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A traditional Indigenous game from Far North Queensland brought more than 200 people together last month, connecting sport with culture, community and opportunities for young people.
Supported by Aspire Community FIELD2FUTURE, a Cairns-based organization using sport to create opportunities for young people and strengthen local communities, the 2026 Cairns NAIDOC EDOR Carnival welcomed 22 teams, more than double the number that took part in 2025. Players, coaches, officials, volunteers, families and supporters joined the event alongside Harbrow Mentoring Australia, Our Future Mentors Indigenous Corporation and other local partners.
NAIDOC Week is an annual celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. At the Cairns carnival, that celebration centered on EDOR, a Traditional Indigenous Game originating in Far North Queensland that creates opportunities to share cultural knowledge, storytelling and traditional practices through play.
The carnival was supported through Futures in Motion, a collaboration between New Balance Foundation and Beyond Sport focused on positive youth development through sport.
For Aspire, EDOR offers a particularly accessible way to put those goals into practice. Julie McNeil, Aspire Community CEO, says the game is widely played by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly across Northern Queensland and Northern Australia, and can be used across different sports as a coaching tool. Its affordability, inclusivity and accessibility make it, in her words, “a real example of breaking barriers to support increased access to regular physical activity.”
Young people weren’t simply there to play. The carnival connected them with Elders, cultural leaders, mentors and peers while creating opportunities to develop confidence, leadership and stronger social ties. One participant captured what made the experience different:
This was the first time I had played in a carnival where I felt really connected to both my culture and my team. It wasn’t just about sport, it was about community.
That connection between development and culture is central to Aspire’s approach. The carnival was locally led, with activities shaped around local priorities and cultural protocols and Traditional Indigenous Games guided by Elders and Indigenous-led organizations. Rather than separating physical activity from identity and belonging, the model brings them together.
Local solutions, different communities
That same principle is shaping Aspire’s work beyond Cairns, but Julie is clear that it doesn’t mean replicating one program everywhere.
In September, Aspire will support programs in two remote parts of northern Australia that illustrate how different local approaches can be.
Its Gulf Program has been running for more than 20 years, centered around schools and gradually supported by local councils, businesses and volunteers. Basketball and field hockey are now embedded in a program spanning communities across an area of approximately 200,000 square kilometers. Some of the young people who originally participated are now returning with children of their own.
Through Futures in Motion, Aspire is supporting the capacity-building side of that work.
Pormpuraaw, a small and highly isolated community on western Cape York, requires a very different approach. Traditional organized sports can be difficult to sustain there, but EDOR has strong ties to the surrounding region. Aspire will support a Youth Summit that combines wellbeing, youth development and physical activity, including opportunities to try new sports and participate in a competition format.
For Julie, the difference between the two programs is the point: local communities determine what will work locally, rather than being asked to fit a single model.
A visitor’s perspective
Former Beyond Sport Program Assistant Nia Clement spent the summer on placement with Aspire after first learning about the organization through Futures in Motion. During the EDOR Carnival, she supported event logistics and helped young people from Aspire’s programs take part in the day.
Coming from New York City and experiencing EDOR for the first time, Nia said what stood out was seeing people “come together through culture and sport” in a welcoming environment. The experience also reinforced the importance of listening when entering a new cultural context.
“Listening is central to building relationships, and it was especially important for me while working in a new cultural context. Building trust and relationships goes hand in hand with listening. I don’t take for granted that the community in Cairns trusted me, and from my experience, listening is the first step in building that trust. It shows you are there to learn from the community and genuinely want to contribute something positive.”
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