As we reach the end of a bumper year and finally have time to take a breath, let us take a look back at what has been an incredible 2023.
It is no surprise that Gloucestershire continues to lead the way, which in most can be attributed to the dedicated volunteers and fantastic clubs across our amazing County.
We started 2023 with our Women’s indoor Leagues – seeing record numbers of entries. Bristol 1, Bristol 2, Stroud, Cheltenham/Cotswolds and Gloucester and Forest of Dean. All Leagues contested over the course of a 12 week period, also provided a great opportunity for practice prior to heading outdoors come April.
The early part of the year also sees the start of our Girls indoor School competition Lady Taverners, with over 50 schools entered, almost double to that of previous years, it really showed that there is a huge appetite for teenage girls to play cricket, no matter the format – this is in turn in reflected in club offer for 2024.
Across the course of Summer 2023 Gloucestershire has seen huge growth in Women and Girls cricket.
| Girls Sections | Girls Teams | Womens Sections | Womens Teams | |
| Summer 2022 | 23 | 53 | 37 | 56 |
| Summer 2023 | 55 | 118 | 46 | 88 |
| Percentage Growth | 139% | 118% | 24% | 57% |
As we continuously strive to make cricket the most inclusive sport it can be across Gloucestershire, the efforts of our clubs and volunteers to make the above growth possible is nothing short of amazing.
The above figures place Gloucestershire 4th Nationally (of 38) and 1st in Region (of 12).
As a county we formed part of Women’s WEPL only the second ECB premier League of its kind, with three teams entered in 2023 (Golden Hill, Frenchay and Dumbleton) Also made up of three Somerset and two Wiltshire sides. We are delighted to expand upon this for 2024 and Welcome Cheltenham as an additional club.
The continued growth requires additional volunteer support, to ensure we are creating a sustainable environment for our new and existing sections to thrive. This is an area that our fabulous clubs have continued to excel in.
During 2023:
68 Newly qualified female coaches and activators
10 Newly qualified female umpires
51 females attending scoring course
We still have availability on a number of our coach education courses which can be booked here our Scoring and Umpiring course are also live on our website. If you have any questions regarding Coach Education or Officiating courses contact Gareth Dawson our Workforce Development Officer
With the close of the season we celebrated in the usual fashion at the Seat Unique Stadium, where we welcomed the whole of the club network, League winners and individual award winners. Details can be found below and are also available as with all league documents on our Play Cricket site.
With such success in 2023 we are delighted to share our outdoor offer for 2024 and looking forward to welcoming even more new clubs into the Women and Girls network. To enter any of our competitions please visit our Play Cricket site and complete the form.
If you are interested in starting a Women and/or Girls section at your club, require additional support please do get in touch with our Head of Women and Girls Laura Charles-Price. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved without formally entering any of the above leagues. Be part of the fastest growing area of the game, there is no better place be.
Congratulations to all Clubs, Players, Volunteers and officials on what has been a fantastic year. We cannot wait to see you all back for 2024.