Cricket clubs breaking barriers

GLEN Alvie Cricket Club has been a long-time advocate for social inclusion within the sporting community.

With a club culture centred on respect and representation, the “team without a town” was able to successfully join other clubs in entering a women’s team into the competition this season – an achievement that has been in the pipeline for quite some time.

Ahead of the UN’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, Glen Alvie Cricket Club president David Hynes said he was proud of how far his club – and the league and grassroots sport as a whole – has come in providing equal opportunity.

“Our women’s team is something we’ve worked really hard to establish. Respect on and off the field is something we actively pursue and it’s never a token gesture – it’s something we value from the committee level down,” he said.

“We welcome anyone who wants to play. There is no sense of hierarchy. There are aspects that can be challenging and we are still learning, but it is an important part of our club.”

One strategy the club employs is combined training across genders and age groups, giving a sense of unity at all levels of the club.

“There’s no segregation. Everyone is welcome and is given the same opportunities. We’re all just out there to play the sport we love and win,” Hynes said.

“We recently ordered new training balls and Gaby (Hynes, Glen Alvie women’s captain/coach) asked where the women’s training balls were. That’s one of the areas where we are still learning. We realised we hadn’t ordered new training balls for the women’s team and made the decision that no one was getting their new training balls until everybody had them. We are focused on those conversations of respect and challenging ourselves to change. We are trying hard to provide a community service that is safe and inclusive for everyone.” 

Hynes said the development of the women’s team was made possible through collaboration with the Bass Coast Breakers. 

“It’s great to have the support of the Breakers, as well as seeing the mother/daughter combinations and our young female players getting out there. It’s great to watch how they all play the game. They are all fiercely competitive, but they play in the spirit that cricket is supposed to be played in,” Hynes said.

“The women’s team is not an add-on. It’s something we’ve been working towards for a long time and is now an integral part of our club.”

Hynes said the comfortable social environment started with offering ways for parents to be involved, which encouraged families to come along to training nights and game days.

The inclusion of the women’s team has had a positive impact on the young girls who have become part of the cricket community through this family involvement.

“You can’t be what you can’t see, and these young girls are now seeing our women’s team as role models. It’s a positive outcome and a real boost to morale across the club,” he said.

The nine-team women’s competition is played on Sundays.

The draw is available to view on PlayHQ.