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Cricket and music bring success to Priory Court
Mar 7, 2011
‘Streetchance’ ‘Supported by Barclays Spaces for Sports’
Estate Competition at Priory Court - March 2011
Written by Perry Sophocleous, Development Coach at Cricket for Change
The day started off with a sense of uncertainty because bringing groups of young people from different estates around London into one notorious estate is no easy feat.
We had one team from ‘Ferry Lane’ estate representing ‘Haringey’ and various teams from ‘Priory Court’ mixed up with young people on the programme, parents of some of the young people and also volunteers who live on Priory Court representing ‘Waltham Forest’.
The young people from Priory Court were quite intimidated by the young people from ‘Ferry Lane’, however this changed when the games of ‘Street20’ cricket were in action. The young people from ‘Ferry Lane’ were surprised at the cricketing ability by some of the players as young as twelve. This created a sense of competition between all the teams which brought out their true passion to play alongside each other and win.
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There were many people and partners involved in this day that enabled this day to go ahead and be so effective. Not only did we have ‘Cricket for Change’ staff there to organise the day but we also had the wonderful help from ‘Circle 33’ who helped out massively in the hosting of this event. This is also an important aspect of what we (Cricket for Change) do, in not only bringing young people together from different communities and breaking down many social barriers but we bring different organisations together to help change lives.
We also had a DJ at this event which was a first for ‘Streetchance’ competitions. It instantly created an environment that had positive energy not just at the event but throughout the whole estate. We used a buggy and bike store cage to house the DJ to create a more urban image. It gave all the young people a sense of comfort and brought the day to a whole new level. Young people were street dancing everywhere which exposed some never before seen talent. It inspired many other ideas for not only this project in Priory Court, but other projects in other Boroughs and ‘Streetchance’ events.
The impact of the day was far greater than people thought and many parents and relatives of the young people playing in the competition came to watch. Some parents even played with their sons and daughters in a team which shows that these projects are not only breaking down social barriers between young people but strengthening the relationship between parents and their children. There is now a parent following on from this event that takes part in the session and has showed a keen interest in being involved.
The winning team of the competition was given the opportunity to play a ‘Street20’ match against the local police officers. This encapsulated the programme and ended the day perfectly. Not only was an energetic way to end the day but it also highlighted the intention of the estate programme which is to improve relationships between young people in marginalised areas and the local police.
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It was the first estate competition we have held and will hopefully act as a pilot for the many others to come. From the energy and impact of the day I am sure we can host the other estate competitions with confidence and make them even bigger and better!
Click here to read more about Priory Court 'Streetchance' in the Daily Telegraph
