Chance to Shine: Warrington Youth Zone

Since 2019, StreetGames have partnered with Chance to Shine to bring opportunities to play cricket to young people living in underserved communities. The Chance to Shine programme is designed to allow cricket to be played in a variety of settings with limited equipment, and is suitable for complete beginners.

Warrington Youth Zone (WYZ), a community organisation in the StreetGames network, have been offering Chance to Shine Street cricket sessions since 2021 after receiving funding from StreetGames to deliver the programme. Having recently moved to a brand new, state of the art facility, WYZ regularly welcome upwards of 350 participants per day during the school holidays, with Street cricket now an integral part of their Holiday Club offer.

The cricket sessions have proven incredibly popular amongst young people, attracting both male and female participants. StreetGames staff have visited WYZ on a number of occasions to experience the sessions for themselves and were delighted to see how engaged the young people were.

Noah, aged 8, attends the Street cricket sessions at WYZ on a regular basis: “I had never tried cricket before apart from a couple of times at school. It was really fun! I liked batting the best, I was quite good at it. I’d like to try it more now that I know the rules.”

The Chance to Shine programme has also provided an opportunity for WYZ’s coaches and volunteers to develop their skill sets and knowledge within a new sport. Coaches enjoy delivering the sessions, which ensures that the activities are engaging and that participants get the most out of them.

Tom Jowett, Head of Youth Work at WYZ, said: “The Chance to Shine funding received through StreetGames forms a vital part of our sports offer for local children and young people. Having specific funding attached to cricket means we can develop a programme of work with regular sessions, meaning everyone progresses – young people of course, but also our volunteers and coaches. Using the format of Street cricket allows us to deliver highly engaging sessions which are great fun and inclusive for all abilities.”

Rohan Randhawa, Inclusive Programmes Manager at Chance to Shine, said: “The relationship with StreetGames has gone from strength to strength in the past year, supporting the delivery of 17 Street projects across the country and supporting Chance to Shine to plug the gaps across the top 30% most deprived areas. It’s fantastic to see the success of the relationship having a big impact on the ground in Warrington by offering Street cricket to young people for free on a weekly basis who otherwise wouldn’t get the opportunity to play. We thank StreetGames for their ongoing support of Chance to Shine Street and can’t wait to build on the current success.”

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