Setting up a womenโs and girlsโ section
Setting up a womenโs and/or girlsโ section at your club might not be as daunting as you think. Whilst there are slightly different approaches to both sections, all successful clubs are those who create a safe, fun and welcoming atmosphere at the club where individuals can play and socialise.ย
Benefits of having girls/women at your club:
- More participants & volunteersย
- Increased incomeย
- Friendly and welcoming atmosphereย
- People spend more time socialisingย
- Shows potential new members how you welcome allย
- Potential sponsorship and wider community engagement
Key areas when developing a girls` section:
Club Buy In:
- Committee approvalย
- Inclusive development planningย
- Whole club supportย ย
Planning:ย
- Identifying need
- Type of activityย
- Who should be involved
- Awareness of other activitiesย
- Understanding players and barriers
Attracting Players:
- Marketingย
- Girls` only sessionsย ย ย
- Flexible deliveryย ย
- Getting the right people involvedย
- Incentives of being involvedย ย
- Fun and sociable activity
Retaining Members:
- Welcoming facilitiesย
- Equal accessย ย ย
- Quality experiencesย ย
- Competition opportunitiesย ย
- Progression for players
In many ways developing a womenโs and/or girlsโ section is just like supporting existing junior or mixed sections, all you need is some awareness of the slightly different needs and ambitions girls may have.ย
Youโve got to think about your legal and safeguarding policies. This includes DBS checks for coaches and volunteers, sticking to ECB ratios of coaches to players (especially when using hard balls) and having permission for photos. Your club safeguarding officer can use the resources available on the ECB website to make sure youโre ticking all the boxes.
Overall, if youโre thinking about setting up a womenโs or girlsโ section, just start! There are lots of free resources available and volunteers will always step forward if youโve got a common goal. Also, engage with your County Board. Weโre a big cricket family and if you ask, people will help.
For further guidance, the link below will take you to the ECB โToolkitโ on developing a girlโs section:
Developing a girlโs section at your club โ ECB Tool Kit – Developing a girl`s section
Case study for setting up a girls’ section from Tunbridge Wells –ย