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Volunteers drive Victorian cricket to strong census results

August 12, 2020
Category: Club Cricket, Community,
Volunteers drive Victorian cricket to strong census results

Volunteers have again led the way in driving Cricket Victoria’s participation numbers which were announced in the 2019-20 Australian Cricket Census by Cricket Australia today.

At club level, over 8,500 community cricket teams played cricket ‘week in, week out’, representing 1,094 clubs across 75 cricket associations in Victoria.

Victoria led a number of national rankings with registered participation increasing by 2.9% for the year to 235,084.

Women’s cricket continues to shine, with a 19.3% increase in junior girls participation in metro regions and a 30.6% increase in senior women’s participation in metro regions.

Men’s cricket recorded participation gains in both metropolitan (5.9%) and country regions (3.2%).

The Woolworths Cricket Blast program also enjoyed a rebound with a participation increase of 11.4% on the previous year in Victoria. Woolworths Cricket Blast plays a vital role in attracting and developing new entry-level participation to cricket and acts as an important connector with both schools and clubs.

Overall, Victoria topped the national rankings for registered participation, club cricket participation and indoor cricket participation.

Cricket Victoria CEO Andrew Ingleton said “the results demonstrate that by offering cricket across all age groups in a range of flexible formats, and at convenient times we’re giving as many people as possible the opportunity to be involved.”

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach. We are seeing traditional Club and Association competitions complemented by new programs and the evolution of local social competitions,” Ingleton said.

The 2019/20 season saw growth in key social and diversity programs including Southeast Asian T20 competitions across Melbourne, Harmony in Cricket and Social Sixes – a program designed to introduce adult females to the game.

Ingleton also paid tribute to the thousands of volunteers, coaches, players, administrators and families across the state who dedicate their time to cricket.

“Volunteers are the backbone of our cricket community and deserve enormous credit for the time, energy and passion they invest in making cricket in their local area successful,” Ingleton said.

“The Coronavirus pandemic will present us with some challenges this season but we’ll work with our government partners and agencies to ensure we have the best information available to the Victorian cricket community. Cricket could be one of the first sports to return to community competition and we’ll be ready to support clubs and associations across Victoria to make that return safe and effective,” Ingleton added.

The 2019/20 Australian Cricket Census is the 19th annual audit of Australian cricket participation.

The Census has become an important measure for Cricket, and assists understanding and monitoring successes, areas to develop and trends for the long‐term enhancement of Australian cricket.

The Census only includes formal participation in organised competitions and school programs. It does not include participation in cricket activities which do not meet a minimum program requirement of four weeks/games duration.

 

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