Wallan District Cricket Club is hosting an information day on Sunday as the club will field an inaugural women’s team for season 2024/25.
The information day will be a spill on a women’s team, including the rules on women’s cricket, equipment, and training, as well as the club’s involvement in the Gisborne and District Cricket Association, with its rules and regulations.
Through the aid of sponsors and grants, the club is endeavouring to provide equipment for the women’s side. Club member and future women’s player, Felicity Vance, said she looked forward to bringing a women’s side to the club – an idea she would want to see come to life.
“The club’s sort of become our second home in summer, I have a young son and I’m really conscious of how important it is for him to see mum and dad play sport – I think trying to level out gender equality is important,” she said.
“We’re so lucky that the president and the whole committee and the club have embraced this wholeheartedly.” Ms Vance said the opportunity for women’s cricket was part of the club’s bigger picture.
“The opportunity goes sort of beyond women and to the whole club, because when you’re bringing women into a sporting club, you’re also creating that welcoming, safe club culture,” she said.
“I think for the Wallan District Cricket Club, they really wanted to make it a positive message they were sending out to the community.
“They’ve got a really great junior program, obviously the senior’s men program is fantastic, but that identified missing gap in the club, and the idea of making everyone feel they can come and play cricket, that’s really the thought behind it.”
President Robbie Fowler said a women’s cricket club was an extension of having female players in the junior programs.
“I’m really excited about it. Having a women’s side the last couple of years – 15 to 18s in the juniors – has been great, but this is the extension of that,” he said.
The information day will be on May 5 from 1-2pm at the Greenhill Reserve social rooms in Wallan.
For more information, contact Felicity on 0410 451 987 or Robbie on 0417 116 711.
