Queenstown club ‘pretty proud’
THREE years of work has culminated in the Queenstown Cricket Club receiving national recognition.
It won club of the year at Wednesday night’s New Zealand Cricket Awards in Auckland.
Thrilled to be presented with the glass trophy, the club has been building for several years and was ‘‘chuffed’’ to get the recognition.
‘‘We were pretty proud because it’s been three years of structuring our club, putting some pathways in place and growing and building,’’ club manager Emma Campbell said.
‘‘So it’s been a work in progress, but pretty stoked to be recognised.’’
Campbell said the club had put a strong emphasis on connecting with its local schools and creating pathways through the grades over the past three years.
That had resulted in the sport flourishing, with teams now in every grade.
Th club has three senior teams, 10 junior teams, six senior men’s twenty20 teams and 36 sixaside senior social teams.
An allgirls hardball team was now in place, with those players having come through from the softball grades, in which more girls were getting involved.
It was not just in numbers that it was strong though as it has expereienced plenty of success.
The senior team had won its Central Otagowide competition, while in the reserve grade the club’s two teams contested the final.
On top of that it was getting more junior players into representative teams.
Campbell said it was a combination of those things that allowed the club to take home the prize.
‘‘I think it was mainly based on our growth and we’re in a position where we’ve had other clubs approach us with how we run things. But I think the base of that is our growth.
‘‘We do cater now for all cricketers and I guess the success of our players as well.’’
The big challenge for the club now was to improve its facilities.