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All Nations, Twelve Matildas, Go!
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All Nations, Twelve Matildas, Go!

Our under 8s football coach, Avril Horne, made a Matildas themed scavenger hunt to clue the girls in for the Sweden game next Saturday.

Tony Wilson
Nov 6, 2022
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All Nations, Twelve Matildas, Go!
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If you’re a sports fan of Melbourne’s north, and you want a kids friendly Sunday afternoon activity, here’s a beauty. Until five o’clock, there’s a Matildas themed scavenger hunt in All Nations Park, Northcote.

It’s the idea of our under eights coach Avril Horne who’s brought so much energy and invention to the task of getting two teams worth of first year players passionate about the game. Her post-season instalment is a big thirty strong group-booking to the Matildas versus Sweden match next Saturday, where some of our girls are playing at half-time, and some are doing the Miniroos lap of the stadium before the match. She wanted to maximise excitement and player awareness, and so dreamed up a scavenger hunt for the weekend before.

Avril Horne and Alice Wilson

Here is the map. Each star represents a Matildas star.

And you’re looking for a laminated A4 size sheet with a photo and player profile at each location. It took Alice and I just over and hour, because Avril’s eleven year old son Harry got involved in choosing hiding places, and upped the level of difficulty.

These are the twelve questions you have to answer:

  1. How many games has Lydia Williams played for Australia?

  2. Who was the first player to play 100 games in the Australia W-League?

  3. Who was the youngest person to represent Australia at the Rio Olympics?

  4. Name two players who played in boys teams growing up?

  5. What is Courtney Nevin’s nickname?

  6. What number is Emily van Egmund?

  7. How many games has Kyra Cooney-Cross played for Australia?

  8. How many girls in Mary Fowler’s family play soccer?

  9. How old was Caitlin Foord when she joined the under 17s Matildas team?

  10. Who was the 2018 Young Australian of the Year?

  11. Why did Hayley Raso have time out from playing soccer?

  12. Name three countries that Alvi Luik has played soccer in?

Harry made sure Sam Kerr was the jewel in the crown and one of the hardest to find. Avril says that one of the goals of the hunt was to create a broader range of answers to the ‘who is your favourite Matilda?’. question. Avril herself was doing a lot of lobbying for Mary Fowler.

Great job, Avril.

My own answer to the ‘who is your favourite Matilda’ question is and will always be Sam Kerr, partly because of the sustained excellence, mostly because of this.

Can’t wait for next Saturday. Alice is one of the lucky ones who is part of the lap pre-game.

The Matildas should embrace Avril’s scavenger hunt idea and take it to every football club in the country.

Good luck next Saturday girls! Our young girls will be cheering you by name!

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You can find the maps and questions sheets in a satchel at the playground furthest from the Plaza at the east end of the park, near Wales Street.

The answers to the scavenger hunt questions are (according to Alice):

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Dan
Nov 6, 2022

We had such fun doing this today! Avril is a superstar.

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