Samoa 2016
Some landmark experiences included:
Following another invitation from the ICC EAP ,CWOB visited Samoa in July to participate in a Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier involving teams from Samoa, Japan and Papua New Guinea .CWOB established a community partnership for this tour with Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision with the partnership being formed through the realisation of mutually beneficial goals of promoting women’s participation in sport and raising awareness and funding for research into bone marrow failure.
During this tour CWOB participated in two key development initiatives under DFAT’s Pacific Sports Partnership program- the first of these was a development/fun day at the Divine Mercy Primary School in Apia for 100plus students aged 5-13 old.The second initiative was the “Healthy Nana “ program involving women in the 40-50 year age bracket and high risk NCD group. The CWOB players and support staff joined the group of women in their aerobic routine and lunch before game of traditional Samoan cricket called “ kilikiti.”
CWOB aims to raise the profile of women’s cricket ,creating new opportunities for female players in the process and alongside this is actively involved in sports diplomacy .During the tour to Samoa the CWOB team was involved in the opening ceremony at the Australian High Commission and were able to meet with the High Commissioner to discuss their career paths, studies and sporting plans.