Over 70 primary school children from Erina Heights Public School on the NSW Central Coast, two hours north of Sydney, made their way to the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 presented by Jaguar Land Rover on Tuesday to cheer on their classmates’ dad, Luke Hill
Hill competed in the men’s ISD 50m freestyle heats. The group put on a dazzling display of green and gold with a flurry of handmade signage, cheering louder than most competing countries’ support teams.
Luke and his wife Kirsty had no idea that the school were planning the trip until Erina Heights purchased the tickets for the three year levels that their children are in.
“It was a big surprise,” said Kirsty. “It made me cry when I saw them all come in and I could tell my husband saw them straight away with a massive smile on his face, so it was really good.”
Luke explained how he felt seeing (and hearing) the children cheer him on.
“It was amazing. You could hear them as I came out and as I finished, my whole team commented on how loud they were,” said Luke.
He had visited the high school before the Games to educate the children about veterans and the Invictus Games.
“It’s great that they were able to come down,” he said, “The Department of Education has this program to give tickets to schools to give them opportunity to learn from this experience.”
Luke qualified for the final the following night where he finished eighth.
Daniela Mattschoss
Invictus Games Sydney 2018