A programme designed for the Isle of Man with the aim of increasing the number of young people playing cricket has proved such a success that Ravenscroft has extended its support for a second year.
Last year the investment services company agreed a partnership with the Isle of Man Cricket Association for its CricStart programme, which covers CricKids for youngsters aged 3 – 8, CricSoft for those between six and 10, CricFit for 14+, the batting and bowling clinics as well as women’s and girls’ cricket. Now the programme will be happening for a second year.
‘The overall aim of CricStart is to encourage new players of any age or gender to learn and develop their cricket skills through sessions organised in school, club and community environments and the 2021 was more successful than we could have imagined,’ said IOMCA development officer Greig Wright.
‘Highlights of the programme included CricKids, which had over 130 youngsters enrol across the six clubs on the island with over 60% being young girls and this aligns to the ICC and IOMCA strategies of growing women and girls’ cricket. We also had over 700 people attend various camps and clinics and the IOMCA community coaches delivered to over 1,700 young people in the school environment.’
This year, the IOMCA will continue with all parts of the CricStart programme through the financial support of Ravenscroft but is looking to ensure that cricket becomes part of the curriculum and community for years to come.
‘This year sees the start of the Club-School link programme, with six schools a year receiving extra support in addition to the sessions run the CricStart programme. These schools are introduced to their local club representatives who then go into the school and assist with coaching sessions and will do so independently in years to come. The school staff are offered coaching qualifications, young leader workshops for pupils as young as year 5 and equipment to allow cricket to be played anywhere in the school during PE and break times,’ said Mr Wright.
‘The best way for us to promote cricket is in the schools as it provides us the opportunity to allow lots of youngsters to sample cricket who wouldn’t normally think of trying it. The support of Ravenscroft is essential for us to run this programme at no cost to the schools and give them lots of resources to keep playing cricket without having to have coaches present. We would like to thank the Ravenscroft team for their sponsorship and hope it leads to thousands of new cricketers on the Isle of Man.’
Will Corrin, director of Ravenscroft in the Isle of Man, said there was no doubt that cricket in the island had a bright future.
‘The numbers speak for themselves and there is no doubt that the CricStart programme has been a success. Ravenscroft wants its community support to make a tangible difference and we are particularly passionate about making sport accessible to young people. CricStart does exactly that and we are delighted to extend our support for another year.’
The IoM clubs offer opportunities for players of any age, male or female to play. The recently formed women’s leagues allows females to play at any level in an all women environment. If you are interested in trying cricket email communitycoach@iomcricket.co.uk
