We basically want to get a fully-fledged Saturday afternoon girls competition running in years to come
- Cassy Campbell
A NEW North East competition aims to be the first of many opportunities to get more females playing the sport.
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Wangaratta and District Cricket Association will run a T20-style event for girls aged 13 to 18 years each Tuesday night for six weeks, starting in November.
Association president Cassy Campbell said a grant through Cricket Australia’s Growing Cricket for Girls Fund made the project possible.
The existing female team in C grade and indications many girls dropped the sport as teenagers had prompted the group’s application.
“We really wanted to make sure that we could capture those girls and let them continue their cricket as well as introducing it to new girls as well that perhaps thought it was a boys sport,” Campbell said.
“We want to show the community that cricket’s not just for men.
“And you don’t have to have a bigger brother or a younger brother who’s been playing cricket to come along, we’ll provide all the equipment.”
The response so far to the idea had been positive, with a muster night planned for early October.
“We initially thought we’d probably have about four teams but I think we’ll well exceed that,” Campbell said.
The association intends to schedule one competition this season and then two in 2017-18, but there is a bigger picture for the future.
“We basically want to get a fully-fledged Saturday afternoon girls competition running in years to come,” she said.
Campbell recently became Wangaratta and District Cricket Association’s first female president after six years as administration officer.
“I have a real passion for cricket, I can’t pinpoint exactly where it has come from,” she said with a smile.
She will combine the role with her family life and employment as sport and recreation team leader at GOTAFE.
“I wanted to be a role model for other women out there who are working in male-dominated industries and sporting clubs,” Campbell said.
“And I also wanted to demonstrate that women who have family commitments and busy work and social lives can still be very active contributors to the community.
“We’ve got a really good executive team and everyone’s been really supportive.”
The president remained keen for cricket to grow in the region.
“It’s whatever you can do to help the association and leave it in a better position,” she said.
“We don’t own these committees or anything like that.
“They’re there for the community and whatever you can do to make them run more efficiently and increase the numbers.”
Anyone interested in joining the girls T20 competition should contact Cassy Campbell on 0438 882 954 or via the association’s Facebook page.