The Surrey Cricket Foundation’s Women’s University Cricket project has seen participation soar in its second year with over 170 women from four London universities – King’s College London (KCL), London School of Economics (LSE), University College London (UCL), and Imperial College London (ICL) – signing up to take part.
UCL, boasting the highest membership at 60, is now offering two weekly sessions – one for beginners (softball) and another for experienced players (hardball). Membership at King’s College, Imperial, and LSE have all seen growth this year, with King’s numbers boosted by new group of enthusiastic first years, and Imperial seeing a double in weekly numbers at training in comparison to last year.
This year, rather than one large session for all participants, weekly coaching sessions with Surrey Cricket Foundation and Capital Kids Cricket coaches were held at each university, giving each team the opportunity to train at a venue and time suitable for them.
An indoor league featuring five teams (two from UCL and one each from the other universities) has provided competitive fixtures alongside the coaching sessions. An originally planned 6-a-side competition evolved due to the league’s popularity, with most games played as 8 or 10-a-side matches with adapted rules, ensuring maximum participation.
The programme resulted in a competitive Finals Day at Ark All Saints Academy in Kennington, with King’s College Women’s CC taking home the 2023/24 trophy!
Following the finals, and giving further participation opportunity, nine players from across all four universities were selected to form the team representing the South London Capitals at the National Tape Ball finals in Bradford on 21st April.
Outside of the training and playing aspects, the project offers valuable coaching development opportunities for women. This past winter, two participants have obtained their Core Coach (Level 2) qualification and have assisted with running sessions, while another participant who qualified last year continues to develop her coaching skills.
Gavin Reynolds, SCFs Cricket Participation Manager for London said “we’re delighted with the growth of the Women’s University Cricket Programme this year, and are already planning for a bigger and better 2024/25 season! Plans are already underway to further develop the project including securing a bigger venue for UCL’s growing sessions, working to offer more suitable training times, and potentially splitting the league into beginner and experienced divisions to cater to the anticipated rise in teams and participants.”
With its focus on tailored coaching, competitive fixtures, and coach development, the Women’s University Cricket Project is creating a thriving environment for women’s cricket at universities across London.
