Sista Smash is a girls-only cricket festival for year 5 – 8 students across the Thames Valley region of Northern Districts Cricket.
- One day festival
- Schools offered three coaching sessions leading into the festival
- 8 a-side, pairs cricket played with a soft ball
- Girls only
- Held in Hauraki Plains College in Ngatea
- All Equipment provided – teams just need to show up and play
- Costumes, music and theme all created with input from students
- Created and delivered in partnership with Sport Waikato and their ‘This is Me’ campaign
- Free for each school to register – no cost to participate
- Spot prizes on the day for best dressed team, best dance moves – no cricket-specific rewards
The challenge
It was noticed that ‘have a go’ style festival days in 2018/19 were popular with schools in Thames valley, with a large number of schools attracted to the fun cricket format. However, the number of girls participating was limited, and the days were being dominated by boys.
After discussions with schools, there was a deliberate strategy developed to host a girls-only event, as it was identified this was the best way to get more girls participating and enjoying cricket.
This would end up being the first girls-only initiative of its kind for any sport in the Thames Valley region. Girls-only festival sports days were not being offered by any sport across the district.
Building a programme… ask the girls what they want
Work began in partnership with Sport Waikato and their ‘This is Me’ campaign – a campaign with the objective of increasing girls participation in sport and physical activity. Confirming the window when the festival could take place, and an approximate schedule was a key early factor. Having these details confirmed early enabled clear communication with schools and ensured there were no clashes with existing significant school and sports events.
Schools and girls were then consulted – with the girls asked what did they actually want? The girls came up with all the key elements of the day – the music, pink theme for the festival, team names, costumes and even the name for the festival – ‘Sista Smash’.
‘We gave the girls ownership of the name’
Ramesh Subasinghe, Development Officer – Thames Valley. Northern Districts Cricket
Three months prior to the festival day, all schools in Thames Valley received event information and promotional material via email. It was also promoted through existing school relationships and through Sport Waikato’s channels and reach into local schools.
Along with the festival day being established, every school that registered was offered three coaching sessions in the lead up to the Festival. This helped develop confidence in the girls, and also extended their participation in cricket. As cricket was not a well- established sport across the district, it was also many girls first engagement with the sport.
The offer of coaching sessions as a ‘package deal’ with
the Festival also got an enhanced commitment from schools. This assisted not only with engagement in the first year of the Festival, but also for long-term participation.
‘The Festival is the end product – it’s not just going into schools for awareness sessions, it all leads to something’
Ramesh Subasinghe, Development Officer – Thames Valley. Northern Districts Cricket
Festival day
Prior to the Festival, there was strong communication with schools on the pink theme the girls had suggested for the day, and for each school to create their own team names and costumes. Schools were encouraged to be as creative as possible… and they were.
To contribute to the theme, bats were spray painted pink and even crease lines were painted pink instead of the regular white colour. Music played all day and there was a very social, enjoyable atmosphere.
Using pairs cricket format ensured that all girls were involved in every game, and got equal opportunity batting, bowling and fielding. This gave the girls a real taste for cricket. There were also spot prizes throughout the day for the best dressed team and the team with the best dance moves.
‘Regardless of talent, everyone got the same opportunity’
Ramesh Subasinghe, Development Officer – Thames Valley. Northern Districts Cricket
With Sista Smash having now been delivered two years in a row, Thames Valley has already seen participation increase in a short time frame. Sista Smash is now an established event in school’s sporting calendars.
A catalyst for growth
As well as increasing participation in Sista Smash, Thames Valley have also seen increased participation in other areas of junior and youth female cricket in the district.
- Girls’ participation in mixed gender ‘have a go’ days has increased by 300%
- x850 girls have participated in skills programmes over the 2019-2020 period
- Hauraki Plains College (the main high school in the district) had x36 girls register to play hard ball cricket in 2020
- More girls are volunteering in cricket – supporting junior programmes as umpires, scorers and coaches
- Sista Smash extended to Hamilton and Counties Manukau, two neighbouring districts in Northern Districts, attracting x160 girls and x65 girls respectively
Plans for the future
Thames Valley have identified a number of challenges that exist around girls cricket in the District, but Sista Smash has started the process of addressing these challenges and delivering cricket in a way that girls want to play. Key challenges include;
- Lack of playing opportunities for high school girls
- Entry point to start playing cricket in high school is hard ball only
- A lack of well-equip coaches within high schools
Key focus areas for the future, which Sista Smash is a catalyst for:
- Establish a girls-only competition for Thames Valley
- Extend this concept to high school aged girls
- Provide more coaching support for girls-only cricket teams