CRICKET has a greater role to play in the wider community, Mark Smee believes.
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The first grade all-rounder - who is set to switch to the South West Rocks club from Stuarts Point/Eungai for the forthcoming season - is the new president of the Macleay Valley Cricket Association (MVCA).
He has considerable experience in the administrative side of the sport, having served as a club president in the Newcastle District Cricket Association and as a delegate to the Northern Districts committee.
Smee’s appointment, alongside that of the new MVCA secretary Ben Paix, signals something of changing of the guard for the association.
Former president Bob Hogan has become MVCA’s recorder, while Dave Hill has stepped down from the role of secretary.
Helping to maintain a sense of continuity, is senior vice president Dean Rutledge, who has contributed 13 years as an office bearer.
Smee has a grand local vision for the game he loves - one he believes will ensure its long-term survival and one that will consolidate the strength of cricket in the Macleay.
Key to this vision are collaboration, inclusion and utilising cricket as a vehicle for other social activities.
“Cricket has a role to play in the wider community,” Smee says.
“We need define clearly what it’s about and try to create new markets, especially with the wider community.”
He cites the foundations laid by his predecessors on the MVCA committee as the reason why the local sport is as strong here as anywhere else of comparable size and population in NSW.
In terms of the structure of the local competition, there is little to change
“We don’t need to be revolutionary when in the past they (the association’s committee) have been progressing and evolving,” Smee says.
“We’re lucky they’re still here to advise and help.”
He will look to usher in changes to cricket for juniors between the ages of five and 10 years and that will encompass making the sport as inclusive as possible.
“It will involve providing more opportunities for children, especially from backgrounds that aren’t as well represented, such as the disabled, indigenous, and those from high unemployment areas,” Smee says.
One proposal is to involve junior teams from Lower Nambucca, Scotts Head and Eungai in the Macleay competition.
The new MVCA president also wants to see the association take the lead in making improved facilities available for other uses.
He wants also to take the burden off cricket club volunteers whose free time is often burdened with organisational matters that others don’t want to take on, so they have better opportunities to utilise their true skills.
Smee is contracted to MVCA to carry out a program funded by the Macleay Valley Communities for Children and his ultimate goal is for the association to become a model for other local cricketing bodies in terms of its social outreach.