DreamCricket Gala Day
Friday, 17th November 2023 Canberra Grammar School (CGS) 
 
AMAZING YOUNG PEOPLE DOING EXTRAORDINARY THINGS
 
The morning of 17 November heralded in a most beautiful late Spring day at the Main Oval at the Canberra Grammar School, which was the setting for the 2023 DreamCricket Gala Day.  Organised by the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise, the event was to provide some 60 primary school students from six local schools the opportunity to play an adaptive form of cricket in a fun and supportive environment. 
 
 
 
The participating schools with their teachers and carers each arrived to a tumultuous welcome with the Grammar Big Band in full swing and a guard of honour provided by junior students from Grammar.
 
The event was attended by Their Excellencies the Governor-General and Mrs Hurley and, in opening the event, the Governor-General reminded all of our cricketing history and its continuing high profile in our sporting culture. He also mentioned that Australia’s One Day International Team had overnight qualified for the World Cup final which received a raucous response.
 
 
Following the opening ceremony the budding young cricketers, each wearing new cricket hats, took to the field with a level of enthusiasm that would have been the envy of any coach.  Under the watchful eye of DreamCricket coordinator George Huitker and his team of assistants together with some 40 student mentors from Grammar, the games began. 
 
 
The first two sessions were about giving every participant the opportunity to gain confidence and develop skills to their maximum potential while the final session after lunch involved teams playing against each other with every student participating.  His Excellency led from the front both with bat and ball, much to the delight of all attendees.
 
At the end of the day’s play, the tired but happy cricketers were each presented with a medallion by Canberra Meteor and Comets players to commemorate their participation and an icy pole to cool them down.
 
Amongst all in attendance, there was a sense that the event had been a great success and that DreamCricket provides an opportunity for all participants to surpass their expectations and to grow in confidence.
 
 
Finally, the success of the event was the result of a great team effort, both from within the Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise, and more widely.  The latter included enormous support provided by the Canberra Grammar School, DreamCricket Australia, The Lord’s Taverners ACT, Cricket ACT, and the Belconnen Rotary Club.
 
We look forward to next year’s event.