Beyond the Boundary: Geography in Action at Optus Stadium
What can a football stadium teach us about geography?
Quite a lot, as our Year 11 Geography students discovered this week when they swapped the classroom for Optus Stadium to explore how sport can shape culture, economies and communities.
The excursion formed part of their Unit 2 Geography studies, with students investigating football as an element of culture and applying geographical concepts to a familiar part of Australian life.
Going Behind the Scenes
Led by an expert guide from The Ozone at Optus Stadium, students were given a behind-the-scenes look at one of Western Australia’s most significant sporting and entertainment venues.
The tour took them beyond the areas spectators usually see, with opportunities to explore facilities including the players’ locker rooms, commentator boxes and operational areas of the stadium.
But this wasn’t simply a stadium tour. Students were looking at Optus Stadium through the eyes of geographers.
Football Through a Geographical Lens
Throughout the excursion, students investigated the role football plays within Australian culture and considered how its influence extends well beyond the boundary line.
They explored technological advancements within the AFL and examined football as a global business, considering the connections between sport, media, technology, tourism and the economy.
Students also collected information to help them analyse the impact football has on culture and economies at both local and international levels.
For a city like Perth, a major sporting venue provides an interesting case study. Events can attract thousands of people to an area, generate economic activity and influence transport, infrastructure, tourism and the way people use and experience a city.
Bringing Classroom Learning to Life
Fieldwork is an important part of Geography because it allows students to investigate places, processes and connections firsthand.
The Optus Stadium excursion gave students a local case study they can draw upon when developing geographical arguments and completing assessment tasks.
Concepts discussed in the classroom suddenly become more tangible when students can stand inside a major piece of Perth infrastructure and consider the people, technology, investment and planning required to bring an event to life.
Seeing Sport Differently
For many students, Optus Stadium is already a familiar place associated with football games, concerts and major events.
This excursion encouraged them to look beyond the scoreboard.
By examining football through a geographical lens, students could see how something as familiar as sport connects people and places, contributes to economies and becomes part of a community’s culture and identity.
It was a valuable day of fieldwork and a great example of how learning beyond the classroom can help students see their city, and the world around them, a little differently.
- AFL and culture, Experiential Learning, Featured, Geography fieldwork, Geography Perth, learning beyond the classroom, Optus Stadium, Perth student excursions, Santa Maria College, Year 11 Geography
Author: Santa Maria College
Santa Maria College is a vibrant girls school with a growing local presence and reputation. Our Mission is to educate young Mercy women who act with courage and compassion to enrich our world. Santa Maria College is located in Attadale in Western Australia, 16 km from the Perth CBD. We offer a Catholic education for girls in Years 5 – 12 and have 1300 students, including 152 boarders.
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