Cricket in Bay of Plenty is going from strength to strength. Not only have they got an amazing facility in Bay Oval, but an initiative called the GoGirl programme has the game thriving.
The GoGirl programme has been successfully run by Bay of Plenty Cricket for the past four seasons. The goal of the initiative is to give females in years 4-6 an opportunity to experience cricket.
Tai Bridgman-Raison is Bay of Plenty’s Cricket Development Manager. He’s been one of many witnesses to the progression of the GoGirl programme.
“The GoGirl programme has built summer on summer. We have had more interest from schools, more and more teams attending our festivals days, it’s just snowballed off the initial work that was done at the beginning. Now we are starting to reap the benefits of that, as girls are progressing onto our age group representative sides.”
Rebecca Yee works with a GoGirl cricketer. Image: Bay of Plenty Cricket
There have been many cricket initiatives targeting girls in New Zealand and the GoGirl programme has been one of the most successful. Tai states that it’s about getting people to think of cricket no outside of the way it can stereotyped.
“I think the big thing is we have made it fun, that has always been the focus. You have to be careful with cricket, people have this mindset that it takes a long time and is highly technical, we have really gone away from that, it’s all about having fun.”
Of course, it’s not all about convincing the girls to give cricket a go, but also making sure the parents understand the benefits of cricket.
“Convincing them that cricket is something that not only their child will enjoy, but meets their needs as well.”
Award winner Rebecca Yee(centre). Image: www.photosport.nz
Rebecca Yee is the Woman’s Cricket Development Officer for Bay of Plenty Cricket and the driving force behind the GoGirl programme.
“Rebecca will visit schools on a weekly basis. She takes the girls through a series of lessons of the fundamentals skills of cricket, we then finish the program with a festival.”
Schools have been very encouraging of the programme with strong participation in the Western Bay of Plenty Region. Bridgman-Raison believes it’s clear why Rebecca is so good at her role.
“Her biggest asset is her people skills and her passion. It’s more than just a job for her, she has a genuine passion for getting more girls playing cricket.”
The GoGirl programme has been getting more girls playing cricket, at the end of the day that’s what this award is all about. Rebecca Yee will be presented her award at the New Zealand Cricket awards in March.
Best Female Engagement Strategy:
The 2015/16 Community Cricket Best Female Engagement Strategy award acknowledges an association/club/school for a cricket engagement strategy which provides female cricketers with a quality cricket experience during the cricket season. The Community Cricket Best Female Engagement Strategy award is open to major associations/district associations/clubs/schools and the strategy would have encouraged females to participate in cricket, provide opportunities for participants to improve their skills and lead into further female cricketing opportunities.
