A small-town cricket club in the Coromandel is proving that changing the way sport is delivered can have a major impact on participation and enjoyment for young people.
Mercury Bay Cricket Club has recorded a 250 percent increase in junior participation after redesigning its competition structure to better suit local whaanau (families) and community life.
Based in Whitianga, the club moved away from the traditional club-versus-club model, and instead the club introduced a locally-led, school-based approach focused on shorter games, less travel, flexibility and fun.
Mercury Bay Cricket Club President Rob Corkill is also Sport Waikato’s Regional Connectivity Coordinator for the area. Corkill says the old model was creating significant barriers for local families.
“We had junior cricket teams travelling two hours for a game of cricket that was then taking five hours to play and then travelling over two hours home again,” says Corkill. “So, no one was really having fun.”
The club partnered with nearby schools within a 30-minute radius and introduced shorter, two-hour games played every second Saturday.
“The kids here, they’re not committed to playing every week,” says Corkill. “Trainings are optional, and it’s very much turn up on the day, work out the numbers as we go. It’s super casual. Super fun.”
Local parent and junior coach Daniel Brownlee says the changes have transformed the experience for both whaanau and tamaraki (children).
“The challenges before were just such a massive level of commitment,” says Brownlee. “There was so much travel and time away nearly every week. Saturday was gone, and that’s a big sacrifice for a lot of families.”
Now, he says, the focus has shifted back to enjoyment and inclusion.
“It’s brought a lot of fun back into cricket rather than boredom and tedium,” says Brownlee. “It doesn’t matter what skill level they are. Anyone can show up and enjoy themselves.”
To keep players engaged, the club also adapted the way games are played. Smaller teams, batting pairs and more opportunities to bowl and run mean children are constantly involved in the action.
“What that also meant was the barrier of the non-striking batsman leaning on their bat, not being engaged in the game, was immediately removed,” says Corkill. “They get to hit the ball more. They get to run more and they just feel more engaged in the game itself.”
The initiative aligns with Sport Waikato’s focus on reducing barriers to participation and creating quality sporting experiences for tamariki and rangatahi (teenagers) across the region.
“A lot of the work that Sport Waikato is focused on is around removing barriers to participation and creating quality opportunities for people of all age groups to be active,” says Corkill.
The success of the new model demonstrates how community sport can evolve to better reflect the realities of rural and coastal communities, while helping more young people stay active and connected through sport.
For more information, visit: https://www.sportwaikato.org.nz/news/a-local-approach-to-bringing-kids-back-to-cricket
