The 2023 South Mandurah JFC First Nations Jersey Story.
The First Steps
The creation of the inaugural 2023 SMJFC First Nations Jersey began before the 2022 football season with Shane Lomman and the 2022 SMJFC committee forming a club motto of “Our club, Our community”. This motto sparked discussions on how we can support all the members of the club to embody a unified connection through support. As a symbolic driver of self reflection and growth it was decided to collect words that could form the pillars and values of the club. After presenting these words to club member Daniel McHenry, the SMJFC Cultural logo and 2023 First Nations Jersey were created.
The SMJFC Cultural Logo
The SMJFC cultural logo takes on great meaning and has been placed on all our clubs playing jerseys whilst forming the central point on the SMJFC 2023 First Nations Jersey. The logo utilises three concentric circles that represent ourselves and the growth we have as individuals, the expression of ourselves and the respect and interaction with our teammates, and the representation of ourselves and the respect and interaction we have with the wider community that support our football experience. The club values the power of self reflection and the freedom of personal expression within the confines of respect for others in all our members and sees the SMJFC cultural logo as a mechanism to support players, coaches, volunteers, officials, spectators and our wider community in working towards this.
The Jersey and its meaning
The club felt the jersey needed to be entrenched in the people that are the club and who layer their spirit, dedication and knowledge to form the club. After putting forward the story of the club to Daniel he then began to layer this spiritual connection to our physical connection with place through colour and symbol.
Daniel began by expressing our club colours of blue and gold through the blue water and golden earth that shapes our football home. The blue waterways represent the Indian Ocean and the Dawesville Channel (The Cut) and the Peel Harvey Estuary. These waterways must be crossed to enter and exit our nest (Falcon Oval) and are the boundaries that surround the island that forms the land we play football on. The golden background represents the richness of the land, the earth that we travel across.
The next step was the layering of the people and spirit that enrich the club. The SMJFC Cultural logo sits centrally on the front of the jersey and represents the coming together of people at place. The central logo is a representation of the player wearing that jersey and their personal story. The logo also represents the Falcons Nest, the place we join together to play football. Flying above there is a Falcon in full flight, wings abreast stalking its prey. The Falcon represents freedom, intelligence and instinct.
All people who have or will ever be part of the SMJFC football story are represented by the dots that cover the background and their journeys as part the club are symbolised through the footprints that mark the earth and come together to represent the power of club unity. Colour again is used by symbolising the male and female participants through the individual pink and blue sleeve cuffs which are brought together around the collar to again form unity as one club.
The culture of our club is layered through every person that has ever interacted with the SMJFC as a player, volunteer, official, spectator, opponent and supporter and is embodied in the jersey design. As a club we would like to thank Daniel McHenry for his design and cultural knowledge as well as Mallard Contracting for their support both financial and culturally in the creation of the inaugural SMJFC First Nations Jersey.
