2020 marked 15 years of the Chance to Shine programme, a national charity that aims to provide all children with the opportunity to play, learn and develop through cricket. The initiative was started in March 2005 by former cricketer Nick Gandon.
The main aim of the Chance to Shine programme is to get girls interested in playing sport. Fortunately, this programme has not only got more girls active but it has helped them to understand and see the benefits of playing sport. Chance to Shine collaborates with schools to offer children with a brilliant first-hand experience of cricket. It works with as many as 39 County Cricket Boards across England and Wales. It sends specialist coaches to schools, once a week for six weeks, to support cricket coaching.
Over the years, Chance to Shine has been a great success which is evident from the fact that it is helping an increasing number of teenage girls to take up sports and develop leadership qualities. As per the research reports, the number of girls who say they are active every day after taking part in Chance to Shine’s Secondary School Girls Programme has risen from 34 percent to 40 percent.
So far, the programme has worked with 1,700 specifically trained ‘Young Leaders’. There are additional 2,200 girls taking part in after-school clubs spread across 100 state schools in the country.
According to research conducted by the Centre for Sport, Physical Education & Activity Research (spear) at Canterbury Christ Church University, a whopping 78 percent of those who took part in the programme said that they ‘wanted to play more cricket than before’. The research – commissioned by Chance to Shine and NatWest – also showed statistically significant growth in the key leadership traits such as confidence, resilience, creativity, and adaptability. There is seldom any doubt that cricket is one of the sports that helps in the all-round development of children.
According to Laura Cordingley, chief executive, Chance to Shine, ‘normalizing cricket for girls’ has been a big part of the programme’s success.
At Chance to Shine, it can be seen that the power of cricket can support young people to develop the skills that will benefit them throughout their life. Also, the core leadership principles that one can learn, like dealing with setbacks, adapting to changing situations and problem-solving, along with other life skills will help in professional life as well.
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