St John's-Scotiabank has renewed its exclusive sponsorship of the West Indies Cricket Board's Kiddy Cricket Programme for a record 12th consecutive year. The 2011 sponsorship renewal will see both organisations expanding the existing programme to introduce a range of new initiatives geared towards enhancing the cricketing experience for primary school students. Greater emphasis will be placed in 2011 on growing the programme's regional scope, increasing technical coaching staff in each territory and introducing a year long calendar of sustained activities to expose Kiddy Cricket to the wider community. At the Scotiabank headquarters in St John's, Antigua, yesterday, Country Manager Marlon Rawlins symbolically handed over new kiddy cricket equipment to the WICB Director of Cricket Tony Howard as a demonstration of Scotiabank's commitment to continue sponsorship of the Kiddy Cricket programme throughout the Caribbean.
These new kits and playing gear will be distributed to schools at the start of the new school term in January. Howard stated: "The WICB is committed to all levels of cricket development throughout the West Indies, and at the kiddy cricket level our interest is to give children the opportunity to play the game in its purest form and develop a long lasting love for the game, while developing fundamental cricketing skills. Graham commented: "Scotiabank has always been keen on involvement with West Indies cricket because it is a part of who we are as Caribbean people and our commitment to Kiddy Cricket is a strong demonstration of this."
Speaking about the sponsorship renewal, Scotiabank's Regional Marketing Director Heather Goldson said that "Scotiabank recognises cricket as a huge part of our West Indian heritage and we want to make sure we pass this tradition on to our children. Our investment is an indication of our commitment to deliver the next great cricket moment through a new generation of cricketing greats." Among the new activities to come on stream will be the development of an official accreditation programme that will see all Kiddy Cricketers receiving certificates of participation while outstanding players will be steered into cricket development clinics and training camps.