Our Big Cricket Celebration at Cheltenham Racecourse proved a huge success as over 600 All Stars and Dynamos took to the course.
Activities which spread the length of the home straight in front of the famous grandstand, saw youngsters aged 5-11 enjoying 2 hours of fun filled games led by an army of GCB staff and activators from local cricket clubs.
The aim of the event was to celebrate all the wonderful things happening across the game currently; The Hundred, International Cricket and tens of thousands of All Stars and Dynamos Cricket participants.
By delivering cricket in this way, our ambition was to engage all forms of media, so publicising the game to a wider and greater audience and this certainly happened with a tremendous amount of press coverage in advance of, during, and after the event.
The event featured on Sky Sports News, BBC Points West, as well as highly followed social media accounts including, Cheltenham Racecourse and Rupert Bell to name a few.
Gloucestershire Cricket Board chief executive Steve Silk said:
“The day has surpassed all our expectations.
“We had the idea of bringing as many girls and boys together as possible after what has been a pretty tough time for everyone, and really celebrating being able to play cricket again especially with The Hundred inspiring so many at the moment.
“To be able to do this at such an iconic venue has been fantastic and we must thank Cheltenham Racecourse for all of their help and support. Everyone who came along will remember the day for a very long time.
“Our aim was to create a magical moment for every child that would live long in the memory, and I think by witnessing all the smiling faces we can confidently say we have succeeded.”
What is thought to be the largest children’s cricket event ever staged was aimed at kids from clubs and community groups across Gloucestershire and we also welcomed children from nearby clubs in Wiltshire and Worcestershire.
The day also included races on the home straight for players as well as mascots from the worlds of cricket and racing.
Wider than cricket, all participants and their families were also able to hold, and have photos with, the iconic Gold Cup, arguably the most famous trophy in racing. Tours were also available within the ‘inner sanctum’ of Cheltenham Racecourse – the weighing room!
GCB chairman Andy Shield added:
“We would like to say a very big thank you to Cheltenham Racecourse for opening their doors and welcoming us to such a wonderful venue.
“There have been some amazing Gold Cup winners here over the years, and now it’s staged a unique cricket event that will only encourage so many of these youngsters to continue playing and working on their skills.
“We are also extremely grateful to the ECB, the wider GCB team and our volunteer activators for all their hard work and enthusiasm which contributed to such a memorable day.”
For more information about All Stars and Dynamos Cricket and how to get involved, please contact Chris Munden Operations Manager.