By PEACE IJIYERA
CHURCHILL residents Jamie and Sarina Sciberras are gearing up to embark on the summit of a lifetime.
In July and August, the couple will hike 1014 km through the South West Coast Path, England with goals of raising $10,014 for the Peter MacCallum Cancer Foundation.
They are doing this in memory of Jamie’s father, Joseph Sciberras, who died from Lymphoma – a type of cancer affecting the lymphatic system causing an abnormal growth of white blood cells in the body.
Jamie was 20 when his father died aged 52 in 1994. Now 32 years on and 52 himself, Jamie is ready to push his body to the limits, all for his dad and Peter Mac.
Joseph Sciberras, commonly known as Joe, immigrated from Malta to Morwell in 1965.
It was in Morwell that he raised his family in the ways of loving sport and community.
Mr Sciberras played soccer locally at Morwell Pegasus and Morwell Falcons in the 1960s and ’70s before going on to coaching. Mr Sciberras loved the sport and passed that love down to his son. Jamie says that soccer was something that he and his dad bonded over.
“As much as he was my dad, he was [my] mate, because soccer was our background … and I did everything with dad … I played when dad coached, I was there as the little boy hanging around dad holding onto his leg, [I] travelled everywhere with him.”
As written in Don Di Fabrizio’s memoir My Years with the Falcons, after retirement, Mr Sciberras “dedicated himself to coaching” the Falcon’s junior team.
Mr Sciberras coached the under 12s and 16s at the Falcons. He then coached reserves and later acted as a caretaker coach for the seniors up until around 1981. He also coached the Falcons youth team in 1984. Mr Sciberras is believed to be the first Falcons coach to have a youth team.
“Dad was one to give back to the Valley … he managed the Latrobe Valley soccer team as well in the country championships in the senior level. Dad was always involved in wanting to give something back to the local area … and it was mainly through sport, something of course I followed,” Jamie said.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Jamie played soccer for various teams in the Valley, including Morwell Falcons, Morwell Pegasus, Traralgon Olympians and Tyers Lightning.
The idea to hike came around three years ago when Jamie was 48.
He and his family were operating a biscuit business, out of their at-home commercial kitchen for six years, when they decided they wanted a change of life.
They sold everything and moved to Malta. That change of life also resulted in challenging themselves to this 1014 km hike.
During Mr Sciberras’ short eight-month treatment, it was Peter Mac that stood by the Sciberras’, providing support for the family and care for Mr Sciberras. Through this hike, Jamie wants to give back to Peter Mac and spread awareness of the importance of research into cancer, as it saves lives and you never know who might need treatment one day.
“I’d love to give something back to Peter Mac. They were amazing for mum and dad. So when dad was getting treatment, dad was at a Peter Mac home getting cared for there.
“So for us it’s about again, giving back to them (Peter Mac), giving back to the community, and what better way for us to do it, [than] doing something we love to do,” Mr Sciberras said.
Having already completed hikes at Wilson’s Prom, the Great Ocean Road and even some internationally, Jamie and Sarina are going in with experience.
“[My] wife and I are hikers and love it”, Jamie said.
The hike is estimated to take the pair about 45 days. They aim to cover an average of 20 to 24 kilometres a day, carrying up to 16 kilos on their backs. The elevation gain of the hike is equivalent to summiting Everest four times.
“Halfway through it all, there’s going to be moments through it, we’re going to be going, ‘what in the hell are we doing?’”, he joked, describing the first four days as “gruelling”.
In preparation, Jamie and Sarina are adopting a pyramid system of training.
“We’d be looking at doing about 120 km a week on our legs of hiking and then of course with gym work.”
In the gym, they will be focusing on “a lot of leg work and core work”. As they get closer to the big hike, they’ll tone down their training and prioritise rest and stretching.
The duo are grateful for the community’s support and support from local businesses. They embark on their journey next month; with no doubt they’ll return feeling fulfilled and forever changed.
You can follow Jamie and Sarina’s journey on Instagram: Jamie_Sarina_Explore
Those wishing to donate can do so via: https://fundraise.petermac.org.au/jamie-sciberras
