The inaugural NO MORE Alcohol & Drugs Cricket Cup took place on Saturday April 23, organised by Wurli-Wurlinjang's Alcohol and Other Drugs team in collaboration with CatholicCare NT, to raise awareness about alcohol and other drugs, and domestic violence.
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Four teams registered to compete in the Super 6's formatted event with BULLS being the inaugural winner.
Wurli AOD staff completed several quiz exercises and activities with participants to test their knowledge and provide education. Lunch was provided in line with Wuri-Wurlinjang's catering for Health and Wellbeing guidelines to promote healthy choices.
This event was supported by the Northern Territory Government, Northern Territory Cricket and CatholicCare NT's NO MORE Program.
Spokesperson for the NO MORE Program, Marcus Rosas, addressed the crowd of around 60 people, and gave Wurli-Wurlinjang Health Service the highest of praises for coming up with this initiative. Mr Rosas said not to be disheartened by the low number of teams this year: "From little things, big things grow". Mr Rosas spoke of carnivals, namely the Dingo Cup and the Imparja Cup, stating that these events started in similar fashion, and the Imparja Cup is now recognised as an important annual national Cricket event.
Mr Rosas said that he believes encouraging respect on and off the field (through NO MORE) and raising an awareness of Alcohol and Other Drugs is key to changing the culture of cricket, which has involved "having a beer" since he started playing. Mr Rosas also stated that he will continue to promote NO MORE Alcohol and Drugs throughout local competition.
Mr Buttar thanked Ms Leah Burch (scorer), Mr Darryl Lee (umpire) and Mr Phillip Afamasaga who took the time out of their day to volunteer with the day's proceedings, participating teams, his team members, and Mr Rosas for assisting Wurli-Wurlinjang to organise this event.
In closing, Mr Rosas said he would continue to support this event as he believes in the vision of this carnival and thanked Mr Sandeep Buttar and his team at Wurli. It is thanks to his vision that this type of competition has got off the ground.