News

Bristol StreetChance scheme nominated for award

1 June 2013

The Easton StreetChance scheme is in the running for a national award.

The initiative - run by the Gloucestershire Cricket Board  - has been nominated by the Cricket Foundation as one of its projects of the year.

Designed to get young people off the street by offering them a free, fun and accessible cricketing experience, the Easton scheme is one of four currently running in Bristol.

The projects are aimed at 11-18-year-olds, and feature a fast-paced version of cricket called Street 20. This is a shortened version of the game that consists of 20-ball-a-side matches using a tennis ball wrapped in tape. It is part of the Cricket Foundation’s national campaign to encourage youngsters in inner-city areas to take up the sport.

Gloucestershire Cricket Board projects and programmes manager Chris Munden set up the weekly evening sessions at Easton Leisure Centre a year ago.

He said: “It is fantastic to be nominated for the award. The Easton project has been a real success story. We started with just six lads and we now have around 22 coming each week. The majority of these simply wouldn’t have had access to cricket if it wasn’t for the StreetChance scheme.

“A number of the players have gone on to join local clubs and I’ve already had reports back from some of their teachers saying their behaviour has massively improved since being involved in the project.”

As well as teaching the youngsters cricket the StreetChance initiative also educates them on some of the social issues they might face including drugs, crime and gang culture.

Chris said: “In conjunction with the cricket sessions we run half hour workshops like drugs awareness. Recently an ex-prisoner who’d been a gang member and heroin addict came to speak to the group in Easton. He showed the lads his leg which was completely blue after injecting drugs for so long and told stories of how he’d robbed his Mum’s house for money.

“The workshop was so powerful because the lads are mostly aged 16 and 17 and are at that age where they’ll start going to parties. The former drug addict told them next time you’re offered cannabis at a party think twice because that’s how he got started.”

The project has also been visited by Easton Police Community Support Officer Paul Caines in order to break down barriers between police and young people.

The winner of the StreetChance project of the year award will be decided at a star-studded ceremony at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 3. Six of the youngsters from the project will be in attendance.

For more information on the scheme in Bristol visithttp://www.gloucestershirecricketboard.com/index.php/schools/streetchance or contact Chris Munden on 07557 924941 or email chris.munden@glosccc.co.uk

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