Table Cricket participation is set to sky rocket in Grampian thanks to support from Cricket Scotland and funding from Lord Taverners.
The funding has enabled Cricket Scotland to give participating schools their own table cricket kit & provide virtual training to upskill teaching, support and Active Schools staff with the tools & knowledge to run their own sustainable sessions.
The Grampian programme was piloted in Moray region by Kim McNeill, who worked closely with Cricket Scotland and who developed weekly table cricket and Super 1’s opportunities and competitions for pupils across the local authority area. They were very popular amongst pupils and staff, and requests came in from schools in Aberdeenshire & Aberdeen City to replicate the programme in more schools.
Staff and volunteers from the following schools took part in a pilot virtual learning initiative in November, with a view to introducing the sport to their schools in the New Year: Carronhill; Mile End; Orchard Brae; Mearns Academy; Mackie Academy; Anna Ritchie; Westfield; and St Andrew’s Schools. Table cricket provision is designed to enable those with severe and complex needs to succeed in more sport and physical activity opportunities, whilst pupils with less severe impairments can enjoy the sport through the Super 1’s programme, which will be rolled out in early 2021.
For the first time, we also hope to be able to offer a cricket event as part of the Grampian Schools Disability & ASN Sports Calendar and aim for this to feed in to Cricket Scotland national competitive events.
If you, or anyone you know, lives with a physical, sensory or learning disability in Grampian & is interested in getting involved in sport, please get in touch with Alison on alison.shaw@scottishdisabilitysport.com or 07828 744 848.