Cooktown’s young female athletes got the chance of a lifetime when they shared the court with Australian basketball star Cayla George during the Cooktown Discovery Festival weekend. Photo: Supplied.
Whether on the court, in the kitchen or in front of a mirror, young Cooktown girls are incorporating lessons learned from one of Australia’s most decorated female basketball players.
WNBA and WNBL champion, and three-time Olympian and bronze medallist Cayla George paid a visit to Cooktown on 21-22 June to lead a basketball clinic and female mentorship session over the Cooktown Discovery Festival weekend.
Event participant Malena Gougeon, who plays basketball three times a week, said meeting George and hearing her story was inspiring.
“I felt pretty privileged,” she said.
“I think it was a great opportunity, and to see how passionate she was about basketball was really cool, because I never really thought it was something that somebody could do, especially as a girl growing up.”
George, who is based in Cairns and visited Cooktown for the first time, said she absolutely loved the community and the people she had met.
“I’d like to come up here again at some point to continue to mentor and help these young girls to achieve their goals,” she said.
“It’s about coming up here, and just letting them know this is what’s possible, I’m here to help you, support you, I’m accessible to you, and this is what I’ve done in my career.”
After the basketball clinic, George took the girls through a MasterChef-style cooking challenge as part of the female mentorship session, encouraging them to fuel their bodies with healthy recipe ideas.
As a woman in sport who understood community life and challenges, she said supporting remote kids to dream big and achieve those dreams was important to her.
“As much as they’re pretty isolated from major cities, it doesn’t mean they can’t do great things,” George said.
“I think, unfortunately, that sometimes it can be all about the boys, particularly in sports.
“I want to encourage these girls to continue to play the sport of their choice, whether it be basketball or football, or something else, and to understand what’s possible outside of Cooktown.”
Cayla George and Malena Gougeon in the kitchen as the girls learn healthy recipes to fuel their bodies. Photo: Chisa Hasegawa.
