Making Inclusion Mainstream™

The Blind Cricket Tasmania (BCT) initiative operates under Partnership Agreement with Cricket Tasmania and supported by Blind Sports Australia and Blind Cricket Australia.

Until BCT was established, Tasmania hasn’t had a sustained Blind and Low Vision (BLV) cricket program or formed a state representative team, while all other Australian states have had programs in place for over 30+ years with state teams playing at the National Cricket Inclusion Championships (NCIC) every year.

Our mens and women’s Australian BLV cricket teams are selected from the NCIC event, and teams play international games across the world, including at Lords in England. National players receive ‘baggy green’ caps acknowledging player’s skills and place in the broader cricket landscape. That’s not widely known by most Australians.

The public launch of BCT in 2021 was covered by WIN TV News, and many mainstream media outlets continue to support by broadcasting news about BCT’s activities and the journey of the playing group to a statewide audience.

And in 2022 the opportunity to create a dual TAS/ACT team for the NCIC was realised – fast-tracking our Tigers players to the national stage. BCT has aspirations to field a full TAS team one day, though we predict it may take up to 5 years to grow numbers to reach that goal.  

You can see BCT’s activities, media and Tigers players on the IIT Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/InclusiveInnovationsTas

Both the general participation and Tigers BLV State Team representative squad has professional coaching involved in all 3 regions of the state (Hobart, Launceston, Ulverstone). By taking a mainstream and integration approach, the relationships formed with Clubs has meant the education and realisation of what BLV cricket is all about.

The BCT initiative is a real example of that diversity and inclusion strategy in action and the positive impact it creates in regard to the social, physical and mental health benefits that result for participants.

In 2022 IIT received both the Cricket Tasmania and Cricket Australia’s Community Partnership Awards for the BCT initiative which is huge recognition of the success, integrity and future potential of the program.

The BCT website has detailed information on the initiative, how BLV cricket is played, the Tigers players and national competition, upcoming sessions and much more:
www.blindcrickettas.com.au

You can support this IIT initiative by making a tax-deductible donation to the BCT GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/ea32ed67

BCT has Deductible Gift Recipient status offering 100% tax-deductibility on tax returns for donations over $2. Just $20 buys a Blind Cricket Audio Ball 🙂 And for businesses, your donation offers the mutual benefit of supporting a NFP community equal-access and empowerment initiative while offering significant tax offsets!

All donations will help create even more opportunities for blind and low vision people to connect together through sport and enjoy the social, mental, and physical benefits. And also help reduce the significant cost for our state players’ representation at BLV cricket national competitions.

For all inquiries on playing, volunteering, or sponsorship support please email:
IIT’s CEO – Phillip ‘Sunny’ Drury:
phillip@inclusiveinnovationstasmania.com.au

Tasmania’s first creative award for a person with a disability is driving education, visibility and access. The initiative has broad support within the creative industries, which awards emerging talent at the state’s Diemen Awards.

All winners receive a skills-relevant industry work placement to gain the insights and methods to develop their professional abilities and advance their commercial and employment opportunities.

The Award identifies and supports talent who would not necessarily be visible or have ready access to mainstream industry opportunities without this initiative.

Ross Kent won the inaugural 2021 Award and he reflects on the opportunity and experience.

“I had a great time and this whole experience has been really wonderful and such an affirming and informative experience. I’m a little sad it’s over but very grateful to Sunny, Natalie and the Digital Ink Team for getting it to happen. 

I was quite nervous, but getting to just jump into different projects was great. I loved working with the team at Digital Ink, their openness and their approach to letting me work were incredibly generous and kind with feedback, tips and suggestions whenever I asked.”
This may sound like a cliche, but I think my biggest takeaway from this experience was confidence as a designer. I’m my own harshest critic, but this stint with this wonderful team proved to me I am more capable than I thought. I’m very grateful to have been able to prove that to myself.”
My advice to any future applicants is simple: continue to work on your skills even in small increments, but most of all back yourself. Much like myself, I think you’ll be surprised at what you can achieve.”

– Ross Kent 

See more past Award winners in our News section.

Free-to-air programming, and downloadable streaming podcasts are highly accessible and effective education channels. The One-in, All-in Podcast Series will deliver understandings, ideas, and lived-experience stories in an endeavour to amplify the rate and motivation for understanding and change.

Broadcast radio and integrated programs, through to online entertainment portals, reach the broadest audiences possible. They are the perfect mechanism for human-centred, lived-experience stories to be told on an interpersonal, social and cultural level.

Inclusive topics, debates and innovative ideas will all be discussed openly and responsibly in a forum that’s respectful and entertaining by informed and passionate advocates, leaders and innovators across all facets of science, psychology, industry, community and life.

The social, economic and individual benefits 

• Positive change comes when educated understandings and obvious benefits to the development of communities are identified and shared.

• The economics of social development are real, and expectations are increasing for inclusive ideas and policies to be realised to harness human capital on the basis of equality and not excluding anyone from participation on any level. This topic would be the lead story.

• This series of programs and podcasts will increase the education and application of diverse attitudes and ideas that make a real difference to people’s lives and the inclusive cohesion of communities, often isolated and disconnected from mainstream media.

An alliance of the state’s leading inclusion focused entities including RECLINK Tas, Variety Tas and Communities For Children have joined with IIT to establish a sporting equipment resource available to people experiencing disadvantage and exclusion, thereby making sports more accessible to all in our community.

Game Changer is a sports equipment ‘exchange’ that seeks to collect donated good quality, preloved sports equipment and redistribute it to Tasmanian children in disadvantaged communities.

The program will create healthy bodies and minds, in dealing with isolation, undervaluing and exclusion from entry-level participation in sport just because the equipment to do so isn’t accessible due to financial restriction.

The social, recreational and emotional benefits have been proven to be both long-lasting and profoundly influential in setting new life pathways and relationships to the benefit of our most valuable state assets – our future generations.

We estimate the impact will benefit 100’s of families each year.

The objectives of the initiative are to address the major barrier to participation, by eliminating the cost of suitable clothing and equipment. The four core principles driving the programs are:

1. Inclusion and sense of belonging:
Enabling participation in sports will connect children to their communities at deep levels and in ways that are not possible through other avenues. It also gives them the opportunity to expand support networks available to them.

2. Recycling and environmental sustainability:
Kids outgrow their sports gear very quickly, and some explore multiple sports before deciding which sport to pursue. Along the way, they accumulate sports equipment they no longer need or want. Encouraging donations will also reduce unnecessary discarding of still practical items to landfill.

3. Foster social coherence and awareness:
This initiative encourages children to think about others who are less fortunate and open their eyes to appreciate what they have.

4. Promote an active lifestyle among children through sport and recreation.

Key alliance partners act as collection centres for good quality, pre-loved sports equipment including; Sporting Clubs, Schools, PCYCs, and a wide range of alliance partners. From the business community and retail space – new, superseded and surplus sporting goods stock are donated rather than discarded as unwanted products. 

Operationally, Variety Children’s Charity’s band of volunteers will assess, clean and prepare pre-loved equipment and store the items in spaces donated to the scheme by like-minded organisations.

At appropriate times, our volunteer team will create ‘pop-up’ Game Changer shops to gift equipment to those families who have a need and will obtain a unique benefit from the scheme – giving them a ‘leg-up’ to get involved in their sport of choice.

The families and individuals who benefit from the scheme become vocal advocates of Game Changer – building upon the awareness that’s created by alliance partners and various media campaigns.

‘Game Changer’ is a win-win inclusion and empowerment initiative all round!

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