Take a tiny remote school, add nine traditional Indigenous games and 700 excited kids and you have an unforgettable event.

Goodooga Central School on August 7 hosted the Goodooga Indigenous Games – playing traditional sports modified for modern equipment.

Students and staff travelled up to 10 hours to reach Goodooga, 45km from the Queensland border and 50 minutes from Lightning Ridge.

They set off from 37 schools in Newcastle, Singleton, the Riverina, Sydney, Orange, Dubbo and more.

Goodooga principal Malcolm Banks said students were combined into teams of different ages and abilities.

“There have been traditional Indigenous games played over many generations,” he said.

“We try to rotate those games each year and the ones this year were more of a running style. Some of them are mixtures of Rugby Union, Aussie rules and netball."

“They're played with modern equipment, but the game itself is exactly what they played many generations ago. They're all ball passing games or stick games with foam balls."

“The kids were just non-stop running for 12 minutes, with no half time.”

Deputy Secretary, Public Schools, Deb Summerhayes said it was a privilege to attend an event which was all about “community, connection and celebration”.

"It is a great reminder of the work we do every day to improve the learning and life outcomes for all our students,” Ms Summerhayes said.

“It is a very proud and joyful moment for me to be here today.”

Deputy Secretary for Teaching, Learning and Student Wellbeing Martin Graham said the Games surpassed another sporting event he was privileged to attend in 2000.

“I have had two sporting highlights in my life; the second-best thing was watching Cathy Freeman win a gold medal at the Sydney Olympics. The absolute highlight was coming here to the Goodooga Games in 2025,” Mr Graham said.

The day stood out for the way it fostered cooperation in an event similar to volleyball.

“It was delightful to see five-year olds in there, up against Year 12 kids, and even more impressive to see the Year 12 kids resisting every single urge in their body to take that volleyball and smash it down, but no ... they waited and lifted up the smaller kids so they could all take part,” Mr Graham said.

“It was fantastic to see.”

And for the first time, this year's Games included a Health and Wellbeing Hub.

Department staff worked with close to a dozen providers including NSW Health, Royal Far West and Headspace to bring health services to students, many of whom live in small rural communities and don’t normally have access to them.

After the Games, school staff and community members hosted 1200 people for lunch, serving roast pork, chicken, kangaroo sausages, vegetables and salads.

The night before, visitors attended a disco before bedding down in swags.

En route to the Games, Yanco Agriculture High School students stayed at Lightning Ridge Central School and enjoyed local attractions such as the Brewarrina Fish Traps and the Bore Baths.

Teacher Harriet Messner taught at Lightning Ridge for four years and was delighted to bring Yanco students to the area.

“It is pretty special to come back to the community and share it with the kids and get them to understand the way of life out here and the different cultures,” Ms Messner said.

The Executive Director of the Rural North Directorate, Meghanne Wellard, said the Goodooga Games have been a Public Education Week highlight for many students across NSW for the past 15 years.

"The 2025 games saw participant numbers swell to almost double those of 2024, further enriching the opportunities for students to connect socially and culturally with their peers from other schools," she said.

“See you again next year at Goodooga!”