Sunday 18th November saw the official launch of Cricket Scotland’s Tapeball league at Springburn Leisure Centre. The second edition was over subscribed with a record number of teams showing interest but the league remained as two groups of six teams competing for the coveted Cricket Scotland Tapeball trophy.
With over 150 players registered from a diverse range of backgrounds the Tapeball league has attracted new teams, new players and lapsed players, with over 60% of participants not members of traditional cricket clubs.
The opening received excellent support and backing from local community leaders, sponsors, stakeholders and politicians including Councillor Graham Campbell (Springburn), Bob Doris MSP (Springburn) and Anas Sarwar MSP who were all present on the day. This support helped boost the profile of the game and visibility of the tournament in what appears to be a great adapted format over the winter months.
Ammar Ashraf, Cricket Scotland’s Community Engagement Officer commented, “I am delighted that the second edition has been just as popular as the first, if not more. We are building a model of cricket activity that keeps participants active over the colder months. A model that has been refined to meet the end users expectations and provides another playing opportunity that is flexible and designed to fit in with people’s families and lives.
“I heard some fantastic stories from last year’s competition and how this league has been a game changer for those participants. Stories of players increased physical activity after the league was over, stories of new found friendship, stories of how this league has brought participants and their families back to hard ball cricket, the list really does go on not forgetting the cohesion this league has created within the community.”
Bob Doris, MSP for Glasgow Maryhill and Springburn, said: “I’m delighted that the Glasgow Tapeball Cricket League will be hosted at Springburn Sports Centre.
“North Glasgow has many diverse communities and Tapeball cricket is an opportunity to offer a more diverse range of sporting opportunities also. Getting involved is a great way to have some fun, make new friends who have similar sporting interests and of course to get fit.”
Susan Grant from CS partners Glasgow Caledonian University commented: “We are delighted to have our logo on the Tapeball team kit. Our partnership with Cricket Scotland has, in the past year, allowed GCU to engage with more communities, to offer more volunteering opportunities for our students through sport both within the curriculum and extra curricular and has led to more students playing cricket.”
Helenor Landsburgh, Head of Brand Management and Multimedia at GCU, said: “As the University for the common good, Glasgow Caledonian University are delighted to support Cricket Scotland’s Tapeball league. This builds on the University’s community engagement partnership with Cricket Scotland to engage with black and minority ethnic (BME), migrant and refugee communities and GCU’s diverse student body through cricket.”
The league matches officially started on Tuesday and this years edition with new sponsors will see the teams play a total of 67 matches over a 10 week period. The top 4 teams in each league will contest a quarter finals day which will lead to a finals day which will cover both semi finals and then the final.”
