Text by Paulo Vítor Campos – Esporte Poços / Jornal Mantiqueira

For the first time in six years of projects in Poços de Caldas, cricket “invaded” the municipal stadium Dr. Ronaldo Junqueira. Yesterday afternoon, the venue was the stage for the first part of the competition that closes the season. The second part takes place at the end of November.

  • Ronaldão is our main sports venue and he lived a different day. Accustomed to having football games, he received our cricket and it was a wonderful day. I thank the city hall for giving us the space and we hope to return soon for more championships ”, said Professor Matt Featherstone.

Most of the projects carried out in the city were present in the competition. The other party that did not compete will be in the year-end championship that will be on the 29th of this month. This last championship will already be held in the field provided by the city hall to the Poços cricket. It is located on the old Poços golf course, located on the south side.

“We had around 150 boys and girls at Ronaldão and I believe that it was the first time that we gathered so many people playing cricket in just one place. It was very beautiful to see. Communities that were never at the stadium came especially for the event. This was the case of Fazenda Lambari, which brought a group of players and everyone was amazed”, said Featherstone.

“We have many partners that make our cricket stronger every day. The World ICC is a great partner, we also have the Municipal Electricity Department, Caixa Econômica Federal, Hotel Minas Gerais and the Associação Atlética Caldense. Without them, the project would not have grown so much. Each year we notice a big improvement. We still have a lot of support from the city, which also embraced cricket, including giving us a field just for our sport”, said the coach.

Next season
Cricket is already looking forward to the next season. According to Matt, many new features are being prepared for 2018. New projects will be implemented and the expectation is that the number of practitioners will increase considerably.

“The year goes by fast and this season has passed quickly. It was another successful year, but in 2018 we will have many more people playing, practicing and sponsoring. We got the support of an English company, which will help us a lot, ”said Featherstone.

AADV
At the tournament held yesterday at Ronaldão, one of the attractions was a group of AADV students. They showed other practitioners what it is like to play without being able to see anything.

“The boys were impressed and wondering how it is possible to play without being able to see,” said the teacher.

The students of other projects were blindfolded to have the dimension of the difficulties faced by the visually impaired.

Cricket in Poços
The Poços de Caldas Cricket Project was born with the aim of popularizing the sport, which is the second most practiced in the world. With great acceptance by entities and the population, the program contributes to the local community, offering sports development, recreation and discovering new sports talents. The sports project currently serves students from 6 years of age, who attend classes free of charge in centers such as the Association for the Assistance of the Visually Impaired (AADV), Casa do Menor, Municipal School, Caldense Athletic Association, Bem Viver Project, Municipal Park , between others.