By 96five NetworkThursday 27 Sep 2018LifeReading Time: 2 minutes
By Emily Lovell
Inspired by her late son’s great passion for his favourite sports, Christina Sy has rallied together a number of Brisbane’s best sporting organisations and clubs for a jam-packed day full of sports.
Benjamin, known as “Jam”, tragically passed away alongside his father and baby sister in a car accident in 2017. After this horrific event, Christina was determined to create a legacy for Jam that would inspire other children to be as passionate about sports as the enthusiastic nine year old.
The 13th of October is set aside for Sports Jam, a come-and-try event for children ages 6-12. The day is centred on Jam’s top five favourite sports – AFL, basketball, soccer, tennis and taekwondo – with extra fun-filled activities for the family.
Christina began contacting Jam’s favourite sporting clubs and associations that he loved playing for, in June this year.
“All the clubs Jam joined while he was still with us… they all put their hands up to be involved’,” Christina says.
Ready for jam-packed day of sports?
On board for the come-and-try day, held at Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Albany Creek, are NAB AFL Auskick, Northside Wizards Basketball, Tennis Queensland, Bai-Rui Taekwondo, and the Brisbane Roar.
Many parents struggle to find the right sport for their children, usually because of travel, cost or location. Jam was known to try out new sports all the time, always saying they were his ‘favourite sports’.
“As a mum of a very active boy, I always had to jump from one venue to another. This event is helpful for parents… kids are able to try out five sports in one day, at one venue, for free,” Christina says.
Sports Jam aims to help parents access sporting clubs, promote the benefits of sport, and teach children team skills. Christina hopes that Sports Jam will eventually be adopted into schools, much like the current ‘Under Eights Day’ idea.
To help support Jam’s legacy and register for Sports Jam, head to www.joinsportsjam.org.