Reinvigorating Womens W10 Cricket at Sarisbury Athletic Cricket Club

The Pitch

Problem statement

Women and Girls make up around 24% of crickets participation, cricket is not seen as a normal sport for female participants still despite global successes at the top end of the sport for England and the newly introduced Hundred. In general the UK population needs to be more active and lead healthier lifestyles, cricket is a low impact but high energy sport. Cricket has an image problem and an issue with equality, we want to increase the participation rate across the board and particularly in this project, for female players.

Solution

The goal of the project is to provide funding for equipment and coaching for female players at Sarisbury Athletic Cricket Club. This equipment will be used, along with qualified coaches, to increase the number of female participants in the game by running coaching sessions and taster events to re-start the programme and instil momentum into the programme post covid-19. By modernising this area of our provision we hope to provide the team with its own unique identity through the provision of match shirts, and the highest quality of equipment and coaches to maximise the opportunity for those players to succeed. The activity will also boost wellbeing and health in those participants.

Why are we best placed to deliver?

Sarisbury Athletic has the foundations of a womens cricket programme - having engaged with the ECB W10 softball initiative before the covid-19 pandemic. We are located in the centre of a large community and close to local schools and therefore have access to a wide audience. As a club we have access to good coaching and quality facilities that can support this programme of work and provide opportunities to as many female participants as we can - the only limitation we face is the availability of funding to provide equipment and coaching to the group.

Focus Areas

Delivery plan

Budget breakdown

Beneficiaries

100 people

Expected impact

Expanding the opportunities for women to play cricket in the local area (age 18-55+) will have a positive impact on the health and wellbeing within that demographic. The benefits of exercise are well documented and their effects on both physical and mental health cannot be questioned. Socially, and particularly after long periods of lockdown and isolation, creating and growing and environment where people can come together and share experiences, try new things and learn together also has a huge positive impact on mental health. Around 24% of participants in cricket are female and we would aim to change that, we would look to grow our female membership from the current 18 - to around 25-30 to change the proportional representation of our club. Cricket played by female participants needs to be normalised and the opportunities within the sport made available to all. We would measure participation numbers as well as membership to demonstrate the increased scope and scale.

Track record

Sarisbury Athletic Cricket Club has been in existence since 1932 and has a proven track record of developing young cricketers and fielding senior and junior teams. The W10 womens section was already established prior to the pandemic, but as time has passed and the restrictions have hit, the progress has stalled and we need to re-launch. The financial restrictions of the pandemic have severely reduced the clubs ability to generate revenue and as such the investment in this area will be significantly delayed. Women's cricket is on a high in the UK after succesful world cup campaigns and the newly launched Hundred competition bringing the female game to prime time free to air television. Combining those factors this grant will allow activity to take place at an accelerated pace and reinvigorate the women's cricket environment within the club - providing top quality coaching and equipment to support the foundations that are in place.

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