As a pillar of the club’s core values, the Cairns Taipans seek to service the communities which support it by encouraging healthy and active lifestyles under a range of programs throughout the year. In 2013, the club launched an ambitious plan to build on its 800-hour annual commitment to the community with the formation of the Taipans Indigenous Program (TIP) - and for the past decade has been the only existing Indigenous arm of the NBL.

Thanks to the generous support from naming rights sponsor, Sea Swift and platinum partner, Skytrans – the program is a vehicle to expand on the club’s renowned community engagement into Cape York and beyond, delivering to some of the most remote locations of Australia. TIP primarily serves to spread healthy living messages and aims to increase participation levels throughout Indigenous youth while promoting education and sports.

At the helm of TIP is former Cairns Taipans point guard Kerry Williams, whose journey from local club ranks into junior representative basketball and the top level of professional sports in Australia makes him an inspirational role model to the Indigenous and Torres Strait youth throughout the region, as well as a respected Aboriginal leader amongst his clan.

Notable, in August 2014 Williams was invited to speak at the inaugural National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation Ochre Day in Canberra, a forum designed to engage Indigenous role models to shed light on Indigenous men’s health issues.

TIP AMBASSADOR: Nathan Jawai

CQUniversity Cairns Taipans star and Australian sporting icon Nate Jawai is the lead ambassador for the Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Program, an expansion of the club’s existing Sea Swift Taipans Indigenous Program, in conjunction with the Queensland Government.

The Queensland Government were integral in bringing Jawai back to his home state and the club where his career began, first with the Taipans Academy before an NBL Rookie of the Year campaign with the Taipans in 2007/08.

Jawai’s foundation from Cairns Basketball as a junior led to him becoming the first Indigenous Australian player to be drafted in the NBA (Indiana Pacers, 2008) and continued to showcase his talents across the globe before finally returning home on a three-year deal.

His return to the Taipans as a marquee signing included him assuming the role of lead ambassador for the Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Initiative and has since re-signed with the club twice (recently completing his fifth consecutive season in orange) while maintaining his involvement.

Upon Jawai’s return, Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Sport Curtis Pitt said he had a special place in the hearts of locals and there couldn’t be a better fit for the program.

“We’ve contracted Nate to work with the Queensland Government and Taipans Indigenous Program to promote healthy lifestyles and wellbeing in indigenous communities across Cape York and the Torres Strait Islands,” Mr Pitt said

“As a boy from Bamaga, Nathan is a remarkable role model for locals.

“As an athlete he has surpassed everyone’s wildest dreams and as an ambassador he’s an outstanding example of how hard work can overcome adversity.”