Sport is poised to play a huge role in leading Canberra out of its COVID lockdown, according to Cricket ACT boss Olivia Thornton.
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The Territory's sports grounds have been laying dormant for almost two months now, since coronavirus wriggled its way back into Canberra forcing an extended lockdown which marked the end of all winter competitions.
Cricket has not escaped the pandemic, with Canberra's competition delayed until a likely mid-November start, and two state games scheduled for Manuka Oval in late October no longer coming to the ACT.
But Thornton believes there is finally light at the end of the tunnel, after the ACT Government announced its Pathway Forward earlier this week which will steer Canberra out of lockdown.
"We've got a really important role to play, and not just cricket but all sport," Thornton said.
"Sport brings people together - and it's conducive to allowing you to connect with your teammates. We've all been starved of that social connection of late. It'd just be a nice way for us to transition back into a COVID-normal life.
"That's the power of sport as well, it can bring people together. [The Pathway Forward] announcement has given people a bit of a spring in their step, that we'll be up and away in this next little period which is really important."
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Thornton took over from James Allsopp as chief executive of Cricket ACT earlier this year, and has spent almost seven months navigating a seemingly endless pandemic while leading the association towards its centenary year, to be celebrated in 2022.
She was named this week in Cricket Australia's fourth annual Press For Progress report, alongside Michelle Enright (International Cricket Council Men's T20 World Cup organising committee) and Jodie Newtown (South Australian Cricket Association), who joined WA Cricket boss Christina Matthews as females in CEO positions across Australia.
"Having been in the organisation and having some pretty good working relationships across the board, I think that's probably given me a leg up in terms of being able to manage what has been a tricky time," Thornton said.
"If you were coming in fresh, trying to build rapport, trying to work out who's who, I think that would be a lot more challenging than it was.
"My biggest priority at the moment is the wellbeing of our staff. If we're functioning as a unit and we're in pretty good shape, it means our services to the community which is equally important then we'll be there so that's been my focus. The timing of a pandemic is never ideal but the fact that we hadn't started our season, it wasn't as if we were trying to play catch up or finish a season off or work out what we're going to do in the middle."
- Junior and senior cricket registrations are now open across the ACT.
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
