Hit the Top

‘HIT THE TOP’ DISABILITY CRICKET SCHEME HITS THE SPOT IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Disability cricket in Gloucestershire will continue to grow thanks to a new project in 2011/2012 that will see more disability sections set up across the county.

The ‘Hit The Top’ scheme is a world leading, ground-breaking programme that aims to support young disabled people to participate in cricket. It has been introduced by Lords Taverners Cricket For Change – which is a charity that uses cricket to change the lives of disadvantaged young people. The scheme ensures that young people with a disability – either learning or physical disability or a visual impairment – are able to access cricket provision comparable to their able bodied peers. Through professional coaching, training and competition the young people can improve their cricketing skills and are even given the opportunity to progress to their respective England Disability Representative Teams.

As part of the project the GCB will be targeting 6 clubs within the county and will support them through the process of setting up new disability sections – two sections for those with a physical disability, two for those with learning disabilities and two for those with visual impairments. The support offered will include an accessible coach education programme that will offer disability specific training and a “Hit The Top” training day. ‘Sportivate’ school based sessions will then take place to identify young people aged between 14 and 18 to link to these new youth sections and with coaching and competition being offered the scheme will ultimately see teams travelling to London in 2012 to represent the County.

Steve Silk, Gloucestershire Cricket Board’s Development Manager, stated that,

“Disability cricket has long been high on the agenda of the Board and we are pleased to be able to work with this 'Lords Taverners Cricket for Change’ programme to introduce the ‘Hit the Top’ scheme to Gloucestershire. We look forward to continually improving the opportunities open to the young disabled people across the county and ensuring that the opportunities available to them begin to mirror those of their able bodied peers.”

For more information about the “Hit The Top” scheme please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it