USA Cricket is delighted to announce the appointment of Alacria to manage the development of USA Cricket’s Entry Level Participation Program.
Towards the end of 2020, the USA Cricket Board endorsed a recommendation from its Development Committee to appoint Alacria to work with USA Cricket to design and deliver the National Entry Level Program for Cricket that will be created for young boys & girls across the United States from the ages of 5-12 as their first introduction to the sport of cricket.
Alongside the development of the customized curriculum and offering for the National Entry Level Program, Alacria are also providing advice and support on the most effective way to market and commercialize the entire program. The program will seek to introduce cricket to young Americans as widely as possible, in a sustainable manner that will have a genuine long-term impact for American cricket. Much of the design work has already been completed, with extensive consultation with the American cricket community and other key stakeholders including PE teachers, educational experts and leaders in American sports participation. Subject to COVID restrictions, is anticipated that the first pilot schemes will be launched in selected states in the second quarter of 2021.
With a few notable exceptions, the lack of entry level junior cricket programs within schools and after-school/community programs is one of the biggest challenges faced by USA Cricket in achieving its vision for cricket to become a leading sport in the country.
To that end, USA Cricket has committed as part of its Foundational Plan to raising participation levels in the sport nationwide and the new program will be designed to provide a fun and engaging first experience of the game, modified specially for the American market.
The development of the program will include extensive consultation with the wider American cricket community and other key stakeholders including PE teachers, educational experts and leaders in American sports participation.
USA Cricket CEO, Iain Higgins, said, “The design and delivery of a fun and engaging Entry Level Program for girls and boys is absolutely critical to being able to achieve our vision of establishing cricket as a leading sport in the USA. We are delighted to partner with Alacria in the development of this program, which the USA Cricket Board has highlighted in our Foundational Plan as a priority for 2021. Alacria has a proven track record both in cricket as well as in the introduction of new sports into non-traditional markets, and over the past couple of months they have leveraged US research and local community expertise to ensure that this Entry Level Program will be effective in driving participation and increasing awareness and engagement with the sport in the American market. We have been working closely with them over the past couple of months and are delighted by the progress made so far. We anticipate being able to announce the full launch of the program in the coming months.”
USA Cricket Development Manager, Jamie Lloyd said, “We believe that cricket can be a sport for all American girls and boys, and the National Entry Level Program that we are developing is all about giving more American children the opportunity to have a fun and rewarding first experience of our great sport. With the team at Alacria, we have a strong long-term partner to develop a sustainable program that is catered specifically towards the U.S. market, and which we anticipate will be accessible and scalable so that all cricket communities in the USA can benefit from it. The benefits of getting young children exposed to cricket in an enjoyable and inclusive environment are massive, and we are incredibly excited to get this program up and running in 2021.”
