The next generation of Western Bulldogs multicultural players took the honours at the inaugural English Language Schools (ELS) sports showdown between the Dogs’ Western ELS and North Melbourne’s Brunswick ELS on Friday 10 May 2013.
Held at the Whitten Oval Community Sports Hall, the multi-sports day was enjoyed by 60 newly arrived secondary school students from across Melbourne’s west and Brunswick in football, soccer and basketball.
The Western English Language School (WELS) boys dominated their Brunswick (BELS) opponents in all three sports; however the BELS girls outplayed their Western counterparts in soccer and football.
The football matches in both the boys and girls divisions were a highlight, despite a number of students having no exposure to the sport before the carnival.
The Bulldogs has been providing sports opportunities to newly arrived students at WELS since 2007 as part of its Settlement Grants Program funded by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship.
The WELS Bulldogs Sports Program reaches over 250 newly arrived primary and secondary school students every year and aims to use sport to enhance their English education, develop life skills and address settlement needs.
