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TOWER HAMLETS In partnership with Middlesex CCB the Tower Hamlets Wicketz Club began sessions in the late summer of 2015. Hub sessions were delivered at Millwall Park, Stepney Park, Victoria Park and PlayOn Sport. Overall the programme has been tremendously successful: we have established two regular hub sites (PlayOn Sports Centre and George Green School) in which 70 participants engage in weekly physical activity and cricket sessions. To help improve coaching and increase sustainability, the Programme also offered a Coach Support Worker and Level 2 coaching course from which four candidates are now volunteering on the Wicketz project (30 hours each over the course of 2016).WICKETZThere are 3.7 million children in the UK living in poverty. That’s 28% of children. For many of these young people, there is a distinct lack of locally accessible and high-quality cricket clubs or facilities. Our ‘Wicketz’ programme channels the power of cricket as a tool for change, social cohesion and making a difference to the lives of people in deprived areas. Sport has the power to transform lives in many ways, as well as changing and uniting communities. Cricket, in particular, can build connections between people from different cultures and backgrounds, providing the basis for interaction and integration. Cricket can be the catalyst to engage disadvantaged young people and allow them to gain crucial life skills such as respect, teamwork and self-confidence. Through our partnerships with Capital Kids Cricket and Surrey County Cricket Board we have helped over 2,200 disadvantaged young people access cricket since 2012 THE FUTUREBuilding upon the success of Wicketz in London and following a robust mapping exercise of the UK to identify the 20 most deprived areas with a desire to participate in cricket, the Lord’s Taverners has identified Hartlepool and Luton for the next stage of the programme. These new clubs will also have an increased emphasis on promoting healthy and active lifestyles to reduce issues of obesity. Non-sporting partnerships will play a key role in ensuring the programme has an impact on young people in need, with links already being established with local police, the NHS and Network Rail.IMPACT REPORT13COMMUNITY CRICKET12 MONTHS ENDED SEPTEMBER 2015