GREAT Lakes athlete Kylie Hilder has been selected to represent Australia in the upcoming 2015 Federation of International Touch World Cup held every four years.
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Touch Football Australia (TFA) hopes to claim its eight consecutive win in the Open division in a week of games held from April 29 to May 3 at Coffs Harbour.
Hilder’s national selection comes off the back of captaining TFA’s All Stars mixed team, which recently played against the Indigenous Mixed All Stars team in the lead up to an NRL match.
The team lost 4 to 5 to the Indigenous All Stars team, when man of the match Lachlan Pierce broke an impending stalemate by scoring his second try of the afternoon with three minutes remaining on the clock.
The six-a-side format was an opportunity for the best of Australia’s top male and female touch football players to display their speed, skill, and vision in the Harvey Norman All Stars Touch Football spectacle.
TFA’s team was chosen using an interactive mix of public voting, state selection, and the CEO’s picks.
It is a similar selection approach used to engage the public by the Rugby League All Stars, by requesting their input. Hilder was one of two players selected by TFA’s CEO Colm Maguire to round out the team and her nomination as captain reflected the work she had done at the national level as coach and captain over recent times.
Last Friday Hilder played alongside eight players selected by NSW and Queensland touch football associations, and six players selected from the remaining states via a social media campaign.
The Indigenous All Stars team was selected by a panel and includes players from across Australia, such as current Australian men’s 30s representative and NRL player Scott Prince.
Both teams were part of the Harvey Norman All Stars program, which is complemented by the TFA’s partnership with the National Rugby League (NRL) to promote touch football through key NRL fixtures and programs, and recognises the work done by the TFA towards encouraging indigenous participation and development.