Changes have been introduced for the coming 2020/21 summer that will give more CD schoolgirls than ever the chance to enjoy playing tournament-style cricket.

Replacing the former CD Under 15 Tournament for Girls is our new CD Girls Cricket Festival for Years 9 and 10. It will be held for the first time in Palmerston North, from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 December 2020.

The festival introduces a number of new features that make it easier for everyone at junior secondary school girl level to get involved with their peers, from right across the CD region.

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All the games will be nine-a-side T20s, and there are two divisions at the festival - every team will get to chose which division suits them best.

The Championship division is an open division that has rules allowing teams to compete at their best.

The Festival division is where the rules are tweaked to allow everyone on the team to be involved more in every game, with the focus more on developing skills and enjoyment.

Both the Championship and Festival divisions will have pool play and playoffs so there is something fun to aim for. You can check out the rules (playing conditions) here.

In another pro-active innovation, each of our District Associations can also now enter more than one team. DAs can even get together to form a combined team, or a 'Barbarians' team to make sure no one misses out on a chance to play.

There will be no CDCA tournament team or talent ID selection from this age group's Festival: the focus is on more girls taking part. Anyone can get involved through their local District Association and, to be eligible to play in this year's tournament, you only need only to be a Year 9 or Year 10 schoolgirl in the 2020 calendar year (irrespective of birthdate); and from the CD region.

The changes this year are all part of the ​‘Balance is Better’ approach developed by Sport NZ, an evidence-based initiative that looked into the best ways to get more young people into sport and enjoying being physically active for life.

NZC and CDCA have taken steps to align with these goals, with a particular focus on girls' cricket and participation in this 15 and under age range.

Find out more about Sport NZ's Balance Is Better philosophy here.

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From 11 to 14 January 2021 in Whanganui, a CD Girls Cricket Tournament for Years 11, 12 and 13 (senior secondary school age) will also take place.

Here the focus shifts back to traditional talent identification, with a view to making the CD U19 women's team and our pathway to higher representative honours.

Article added: Wednesday 29 July 2020