Sussex see school participation reach record high

The Foundation, which is now the charity arm of Sussex Cricket Limited following the successful merger of Sussex County Cricket Club and Sussex Cricket Board on November 1, have been working with schools throughout the Sussex community on various programmes since the start of the academic year.

Such programmes include indoor cricket tournaments, a primary school education project focusing on the upcoming T20 World Cup, secondary school participation and leadership programmes and floodlit cricket competitions.

Steve Feazey, Cricket Development Manager said: “In total, we have reached over 2,000 children in Key Stages Two and Three since the start of the Academic year, which is a fantastic achievement.

“Cricket is normally perceived as a summer sport, but through intuition and innovation, we have engaged various partners to help us set up and deliver participation programmes across the county during the winter months.

“Our programmes are growing from strength to strength and we will continue to develop our strategy for school’s cricket alongside our partners. Ultimately, these programmes provide the participants with the opportunity to both play and learn through cricket all year round.”

Emma Greenough, Schools Games Organiser for Brighton and Hove said: “The Indoor Cricket Competitions that Sussex Cricket run during the winter months are great as its essential to keep young people involved in cricket all year round and developing those fundamental movement skills that can be used for both cricket and other sports.

“The added bonus of being indoors also means that high quality Level 2 competitions between schools can still take place in the winter months – keeping lots of children active when the weather outside is dark and it’s difficult to get young people motivated to take part.”

Matt Sealby, Head of PE at The Regis School said: “Indoor cricket in the winter provides an invaluable opportunity for schools to take part in what is a predominantly summer sport. The summer term is often short and with cancelled games due to weather issues and limited schools playing longer formats, the indoor format allows students to play cricket all year round in exciting and fast paced games.

“The Indoor competitions have been delivered by 12 of our best sports leaders who have been on an ECB Activators course delivered by the Sussex Cricket Foundation. The aim of the programme is to deliver cricket in a fun and engaging way to youngsters both within the school and amongst our local feeder schools. This will serve as another tool to bridging the gap between primary and secondary schools through an engaging cricket programme.

“The Sussex Cricket Foundation has provided the excellent training needed for the youngsters and they will, in turn, deliver to over 100 young people within the local area.”

For further information on Sussex Cricket Foundation school programmes, please visit www.sussexcricket.co.uk/schools.

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