On Tuesday 29th October, the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation welcomed players from all four community programmes to celebrate their achievements in 2024!
Held at City Academy in Bristol, the Gloucestershire Cricket Foundation’s community awards celebrated the achievements of participants from the ACE, Chance to Shine Street and Lord’s Taverners Wicketz and Super1’s charity programmes. The event welcomed 70 young people from their respective programme and highlighted the dedication and progress made at weekly hub sessions, which focus on promoting social skills, teamwork, and physical activity through cricket. The format of the day centred around three age group competitions, life-skill workshops, and finally, the all important awards presentation. Joining the participants on the day was professional cricketer Tom Price, part of the Gloucestershire County Club’s winning team at this year’s Vitality Blast T20 tournament, along with prestigious trophy itself! Tom shared his personal cricket journey, offered advice, and answered questions, making the experience memorable for everyone involved. Alongside the Vitality Blast T20 trophy on show, the aim was to inspire the next generation of cricketers and promote a deeper connection between the club and the community. While the competition was in full swing, players also had the opportunity to take part in an online safety workshop focused on equipping participants with essential knowledge and skills to navigate the digital world safely, covering topics such as privacy settings, recognising online threats, and safe social media practices. The workshop aimed to raise awareness about potential risks and empower individuals to protect themselves and their information. 
The competition finals resulted in Chance to Shine Street being crowned victorious across all the age groups! An outstanding level of skill and teamwork was on display throughout the games.
Chance to Shine Street winners with Tom Price and the Vitality T20 Trophy
The all important awards ceremony was all that was left to round off a brilliant day.
Awards were presented in various categories (Rising Star, Unsung Hero, Game Changer, Inspire to Play and Growing the Game) showcasing the diverse talents and contributions of each individual. The atmosphere was filled with pride and encouragement, with speeches from programme leaders Jeanette Tate (Super1s), Wilf Brooke (Wicketz) and Kieran Slade (Chance to Shine Street), emphasising the importance of community support and personal growth. 
Thank you to Dan Wilson, Wicketz Programme Manager on behalf of the Lord’s Taverners, and Tom Price for presenting our awards. 
Wicketz Development Manager at the GCF, Sam Emmott said:
“It’s a privilege to be part of the GCF’s third annual community awards event. This year feels special in that the day has been lead by young voices who wanted a competition element built into the awards presentation. The teams from their weekly hubs clearly love the camaraderie and rekindling the friendly rivalries between the four charitable programmes. It’s also wonderful to hear from young people and their parents about the great things happening at their projects and about some incredible achievements! So much has happened across the year and its great to showcase some outstanding achievements that may go unnoticed if it weren’t for days like today.”
A huge congratulations to all winners on a fantastic year for community 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 Sam Emmott on sam.emmott@gloucestershirecricketfoundation.org or 07398211596.