Successful 2017 festivals set the platform for the future.
This year the ECB launched the new Women’s Softball Cricket Festivals initiative across the country, aimed at women of all abilities, encouraging them to get involved and give cricket a go. With the Women’s World Cup held in the country and England coming out victorious, it’s been a stellar summer for women’s cricket, particularly in Yorkshire; where over 500 women got involved across our 12 softball festivals! The festivals were cricket as you’ve never seen it before, with no pads or specialist kit required, shorter game times and brighter colours! Each were focused on delivering a fun and social environment for women to try cricket, each packed with music, food and drink galore.
The festivals themselves were hugely successful as can be seen by the vast amount of positive feedback received. The festivals scored an average of 4.71 out of 5 for enjoyability and 100% of women who gave feedback on the festivals said they were interested in playing again! Comments included:
‘It’s been brilliant, I’ve never seen as many women playing cricket on one pitch in my life it’s absolutely fantastic!’
Many of the attendees recommended the festivals to friends and family:
‘Sign up immediately, it’s fun, it’s exciting, it’s funny, you don’t have to know anything about cricket. It’s well worth coming down to play.’
The festivals ignited a passion for cricket in many more:
‘I’d never done cricket beforehand, so it’s definitely encouraged me to get into cricket now!’
‘It’s been really good fun, who’d have known I’d ever hit a four!’
With the custom made brightly coloured kit, the festivals were a true spectacle and celebration of women in sport, and we can’t wait to get started on next year’s set of festivals! The clubs that hosted the festivals had only great things to say too…
‘We used the festivals to promote women’s cricket in our area and encourage as many people as possible to get involved. It was great to see people new to cricket as well as loads of mums giving cricket a go for the first time’ – Holmfirth Cricket Club
‘We would definitely recommend these festivals to any club who are interested in starting or growing a women’s section. It is a no brainer and we look forward to next season's festival at the club.’ – St Chad’s Broomfield Cricket Club
So, if you’re interested in getting involved in the programme next year, please don’t hesitate to get in touch! We’ve put together a document showcasing the festivals below, with links to all the videos made at the festivals so you can get a real feel for what the festivals are all about. With more festivals in the pipeline for 2018, the number of women getting involved in the game is only set to increase. The softball festivals have shown that it doesn’t matter who you are, or how much experience you have – cricket really is the game for you!
For more information, contact: a.behrens@yorkshirecb.com, like the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WomensSoftballCricketYorks/ and have a read through our 2017 report!