On Wednesday 25th October, the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation hosted the Community Awards 2023 at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol.
The event was an opportunity for the four community cricket programmes, Chance to Shine Street, ACE, Lords’ Taverners Super 1’s and Lords’ Taverners Wicketz to come together and celebrate the past 12 months. 110 guests were welcomed to the event for dinner, an awards ceremony and a Q&A session with Gloucestershire CCC’s Ollie Price and Western Storm’s Mollie Robbins. The evening was hosted by BBC Test Match Special commentator and Gloucestershire Women’s player, Melissa Story, who was an excellent host on the night.
The Foundation’s Urban Development Officer, Harry Watts said:
“This was an amazing event which allowed us to celebrate our highlights from the last year, including residential trips, tournaments at Edgbaston and CricFest 2023. It’s great that we can work closely with each other to produce these sorts of events, which helps our participants to meet fellow cricket lovers from across the county”
The 2023 Community Cricket Award categories were Rising Star, Game Changer, Growing the Game, Unsung Hero and Inspire to Play and there were award winners from each of the four programmes for every award.
Crispin Shingler, Community Development Manager added:
“The Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation are having a fantastic impact supporting our communities with cricket through our charity partners ACE, Chance to Shine and the Lord’s Taverners, which is testament to the dedication of our Development Officers, their passion for the communities they serve and the development of young people. “For over 6 years, the GCF’s community programmes have worked collaboratively to improve lives through cricket, bringing communities together and enhancing life experiences for participants. Once again, it was wonderful to bring all the programmes together at our Community Awards night to celebrate the achievements of participants and hear from them, their parents and guardians, how much they value their local community cricket hub”
Dan Wilson, Wicketz Programme Manager said:
“It was a great evening showcasing the fantastic work that the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation are doing to enable young people from all walks of life access cricket. It was wonderful to hear from participants and their parents about the great things happening at their projects and about some incredible achievements! I am excited to continue working with the GCF team over the next year as we continue to empower young people to overcome barriers through cricket”
The GCF Community Awards take place on an annual basis and for more information on how you can get involved with any one of our community programmes, please visit: https://gloucestershirecricketfoundation.org/community/.
Alternatively, please contact Crispin Shingler on crispin.shingler@gloucestershirecricketfoundation.org / 07903 823922