Tay-Leiha Clark, a proud Wonnarua and Worimi woman, is acknowledging Reconciliation Week by doing what she does every day in her role as the New South Wales Institute of Sport’s Advisor, Connection to Country – giving her all as an advocate for the Institute’s cohort of First Nation athletes. 

Clark, who won a silver medal for triple jump at the 2014 Youth Olympics, and who medalled at multiple Australian National Championships, uses her experiences as an elite athlete and many life experiences to allow the athletes to feel ‘seen and heard’ while helping to create connections that could help set them up for life after sport. 

Clark, (photographed above with NSWIS CEO Kirsten Thomson) who is also a published author and an ambassador for the Australian Sports Commission’s Share a Yarn program, took time out to discuss in this Q&A interview with NSWIS Media the importance of creating safe places for Indigenous athletes, the need for connections, and the thrill of meeting an Australian sporting icon  who literally lit up the world at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. 

NSWIS: What makes your roles as the Institute’s Advisor, Connection to Country so special, and are you enjoying the job? 

Tay-Leiha Clark [TC]: Coming off the back of my own career as an athlete, I think it has been a great opportunity to give back to the mob in sport and also make the connections I feel like I really didn’t get the chance to as an athlete. I think you’re so driven by performance you never want to overstep or take more than you’re offered. So, you don’t ask or seek those opportunities. Taking this role has provided a beautiful chance for me to experience my culture and community from a different perspective. I’m also pleased the staff and athletes at NSWIS have been so supportive of my role and created a safe cultural space in the program. We’re currently working on cultural connection activities for the athletes in the program, building relationships and networks because our goal is for everyone to connect to culture through my role. I also want this to be something for everyone – not just our First Nations athletes – wanting to tap into our history and past. 

NSWIS: Why is it important for an Institute such as NSWIS to have a Connection to Country Advisor? 

TC: That’s a really good question. Since I’ve come into the role, I’ve had a few moments when I’ve thought to myself, ‘that’s why I do this!’ It’s an opportunity for athletes to have that connection . . .  that culturally safe space . . . where they can yarn about their experiences without there necessarily needing to always be a solution or answer to the problem. It’s a chance for athletes to feel heard and seen in a space where there haven’t been too many opportunities for it [to exist] in the past. It provides a great opportunity for athletes to connect and create a network in sport. 

NSWIS: There’ll be people who won’t understand the need for that connection.’ Could you explain why Indigenous athletes need that? 

TC: That’s something I get asked a lot when I tell people about my role, and they’re people who really aren’t familiar with the sporting space. I explain roles like mine don’t exist to fight for more opportunity and more exposure, but it’s for equal opportunity and equal exposure. Our athletes haven’t really had – before now – the luxury of someone being that voice for them. When I reflect on my own experience as an athlete, when I was chasing my dreams and goals, I really didn’t ever have the time to look around and make the community connections that could possibly have benefited me beyond my athletic career.  

NSWIS: Would having had a Connection to Country advocate made your life as an athlete (photographed above) any easier? 

TC: Definitely. I look back and wish it was something I got to experience. I’m coaching my sister, Tomysha, and I see roles like mine at NSWIS as such an important stepping stone of supporting younger mob coming through sport. 

NSWIS: What specifics do the ‘young mob’ require? 

TC: It’s the space for connection. You hear a common conversation where they feel so isolated in their experience and their own journeys. By giving them an opportunity to speak about what they’re experiencing, and having someone they can relate is helping to fill what really was a big gap. And while their experiences and adversity might not look the same, the conversations we’re having are very similar and around the same topic. So, it’s about conversation and support, and many of these athletes have never experienced that. 

NSWIS: There is a National (sporting institute) Network of Connection to Country Advisors, what’s the bond like between all of you? Are you swapping stories, supporting one another, sharing learnings? 

TC: I feel so lucky to have started the role when I did because the network of people around the nation has provided such a great level of support, learning and growing in this space. We connected with one another through the Share a Yarn program (run by the Australian Institute of Sport and Australian Sports Commission) before I started at NSWIS. I consider all of them best friends; relying on them in not only my workspace but personal space as well.  Again, while our journeys haven’t been the same, we’ve had similar experiences and have related to each other a lot, whether that be in sport, work, or friendship. To have that connection and be able to form a network for the athletes to see how safe and strong our friendship is, well, it’s very special. 

NSWIS: What was it like to meet Cathy Freeman, an icon of Aussie sport, at the launch of the Australian Olympic Committee’s ‘Stretch’ Reconciliation Action Plan’ which represent the next chapter of the AOC’s commitment to reconciliation through sport? 

TC: It was one of the most special days of my life in sport. It’s one thing to talk about Cathy Freeman’s achievements, successes and what she represents, but to see her standing in front of me and talking about her experiences as well as watching our athletes engage with her and hearing the advice she gave them was quite . . . emotional. To experience that with my sister made it even more special. Cathy Freeman . . . the woman who ignited the cauldron at the Sydney Olympics Opening Ceremony and then went on to win the 400m gold medal . . . has been a household name in our family home for a very long time. 

NSWIS: What made meeting her so special? 

TC: Her humility and grace. Cathy could be a little bit arrogant and cocky because of what she has achieved, but she’s just so humble and I found that refreshing to see. When you speak to her, you forget she’s Cathy Freeman, icon, because she is so kind and decent. At any given time at the AOC launch there would’ve been 90 people waiting for a photo with her or wanting to have a conversation and she made the time for each and every one of them. It made an impression. 

Daniel Lane, NSWIS 

Tags Cathy FreemanKirsten ThomsonTay-Leiha Clark

Recommended Articles