A contribution by Merle preschool for the project "What's going on?!" From students at the H_DA
Cricket has a long story. But women are hardly represented in sports to this day. For the team from the TG 1875 Ziegelbusch, the first hurdle is already in finding a training ground.
The sun is high in the sky this Sunday morning in Darmstadt. On the thermometer, the display goes further and further up and the wild ducks domestic in the men's garden use the pond extensively. Some walkers have parasols with them. Despite the brewing summer weather, the men's garden is well attended. Why not? Finally, the 47th sports and game festival takes place there.
The sports and game festival has existed every year since 1979. The main sponsor is the Merck company. From Taekwondo to historical fencing to Quidditch, everything is represented here. All clubs and around Darmstadt are gathered in the park. Between different food options you offer a little insight into your sport. Among those present is the women's team of the Cricket Association from TG 1875 from the Ziegelbusch sports park.
How does cricket actually work?
Cricket is a team sport and playing ball game. Each team should count eleven players. The field is usually an oval lawn with a diameter of 100 to 140 meters. In the middle is the pitch, a 20 -meter -long playground. The so -called wickets are set up at both ends, these consist of three vertical rods and two short cross wood. The exchange of blows takes place here.
A team throws, they have the role of the bowlers. The other strikes, these take on the role of the Batsmen. At the beginning, the striking team sends two Batsmen into play. The field team is in the field. The aim of the striking team is to push the ball away or to move the other person to a mistake to achieve points. As soon as the ball has been knocked away, the two bats run back and forth between the wickets. The more you cover the route, the more points the team get. The teams change roles as soon as ten of the eleven Batsmen were thrown out of the game. The team that is now beating must catch up with the points already made.
The sport can be traced back to the 16th century. For the first time she was mentioned in England in 1597 under the name Kreckett. Due to the colonization, sport also came to India and the Caribbean. From there, sport spread in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. The rules of sports were first recorded in writing in the mid -18th century.
The miniature version of the field, which was built by the TG 1875, is repeatedly headed for by the wandering guests in the men's garden. The small field makes you curious. Despite the heat, one of the boys does not seem to want to leave the field. His ice cream has already liquefied in his friend's care. Having balls has priority for him.
Cricket as women's sports
The young women are represented at the sports and game festival for the first time this year. Nupur K. is the team captain. The doctor is much due to promoting sports in Germany. "My husband plays, my sons will start. That's how it all started for me, ”she says. At the moment, your team from Ziegelbusch is still too small to compete independently. The same problem has the same problem with the women's team from Rüsselsheim. This season, the two teams can take part in the Bundesliga together as a team. "We are currently six. I hope that we have a complete team by the next season, ”explains the born Indian.
Towards the end of the 19th century, sport was also played in organized form in Germany. At the beginning, however, there were only men's teams. According to Nupur, women still hardly find any clubs that they have trained. Players from all over Germany ask the clubs in their area to get an opportunity to train. A task that is difficult. Many clubs negate the request for the effort and capacity.
Nupur explains: "If men do not support us, we somehow stay in the air. There is not only a mat on the field, as we have built them here. There are also heavy wooden panels that we women alone cannot build." When she started sport, Nupur quickly realized that she, as an experienced dancer, still has room for improvement in the field of fitness. "I always thought that I was fit. Through Cricket, I learned that there are many types of sore muscles that I have never experienced," she says.
The Ziegelbusch team has been training on the Cricket Club EV square in Rüsselsheim since January of this year. The men's team had also adapted their training plan to enable women to play.
The player Huong B. with the jersey number 10 adds: "With the cricket, we have more weight with the equipment with which we play. It's also about speed." According to their statement, women often have problems with fitness than men. That also shows itself with the cricket. The additional weight slow down the players. The muscles and endurance must first be built up. "That can be demotivating," she says.
Successful experiences as a motivator
Despite the hurdles, sport is very fulfilling for them. The feeling that she gets in the arms when the ball is hit correctly is one of the cricket that is decisive. "Then it clicked. I always plan to learn a new skill a year. Cricket feels like a hundred."
Huong also tells of her greatest sense of achievement. In the team's first Bundesliga game, the still inexperienced group competed against a team with a international. "I was really afraid that we were doing really badly," says the young woman. In the end, the team didn't play badly. Pushing a ball away from the national player was a very special moment and motivated her to stay in sports. "My husband was also very proud," says Huong beaming.
The team wishes not only to be able to take part in competitions like the Bundesliga as a cricket team brick bush. The hope is also to promote sport and to receive more support from established clubs, so that women find easier training opportunities.
This article was made as part of the project "What's going on" - a teaching editorial team of students from the online journalism course at the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (H_DA). Da.news supports the project and publishes selected articles on its platform. Further information and texts are available here and on: www.was-da-los.de