Two months into his new role at SACA, Alex Guy is firmly aware of the challenge cricket is facing in regional areas.
Declining populations in agricultural areas, fewer teenagers than ever before playing the sport, and the tail end of a global pandemic are just some of the challenges the game is facing in Country SA.
Alex is an impressive communicator and came to SACA after spending time in the Tasmanian system working with both the Tigers and the T/20 franchise the Hurricanes. In his 7 years with SACA Alex has worked mainly in the Metro system however his new role has been a crash course in country man-management.
"We are acutely aware of the challenges that face certain areas of regional SA," Guy said.
"It's true that some regional areas like the Barossa and the Adelaide Hills are booming however we know that isn't the case across most of the state".
Alex believes there are a few things SACA can do to assist cricket Associations in regional areas. Tatiara cricket association has recently taken up SACA's offer of increased administration support. Guy said the assistance comes at a monetary cost to the association, but the time it frees up for valuable local volunteers is priceless.
"That support is tailored association to assocation. It can involve preparing fixtures, entering match results, and other day-to-day jobs that come with running an association," Guy says.
"There are 4 other associations from country areas taking advantage of this SACA assistance which enables volunteers to focus their energies on big pictures tasks like how to get more people playing the sport".
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