Marble Bar school red hot at football

MARBLE Bar is known for 19th century gold discoveries and weather so hot you could fry an egg in the middle of the main street.

Lately it’s been making a name for itself through its local school and football programs.

Former Fremantle player Antoni Grover joined The Sunday Times-sponsored Kicks 4 Kidz program for a visit to the Marble Bar School on its Football Carnival Community Day. School attendance and nutrition are a constant concern in the Pilbara, so schools are always looking for ways to grab children’s attention.

“The idea of having a regular Footy Carnival Community Day was to get the whole town involved and show the children that school is a fun place to be, so we thought we would invite parents and the local police along to join in the fun,” principal of the Marble Bar School Mike Cuneo said.

The school kids beat “the rest” by “a small margin”. “They were too quick in the end and the older ones could not keep up,” umpire Cuneo said. “There were a couple of big tackles on the local police but it was all in good fun. The local police do a lot of good work with the kids so it only helps build on the bond that they have already started.”

Grover and Rod Willet, founder of the Kicks 4 Kidz program, spoke to the students about attending school regu-larly, health, nutrition, fitness and type 2 diabetes.

Grover was not only surprised by their football ability, but also their knowledge on nutrition and health.

“Hopefully the next generation will having a better understanding on the type of foods they need to eat and the regular exercise they have to do in their everyday routine,” Grover said.

“If we can save a few child-ren from getting type 2 diabetes it is money and time well spent.”

Kicks 4 Kidz is sponsored and supported by The Sunday Times, Garnduwa, Steinepreis Paganin, The WAFC, and Print Publishing, with special thanks to BHP Billiton Iron Ore.