Over the past fortnight Chance to Shine held their girls Chance to Compete Regional Finals, where state-educated pupils have the opportunity to get involved in some friendly competition.
Chance to Compete is the charities national secondary school cricket competition – in 2025 a remarkable 20,000 participants are estimated to have participated across all age groups and formats. They are expertly led by our county delivery partners and are the perfect chance for young people to develop values of competitive spirit, resilience and teamwork, while having plenty of fun along the way.
The girls’ U13 and U15 competitions are the flagship events, with winners of the county finals going into the regionals. This year, our North East and East Regional Finals were held at the Riverside and Chelmsford, allowing pupils to experience cricket in a high quality, inspiring setting.
At Chelmsford, Dame Alice Owen’s School won the U15s competition after a magical performance, where at one stage they held onto four catches in a mere five minutes, while the U13 winners, Katherine Warington School, showed the power of team spirit, with their excellent support for one another. Georgia, a Katherine Warington cricketer, said that they’d learned what competing was all about from their experience.
Lucy Turner, the PE teacher coaching Dame Alice Owen’s, was so proud of the girls for their efforts. “They missed out last year [because of the rain] but got to come this year”, said Turner. “They smashed it! It’s a great atmosphere and all the schools have been lovely.
“It’s great to come to the county ground as well, to play somewhere like this is special for the girls,” she added.
Up at the Riverside in Durham last week, pupils from the U15 winning side, Richmond School, knew that it was teamwork which was the key to their success. Isla, who started playing cricket at the school, explained: “I’d definitely say teamwork is why I enjoy playing, our team as a whole have got us further than our cricket skills have!”
Chance to Shine are so proud of each and every participant for their efforts this year. Hopefully, Chance to Compete was the start of a long cricketing journey for pupils across England and Wales!
