Since 2020, the Share a Yarn program at the Australian Institute of Sport has been empowering Indigenous athletes as leaders through culture and connection across sports.
In 2026, it's guiding its biggest ever cohort of sportspeople, with 29 participants and 11 mentors.
Youth Olympic Games silver medalist long-jumper Tay-Leiha Clark is stepping up into a mentor role after previous experience with the program.
"Share a Yarn has been a really special place for me to connect and make strong foundations with current and former athletes across different sports, that I wouldn't had the opportunity to connect with otherwise," she said.
"I've been so fortunate with the beautiful connection I've been able to make with my mentor Tahlia Taylor-Kickett over the years. I would love to be able to be that for other young First Nations athletes in high-performance."
Taylor-Kickett, a representative-level athlete across multiple recognised by AIS for football, continued on as a mentor in 2026.
She's joined by Clark, Atlanta and Sydney Olympics hurdler Kyle Vander-Kuyp, wheelchair basketballer Clarence 'CJ' McCarthy-Grogan, mutli-code women's football trailblazer Bo de la Cruz and others as mentors.
Rugby 7s international Maurice Longbottom and Tokyo Olympics beach volleyball silver medallist Taliqua Clancy join as mentors this year.
They'll guide a 26-athlete group of participants covering 13 sports, including 24 female athletes and three para-athletes.
Recent Olympians like Calab Law and Marissa Williamson Pohlman, Paralympians Amanda Reid and Telaya Blacksmith, and First Nations Black Swans national Indigenous netballers Jayden Molo, Aaleya Turner and Scarlet Jauncey are among them.
Share a Yarn sits within AIS and Australian Sports Commission's Australia's High Performance 2032+ Sport Strategy Connection to Country Action Plan and Win Well commitment.
Each year the program hosts a cultural connection camp where the athletes and mentors meet, as well as monthly yarning circles, opportunities for leadership development and efforts to support First Nations sportspeople in their chosen fields and as role models for their communities.
"As an athlete a lot of what we do only comes during our sporting careers so for this opportunity to still remain connected and involved in the program despite my transition of stepping into this next phase of life, it's really important to me," Ms Clark said.
Lakara Stallan is the current women's 200 metre sprint Australian title-holder.
"Last year was my first year in the program and having a First Nations mentor walk alongside me, someone who wasn't necessarily from my sport, was invaluable, because I genuinely felt the care that was there for me as a whole person rather than me as just an athlete," she said.
"For me the program has been a safe place, with warm people. I know that everyone there has my best interest at heart. It's honesty like an extended family."
For Torres Strait Islander woman and hockey goalkeeper Jordan Bliss Share a Yarn will offer something unique.
"My family is so supportive and has been there for me throughout my career so far, but I haven't had the chance to connect with a First Nations mentor that has also experienced the high-performance environment," Bliss said.
"I want to make the most of this opportunity and learn from their experience, along with expanding my network among athletes and connecting with our culture while I'm living away from Country."
Share a Yarn 2026
Mentors:
Libby Cook-Black (Rugby League), Clarence 'CJ' McCarthy-Grogan (Wheelchair Basketball), Tay-Leiha Clark (Athletics), Maurice Longbottom (Rugby Union), Kyle Vander-Kuyp (Athletics), Tyrone Glenbar (Australian Rules football), Mariah Williams (Hockey), Tahlia Taylor-Kickett (Football), Bo de la Cruz (Touch Football, Rugby Union, League and Australian Rules football), Jacara Egan (Australian Rules football), Taliqua Clancy (Volleyball)
Ambassadors:
Aaleya Turner (Netball), Amanda Reid (Para cycling and snow sport), Ava Gaborit (Volleyball), Bailey Roberts-Lintmeijer (Rugby), Calab Law (Athletics), Emily Watts (Triathlon), Isabella Guthrie (Athletics), Jack Andrew Davis (Cycling), Jamie-Lee Surha (Hockey), Jasmin Guthrie (Athletics), Jayden Molo (Netball), Jordan Bliss (Hockey), Lakara Stallan (Athletics), Layla Sharp (Para athletics), Leihani Kaloha Zoric (Surfing), Mackenzie Davis (Rugby), Marissa Williamson Pohlman (Boxing), Reese Orcher (Rugby Sevens), Rhani Hagan (Rugby Sevens), Sarah-Jane Haywood (Archery), Scarlet Jauncey (Netball), Seisia Mair (Sailing), Taafili Taoso (Water Polo), Telaya Blacksmith (Para athletics), Thewbelle Philp (Athletics), Tomysha Clark (Athletics), Tyson Mutsch (Water Polo), Wallace Charlie (Rugby), Zara Hagan (Athletics)
