programs, coaching and playing, and still plays state league with North Melbourne. Australian football has been quick to latch on to the large Sudanese community in Melbourne, with Majak Daw (North Melbourne, as it happens a neighbour of Nyawela’s in Wyndham Vale in Melbourne’s west) and Aliir Aliir (Sydney) being the standouts. Golf is just catching up. Australia’s immigrant communities have been largely untapped as a potential growth area for the game of golf. But Golf Australia’s new participation officer for inclusion can help change that. MARTIN BLAKE reports. Sabrin Nyawela puts the non-golfer’s lens over the sport. feature by Martin Blake GOLF CHASES ITS UNTAPPED MARKET 30 Golf Victoria