Hit, run and score: The rise of women's cricket in Alberta
CBC
Omaima Waqar didn't enjoy cricket as a kid.
She was indifferent whenever her father and sister would head out to play cricket in Toronto, scoffing at the idea of running around in the sun for several hours.
Her attitude took a dramatic turn when Waqar moved to Calgary with her sister. She started helping out with regular practice sessions at Riley Park and had an unexpected epiphany — she was good at the game.
"I was a natural bowler," Waqar said.
She ended up training for the sport and enjoying the entire process from start to finish.
"I find that very ironic because I went from, 'Did anyone even want to sit down and watch the sport?' to now," she said.
These days, a huge chunk of her week is spent playing cricket and organizing events.
It's been 13 years since Waqar first started playing cricket. She grew to love the sport so much that she decided to start a cricket league with her sister in 2010.
"We realized that there was nobody here for women to play cricket. So we basically got in touch with the organizers for men's cricket and we started the league," Waqar said.
"It started off with like three to four girls just coming down and training and one coach, and then we soon started recruiting more girls and actually setting up tournaments."
Women's cricket in Alberta has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years. According to Waqar, her team is now a diverse mix of about two dozen female players ages 12 to 35.
The players now end up competing in at least two to three games every week as opposed to a handful of tournaments a year — which was the case in the past.
"We're definitely growing. We're creating a platform where we're able to display our skills," Waqar said, adding she's hoping to recruit more players and start a junior program for young players.
"We can start grooming those players to play for Calgary and then Alberta and, eventually, the national team, because we have the pathway set up," she said. "We have got the coaches, we've got the facilities."
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