Sussex partnered with their on-site Sixes Bar earlier this month to stage a Pride Inclusivity Match in recognition and support of the county’s LGBTQ+ community.
The club’s Vitality Blast double-header provided the stage for a “celebration of cricket, community, and pride,” which included a free cricket taster session at their Sixes Bar where attendees got to try cricket with guidance from Sussex Cricket Foundation coaches in the interactive nets.
The event was supported by BLAGSS (Brighton LGBTQ+ Sports Society), a sports and social group in Brighton and Hove.
An ambition of the Pride Inclusivity Match and the day was to increase the LGBTQ+ community’s participation in cricket across the county.
“We’re really trying to drive change,” Sam Holder, Sussex CCC’s People Director, said.
“I want to make sure we are doing the most we can to get as many people involved with cricket and Sussex Cricket as possible, whether that’s participation, socialising, or volunteering.
“We’re really focused on increasing participation. We engaged with BLAGGS and as many other contacts as we could gather because we want to try and create a database of people that want to engage with Sussex Cricket so we can find out what it is that they want from us and how we can deliver that.
“We partnered with BLAGGS and they came along to the event and spread the word on the basis of thinking that if you’re sporty, you may well have an interest in cricket.
“We got a number of people, some who had never tried cricket before but had an interest, others who had experience of cricket in the past and wanted to start again, and others that currently play cricket and are interested in engaging with likeminded individuals. To that end, it was really successful.”
Judging from the feedback Holder and her team received from the day, there is an appetite for cricket amongst Brighton and Sussex’s LGBTQ+ community, with a six-week programme of cricket set to be held at Sixes Bar between July 29 and September 2.
“Every week there will be a coach at Sixes who will help develop their cricket skills,” Holder said.
“There are a number of people who attended on the day that did show a real interest in playing for an LGBTQ+ team.
“What we want to understand further is do they want to have a team that’s LGBTQ+ exclusively or do they want to just play in a team that they feel included in, for example, a recreational club.”
It’s not just participation in playing cricket that Sussex and Holder want to increase, it is involvement in the game in general.
“If you’re not interested in playing cricket, how else would you like to engage with it? Is it around socialising and watching with likeminded individuals or other social events at the ground?” Holder added.
“We’ve got lots of ideas around how we want to take it further. We want to make sure we’re meeting a need from our community.”
The day was supported well by Sussex players and staff who wore special Pride training tops ahead of play.
Women’s Head Coach Alexia Walker told Sussex World: “The nature of a team sport means cohesion and togetherness is a hugely important part of being successful.
“Sport can be a comfortable and safe place for all groups of people to embrace a common passion, and support each other regardless of their backgrounds.”
If you want to get involved with the Sixes sessions or contribute anything to Sussex’s goal of growing LGBTQ+ participation across the county, you can contact Sam Holder via email at sam.holder@sussexcricket.co.uk.