Donation encourages women to get involved in local cricket
A cricket club in Barrow upon Soar has been transformed by a donation that encourages more women to engage in the sport within the local community.
The £1,000 donation and building materials supplied by British Gypsum have gone towards renovating Barrow Town Cricket Club’s facilities, which include a brand new changing area exclusively for female players.
The club has a long history of cricket within Barrow Upon Soar, with earliest records of matches taking place as far back as 1797. More recently, the club played at various sites within the Leicestershire village, until its current ground was purchased in 1969.
Our donation has contributed towards the extension of the cricket club’s clubhouse, which now includes a female-only changing room and storage space for junior players’ training equipment. The new changing room has created a safe space for female players - part of the junior mixed team - to get changed on-site, and has helped kickstart a new women and girls softball team, which will start its season off in 2023.
John Upton, Chief Groundsman at Barrow Town Cricket Club, said: “The new build is finally complete and has been open and available for club members since May this year. It is now one of the most attractive cricket grounds in the county!
“The club is well supported by the village community – with coaching and matches taking place for our junior cricket players on Friday nights, and senior teams playing over the weekend.
“We are extremely grateful for the generosity of British Gypsum for supporting this community project - the materials donated by them have allowed us to complete the internal renovations, which included plasterboard and fixings, as well as the plaster and finish.”
Greg Bere, plant manager at our Barrow upon Soar site, said: “It’s great to have been part of the transformation of this local cricket club, and I hope the new facilities will encourage women of all ages within the local community to get involved with the sport.
“We’re proud to support local projects that help to build a happy and healthy community.”
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