First Nations Player Warm Up Tee
First Nations Player Warm Up Tee
Our inaugural First Nations Round range is here!
This warm up tee is a replica of that worn by the players during their round 7 and 13 clashes with GIANTS Netball, and is also available in a youth size.
The vibrant print across the shirt was created by artist Bayley Mifsud, also known by her Aboriginal name, Merindah-Gunya. Bayley is a Peek Whurrong woman of the Maar nation from Warrnambool, and began creating Aboriginal artwork at a very young age. Now living on Wurundjeri Country, where the Mavericks too reside, she practises and teaches Aboriginal art and meaning, creating stories using sacred symbols which she has always had a connection with.
Bayley's artwork, painted on canvas and proudly on display at our First Nation's Round game on 26 May, has many key story elements, including:
- A centralised meeting place symbolic of the home ground of the club, with seven people surrounding such, symbolic of the seven players on the court.
- The seven players are also found to be surrounded by other people that make up the coaching squad, other team members and followers of the club.
- There are meeting places surrounding this centralised meeting area, which have dual meanings. The first is that they represent where everyone has come to. The Mavericks, being a new club filled with exciting opportunities, has allowed a new group of players to come together and compete in a brand new environment. Second, these meeting places note the different locations that the team will travel to and pay respect to those different countries and places that they will go to.
- Another key story element is the symbol of a bird which is important to the club as we are building, and look to be connected with all as we travel across the country.
- Additionally, there are symbols of water throughout the artwork which is a key story element to Wurundjeri people, as well as an identification of Melbourne being close to the water, which is incredibly important to its traditional owners.
This beautiful artwork is also proudly incorporated into our other First Nations apparel pieces, as well as the on-court dresses worn by the team in both our round 7 and 13 games against GIANTS Netball.