New key appointments ahead of 2019 NCIC

Joining the Cricket Victoria family to take charge of our state teams competing in the National Cricket Inclusion Championships in Geelong in January, 2019 are some outstanding ambassadors for our great game and the various communities represented at the Carnival.

The Cricket Australia run Championships, hosted by Cricket Victoria, will see the best of the best across the nation compete at the week-long events across the following three divisions:

• Deaf and Hard of Hearing
• Blind and Vision Impaired
• Intellectual Disability

After an extensive process, including engagement with our High Performance Teams, feedback from the respective communities and interviews Cricket Victoria is delighted to announce the following officials in their key posts:

Victorian Gorillas
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Coach: Dean Barton-Smith
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Team Manager: Simon Andersson

VBCA
Blind and Vision Impaired Coach: Andrew Walton
Blind and Vision Impaired Team Manager: Jodi Hunter

Victorian Vikings
Intellectual Disability Coach: Tom Ewing
Intellectual Disability Assistant Coach: Jeffery Rosolin
Intellectual Disability Team Manager: Kellie Tait

Cricket Victoria General Manager of Community Cricket Rohan O’Neill said the teams will be well served by these appointments.

“I am delighted by the calibre of people who showed interest in these sought after positions, leading to us gaining the appointment of some outstanding individuals to support our State Inclusion teams”, O’Neill said.

“The event is really important to Cricket Victoria and we know what it means to these communities, so to have quality people such as Andrew Walton and Jodie-Hunter return to support the Blind & Vision impaired team is wonderful. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing how former Olympian and a role model in the Deaf Community Dean Barton-Smith can help bring the Gorillas together and providing a state coaching opportunity to a wonderful young man in Tom Ewing is great for the Vikings too.

“We are also delighted to be working closely with the SACA and Cricket Australia to stage an exhibition match for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Women which is an outstanding development for the tournament and we hope will inspire more women from the Deaf community to come forward to play cricket on a regular basis”.

The teams will train throughout October to December and play in a practice match in January before heading down to Geelong to take on teams from all over Australia.

More details about the event can be found via the NCIC website and for more information about the teams, contact Cricket Victoria Club & Community Cricket Manager, Paul Milo on 03 9085 4079.