Out4Cricket delighted to host with Warwickshire County Cricket Club the first ever LGBTQ+ Cricket tournament
Lachlan Smith | July 29, 2023
As August rapidly approaches I wanted to update you on what what Leo Skyner and I have been doing through Out4Cricket. We have shared some of our season highlights below:
Many of you will know that we needed to postpone the 2nd LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Cricket conference due to train strikes but we are now set to go on the 5th of September - there is still time to register so please do if you haven't done so already:
On the playing / recreational game side:
- We thoroughly enjoyed running a series of webinars for recreational clubs "LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Recreational Cricket - First steps for Clubs" through May and June. With just under 100 registrations. We have sent off the feedback / our conclusions to the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) who funded them through Raising The Game - and we will discuss the next steps with them.
- We were delighted to host (with Warwickshire County Cricket Club) the first T10 Inter County tournament in June - with teams representing Middlesex, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire. We hope to rerun it next year - if you are interested in getting involved, let us know.Click to find out more
- We ran a taster session for the LGBTQ+ community in London hosted by Marylebone Cricket Club at Lords with 35+ people attending. We are working with London-based counties on organising follow-up sessions.
- Graces and Unicorns - the two sides we play for - played a game against the MCC - which was a great day. We would be delighted to play further representative games if it sparks an interest.
On the supporting side. We were delighted to do some work with Kent, Gloucestershire and Yorkshire on a mix of establishing supporters' clubs, setting up Pride games and supporting research and engagement in the counties.
Gloucester Country - Launches its first LGBTQ supporters group
Kent Cricket - Shows its support for pride month
Yorkshire County - Launches LGBTQ supporters group
More broadly we published this piece after the publication of the ICEC report - LGBTQ+ inclusion wasn't its focus, but it touched on it. We shared our views and next steps here: ICEC Report
We look forward to engaging further with the LGBTQ+ community and #cricket stakeholders over the coming months and look forward to seeing many of you at the conference in September.
#rainbowlaces #sportforall #lgbtqcommunity #gay #inclusion #diversityequityinclusion