The Western Australian Cricket Association’s (WACA) SunSmart Cricket Officers are the focal point between the WACA and the junior cricket clubs in the metropolitan area. The two main areas that they are involved in are participation and retention and coach education within the community clubs.

Participation and Retention
SunSmart Cricket Officers are responsible for increases and retention of numbers in the Community Clubs. The major area that is targeted is the schools.

Strategies that we employ to achieve this include:

• Conducting school clinics
• Teacher training sessions
• Setting up and running Super 8’s competitions
  To keep the schools involved we employ initiatives such as:
• Teacher incentives – tickets, promotional material etc to distribute to the children
• Acknowledge performances at school assemblies at trophy/shield presentations eg: highlighting personal achievements of children etc.
• Promotion of competitions, which the school has been involved in through the Community Newspapers, school newsletters etc.

The SunSmart Cricket Officers can also assist in:

• The preparation of strategic plans for the club
• Identifying common links between the community clubs and schools
• Help run the recruitment campaigns: eg: Community Newspaper Ads etc

Coach Education
SunSmart Cricket Officers are responsible for coach education within their respective zones.

This includes:

• Raising accreditation percentages in Community Clubs
• Improving Coach knowledge in cricket and general principles areas
• Improve the standard of coaching
• Promoting coaching and the contribution of coaches.

Strategies that are used to achieve the above include:

• Courses tailored to meet Junior Club needs.
• Targeting of coaches to attend specific courses
• Alternative course formats.
• Incorporate practical sessions into the coaching principles courses.