By Martin Walker
Dozens of children descended on Newton Aycliffe Sports Club for a national initiative to get more children into Cricket.
A record 250 Year Six pupils from local primary schools took part in the Asda-sponsored Kwik Cricket Competition, a nationwide campaign to improve the participation of Cricket.
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The School Sport Partnership (SSP) for Sedgefield joined forces with Aycliffe Sports Club and Durham Cricket Board to host the event, as 20 teams consisting of 12 mixed teams and eight girls-only teams played the mini-version of the game using soft balls.
Sarah Price, Partnership Development Manager for SSP which covers all schools within the old Sedgefield Borough area, said: “It’s all about getting more kids into sport and lifelong participation.
“We run about 160 festivals throughout the year, involving lots of different sports in primary and secondary schools, to give children a chance to try a variety of sports, so they can find one they’ll hopefully play for the rest of their lives.
“We’ve had 250 youngsters from around Sedgefield playing at Aycliffe, and some of them will go on to join this club or their own club and will go on to enjoy playing cricket because of this experience.
“We had them playing in ability groups, so at some stage they all felt what it’s like to win and will have enjoyed themselves.”
Darren Brown, Cricket Development Officer for Durham Cricket Board, said: “It’s just about getting as many people as possible involved in sport and playing cricket and this year’s event at Aycliffe was a huge success.”
Malcolm Dawes, Community and Youth Development Officer for Aycliffe Cricket Club, added: “It was brilliant to see – it’s a unique opportunity for the youngsters and a fantastic experience.”
■ Pictured above (left to right) is Durham Cricket Board Development Officer Darren Brown, Aycliffe Cricket Club Community and Youth Development Officer and Sedgefield School Sport Partnership Development Manager Sarah Price.
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