The Port Adelaide Football Club will head north for its 2012 Australia Post AFL Community Camp, visiting people living in and around Port Augusta and Port Pirie.
Every Power player will be involved in the two-day tour, starting on Tuesday 14 February.
The team members will divide into small groups, visiting primary and secondary schools that are home to thousands of students, along with hospitals and other community centres.
The Port Augusta sessions will begin on the Tuesday morning, with players visiting Stirling North Primary School, Port Augusta West Primary School and the Port Augusta Special School among others.
Late that morning and early in the afternoon, other players will cover the Port Pirie district, dropping in on students at schools including the Port Broughton Area School, Booleroo District School, Wirrabara Primary School and Crystal Brook Primary School.
Another group will head even further north, to the Quorn Area School.
From 4.30pm on Tuesday, the squad will lead a NAB AFL Auskick Super Clinic on Port Augusta’s Central Oval, giving young local footballers an opportunity to learn from their heroes. This will be followed by an autograph session between 5pm and 6pm.
At the same time, selected Port Adelaide players and coaches will assist with a training session featuring some of the most promising local footballers. Members of the Power coaching panel will also hold a forum with their regional counterparts, sharing ideas about training and coaching.
On the Tuesday evening all players and coaching staff attend a Community Dinner with members of the Spencer Gulf Football League, the District Council and football supporters from the community. The event includes a panel of guest speakers and an auction, with all proceeds staying in the community for the development of junior football.
The following day - Wednesday 15 February - will see another round of community visits, taking in Port Pirie schools including John Pirie Secondary School, Risdon Park Primary School and St Mark’s College.
In Port Augusta, the second day will feature player visits to schools including Port Augusta Secondary School, Caritas College and the legendary School of the Air.
A separate group will spend time with Indigenous students from Port Augusta Secondary School who are entered in this year’s Aboriginal Power Cup. They will also visit Indigenous members of the Davenport Community and students taking part in Port Augusta’s Polly Farmer Foundation educational centre.
Power Community Ltd General Manager Darren Adamson said the club is honoured to spend time in regional areas of South Australia.
“It’s an opportunity to take football, our club and our players to different communities each year, and it will be great to give something to the people living in and around Port Pirie and Port Augusta ahead of the 2012 season,” Adamson said.
“Port Adelaide has a focus on Australia’s central corridor, starting in South Australia and extending right through to Darwin where we will play again in Round 17 this year.
“This year’s Australia Post AFL Community Camp gives us a chance to become further involved in an area that is becoming increasingly important to South Australia, particularly through the mining and defence industries.”
2012 will be the 10th year the Power has engaged with residents via the AFL’s Community Camp program, visiting regions across South Australia. Previous destinations are: Port Lincoln (2003), Murray Bridge (2004), Mount Gambier (2005), Barossa Valley (2006), Riverland (2007), Whyalla (2008), Southern Vales/Gawler (2009), Port Lincoln (2010) and Clare Valley (2011).
The 2012 Australia Post AFL Community Camps will see the game taken further than ever, with each one of the 18 teams taking part.
In all, more than 800 AFL players will participate in visits across most of the country.
