During the past school term and the subsequent school holidays, the Cricket NSW Foundation (the Foundation) took cricket to places it has never been before.
CNSW Foundation brings accessible cricket to over 400 children in Term 3
The Foundation funded, supported and organised a number of programs for new and diverse groups who wouldn’t otherwise have had the opportunity to experience cricket throughout the last term.
Several programs for participants with a disability, opportunities for First Nations participants, and especially children living in remote and previously underserviced areas of NSW were on the radar of Cricket NSW community staff across the term, all made possible thanks to support from the Foundation.
During Play Cricket Week in August, the Foundation delivered two very successful First Nations-focussed programs in Casino and Coraki in the state’s Far North Coast, with the NSW Indigenous team captain, Julie Muir, fellow player Roxsanne Van-Veen and coach Kerry Marshall travelling to Casino to coach the children. During the past term, First Nations-focussed programs were also delivered in Newcastle, Central Coast and Hawkesbury and extended further to the Riverina in Culcairn, Far West in Wellington and the Central West with a program in Orange.
Throughout Term 3, a total of 406 participants were reached across 10 different programs spanning Sydney Metro and Country NSW. The funding of these programs is in line with a recent strategic focus of the CNSW Foundation, to closer align to Cricket NSW’s purpose, and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to play and love cricket!
Falling under the new Foundation pillar of Participation and Access, the financial support provided to run these programs covered the cost of ground hire, coaching fees and participants’ registration, to help remove a financial barrier to experiencing an introduction to the game of cricket. Some of these programs were delivered at schools where it was never even thought possible to run a cricket program due to the special needs of the students.
In Sydney, a program at the brand new school, Blakehurst PS Support Unit, saw 21 children, who hadn’t played cricket before, get active with their friends. “They wouldn’t typically get out and engage in sport but it’s so good to see them having a go and loving it,” a member of the unit said.
Similarly, a program at the Sir Eric Woodward School, that teaches children with a variety of needs, saw children playing cricket, some for the first time in their lives. “We are so grateful that CNSW provide opportunities for the students which they have never been offered before. We are so lucky that Cricket NSW provides support to our school,” said Sue Bell, the school’s assistant principal.
Jake Balnave, Head of the CNSW Foundation, said:
“The Foundation will continue to explore opportunities to help amplify Cricket NSW’s reach across the state, help bring new participants to our game and remove barriers to those who can’t access our sport without assistance.
“The Foundation will also focus its efforts on programs across two other pillars moving forward; Pathways and Performance, helping support our next generation of NSW Blues and Breakers, and Sydney Sixers and Thunder players through programs such as the Basil Sellers Scholarship and the Emerging Player Relocation fund.
“We will also seek to provide support off the field through the Beyond the Boundary pillar – focusing on helping communities through health and wellbeing support for them to continue playing and loving cricket.”