Photo Credit: New Zealand Cricket
The Female Leadership Development Contestable Fund is one of the key initiatives in the Female Leadership Development Framework, which aims to encourage locally led activity with national support.
The contestable fund successfully commenced during the 2021-22 season, with 10 leadership development initiatives supported throughout New Zealand.
New Zealand Cricket are delighted to be supporting fourteen (14) initiatives through the Female Leadership Development Contestable Fund this cricket season.
Initiatives supported are focused on amplifying and enhancing the off-field visibility and capability of, and on championing and developing, females, across the key areas of governance, administration, umpiring and coaching.
This season there are five new initiatives, and nine initiatives that will again be supported after being previously delivered.
Young Leaders Courses:
This season will see eight ‘Young Leader’ programmes delivered across the motu, providing young female leaders with a range of development opportunities.
Cricket Wellington’s Young Leaders Course, launched during the 2020-21 cricket season, has a proven track record of providing opportunities for more women to serve in cricket leadership positions.
Over the past three seasons, 51 young women have graduated, many of whom are now active throughout Cricket Wellington’s network.
Otago Cricket Association and Canterbury Cricket Association have recently taken a collaborative approach to their ‘Young Leader’ courses, sharing planning and expertise across regions to provide the best possible development for young wāhine.
These programmes will be run in Auckland, Canterbury, Hawkes Bay, Horowhenua-Kapiti, Otago, Taranaki, Wairarapa, and Wellington.
Coaching:
Three coach-specific initiatives will be delivered in Canterbury Country, Cricket Wellington and Northern Districts this season.
These programmes aim to break down the barriers for women and girls to begin or accelerate their coaching journey, and to provide them with all the necessary skills to be successful.
Governance/Leadership:
Two Women in Leadership Forums will be delivered across the Otago and Central Districts regions this season, providing an opportunity for female leaders to connect with other current and future leaders.
Auckland Cricket will launch their ‘Better Boards, Stronger Sport’ programme for the first time, aiming to achieve more gender-balanced club cricket boards.
This aligns with NZC’s ‘Women in Governance’ project – introduced in 2017, which has seen a growth of women in governance roles from just eleven in 2016 to 85 at the end of the 2022-23 season.
| MA / DA | Initiative | |
| New | Auckland Cricket | Auckland Cricket’s Better Boards, Stronger Sport |
| Existing | Auckland Cricket | Rangatahi Female Leadership Programme |
| Existing | Canterbury Cricket | Magicians Young Leaders Programme |
| New | Canterbury Country | Waimak Wāhine Cricket Club |
| Existing | Central Districts Cricket Association | CD Cricket Female Leadership Forum |
| Existing | Cricket Wellington | Young Leaders |
| New | Cricket Wellington | Women in Coaching |
| New | Hawke’s Bay Cricket Association | Female Leaders Programme |
| Existing | Horowhenua-Kapiti Cricket Association | Breaking Boundaries: Young Female Leaders Programme |
| Existing | Northern Districts | Inspire Coaching Programme |
| Existing | Otago Cricket | Suzie Bates Leaders Course |
| Existing | Otago Cricket | Women in Leadership Forum |
| New | Taranaki Cricket Association | TCA Female Coaching and Umpiring Pathway Cadet programme |
| Existing | Wairarapa Cricket | Future Leaders |
For more information on NZC’s Female Leadership Contestable fund, click here.
Name of Author: New Zealand Cricket
The New Zealand national cricket team, known as the Black Caps, made their Test debut in 1930 against England in Christchurch, becoming the fifth nation to play Test cricket. After waiting 26 years for their first Test win against the West Indies in 1956, they also played their first ODI in 1972–73 against Pakistan. New Zealand are the inaugural World Test Championship champions (2021) and have won the ICC Champions Trophy (2000). They have reached the Cricket World Cup final twice and the T20 World Cup final once.
