Carnival a hit for six as girls cricket league looks to expand

THE Wangaratta and District Cricket Association (WDCA) All-Girls Cricket League looks set to expand as it heads into its second season. The season was launched with the Carnival of Girls’ Cricket on Wednesday, which invited juniors to the Barr Reserve to show their talents and learn more about the sport in the region while enjoying their school holidays. While the wet weather moved the event from the Barr Reserve to the indoor comfort of the stadium, Cricket Victoria’s North East regional manager Peter Brear said the rain didn't dampen spirits with 52 girls attending throughout the day. “We walked away very positively and somewhat inspired by the turn up and the positivity of the girls engaging in cricket,” he said. “Part of Cricket Victoria’s priorities for the participation of the game is to engage young girls from 12 to 15 and younger girls from five to 12 in the Woolworths Cricket Blast program. “The day was something we could definitely demonstrate to the clubs who attended that there is an appetite for cricket among girls.” The carnival was littered with special guests from politicians Helen Haines, Tim McCurdy and Harvey Benton to premier league cricketers in the region, Kate Burns and Sienna Sims, and Cricket Victoria’s head of female cricket Sharelle McMahon. All guests showed their support for the event. Last season the league boasted four under 13 teams in the WDCA who played off every second Friday. Brear said Beechworth, Benalla, Rovers United Bruck and Yarrawonga-Mulwala will be re-committing their teams from the inaugural season, with two clubs seeking the possibility of entering a second side. An additional two teams are looking to join the league this season in Ovens Valley United and City Colts. Rutherglen and Delatite have also expressed interest in joining the league. Brear said he was hopeful the growing interest shown by clubs would also reflect in a growth of registrations in the girls’ league, with registrations opening on Wednesday. “We feel with the advancements we made last year, we’re looking forward to more girls playing in the second season and trying to get more clubs involved,” he said. “We’ll be looking back in the next six weeks to compare where we are then to where we were last year and hopefully see an increase in registrations among those age groups. “I think we’ve done everything we possibly can to put cricket foremost in girls minds and it was well supported by parents who were interested in what we were doing. “It’s now up to Cricket Victoria locally and the clubs to push that advantage home and to get some teams committed to the league this year.” Brear said Cricket Victoria would look to ease new players transition into the sport and their local clubs with more open trainings and come and try days planned at the commencement of term four. The All-Girls Cricket League 2024/25 season will begin in late October.

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