The Heera-Ranis Street Project.
The Heera-Ranis Street Project, a community cricket session that runs in Leeds, won the Project of the Year Award at the national Chance to Shine Awards on Wednesday 20th November.
The free weekly project, that runs for girls aged eight-15, was represented by coach Clare Sanderson on the night and was recognised for their hard work supporting grassroots cricket. Sanderson was presented with the award by former England cricketer Matt Prior at Lord’s Cricket Ground.
The Heera-Ranis project was named after the Bengali, Hindi-Urdu and Punjabi word for Diamond ‘Heera’ – to link in with the Yorkshire Diamonds Kia Super League Team – and ‘Ranis’ meaning Queens to represent the girls who take part in the session. The sessions, established and managed by the Yorkshire Cricket Foundation and the Yorkshire Cricket Board, run from the Bilal Centre in Harehills on Saturday afternoons.
The Chance to Shine Annual Awards, supported by NatWest, celebrates clubs, individuals and schools who help to spread the power of cricket and make the charity such a success.
The judging panel noted that Heera-Ranis Street Project was a fantastic example of a project that adapted to their participants needs to ensure that girls can play cricket in a safe and comfortable place. Around 25 girls take part every week and for many it is the only physical activity they take part in outside of school. The majority of the participants come from a South-Asian background, a group that is significantly under-represented in sporting activity.
National charity Chance to Shine has been working since 2005 to deliver cricket coaching sessions in state schools and disadvantaged communities. Over the years, the charity has reached more than four million young people, 46% of whom are girls, in over 16,000 state schools across the country.
After receiving the award, Heera-Ranis Coach Clare Sanderson said “It will mean a lot for the girls. They’ve been asking me about the award all the time and I think it will give them a bit of prestige and self-belief.
“It’s all about creating a safe space for these young women to come and express themselves and it’s an amazing feeling to see how many girls come along every week to take part.”
Young cricketer Sarah said “Before I came here [to the sessions] I’d never really played any cricket. First, I was a really shy girl but now I'm shy anymore. What makes me come back every week, is how fun it is and how much I enjoy it. On the weekends, I don’t really have anything to do so [coming here] cheers me up.”
Retired England fast-bowler Ryan Sidebottom, who attended the event said “The Heera-Ranis are an amazing example of what the power of cricket can do for children and young people and everyone involved in the project should be very proud of their accolade.
“It’s been an incredibly inspiring evening, hearing all about the amazing work that is happening around the country through Chance to Shine. 2019 has been the most phenomenal year of cricket in this country at all levels and this evening has topped it off.”
Laura Cordingley, Chief Executive at Chance to Shine, added, “On behalf of Chance to Shine, I’d like to congratulate the Heera-Ranis for their incredible commitment to spreading the power of cricket. They are a shining example of the impact that cricket can have on children and young people across the country and we are so proud to be able to celebrate their achievement.
“At Chance to Shine we will continue to work to support children and young people to play, learn and develop through cricket and we’re so grateful to have the support of key partners the England & Wales Cricket Board, Sport England and NatWest. Their support is crucial to ensuring that we can reach over half a million children every year.”
To see more about the project, please watch the VIDEO.
Or to find out more, visit chancetoshine.org.