The Festival, started by Brad Bing of youth sports development agency Sporting Chance in 1990, is an annual highlight for thousands of children aged between nine and fifteen years who are bussed in from their communities to the beach to pit their cricketing skills against one another.

The venues….

Addington Beach, Durban – 24 & 25 November
Nahoon Beach, East London – 27 & 28 November
Kings Beach, Port Elizabeth – 1 December
Robberg Beach, Plettenberg Bay – 2 December
San Parks Beach, Wilderness – 3 December\
Santos Beach, Mossel Bay – 4 December
Grotto Beach, Hermanus – 5 December
Main Beach, Strand – 8 December
Long Beach, Kommetjie – 9 December
Sunrise Beach, Muizenberg – 10, 11 & 12 December

This year the ‘Find a Calypso Fast Bowler’ drive aims to uncover new bowling talent – a Makhaya Ntini or Dale Steyn – amongst the 8,000 participants. Over the years the festival has been recognised as a vehicle for identifying young sporting talent, for fostering a love of cricket and sport in general and as an opportunity to provide a large number of children with a fun filled holiday activity.

Bing, who is passionate about the positive benefits that sport can bring to children’s lives, says the Pick n Pay Calypso Beach Cricket Festival was borne from a desire to introduce large numbers of kids to cricket and to bring the various communities and cultures of South Africa together. Traditionally played in the cricket-crazy West Indies, Calypso Cricket is a fun adaptation of the conventional game, where two teams of ten players engage in play on a sand pitch.

Aside from a trip to the beach for many children who would otherwise not have this kind of opportunity, the Festival highlights Bing’s determination to encourage sport as a fixture in children’s lives. “All boys and girls should ideally be exposed to sport and a healthy lifestyle,” says Bing.  “Research has shown you develop your habits by the age of 12. If you’re not playing sport or leading an active and healthy lifestyle by then, the chances are that sport and physical activity will not feature in your adult lifestyle”.

As the Calypso Beach Cricket Festival has gained momentum over the years, it has received recognition from a significant number of corporate and sports stakeholders including Cricket South Africa, provincial cricket administration bodies and a number of cricket celebrities. Inherent to the success of this large scale sports outreach programme is the support of Pick n Pay, a company well known for its encouragement of community upliftment through positive and pro active measures.  Thanks to the generous sponsorship of the supermarket giant, thousands of children are given an opportunity to be just that – children, enjoying a carefree, fun-filled festival on the beach.

“It is important to provide our country’s youth with opportunities that will expose them to life skills and the value of playing sport,” said Jonathan Ackerman of Pick n Pay.  “This will hopefully open up new possibilities and have a positive impact on the quality of their lives. We’ve supported Calypso cricket for many years and are committed to seeing it grow from strength to strength.”

Kim Webster CSR Manager for Virgin Active added: “We are excited about the opportunities that this festival provides for children.  They have fun, make friends and more importantly, gain access to great coaching skills to develop them as cricketers.  Virgin Active is proud to be associated with a development initiative which creates a sustainable impact on the lives of our nation’s children.” 

The Pick n Pay Calypso Beach Cricket Festival’s final match will be held on Friday 12 December at Sunrise Beach, Muizenberg – the site of the first ever Calypso Beach Cricket Festival 18 years ago.

The public is encouraged to come and support the children.  For further details log onto www.sportingchance.co.za or call Natalie Le Brun at Sporting Chance on 021 683 7299

The annual cricket ‘road show’ kicks off on Monday 24 November on Addington Beach in Durban and will travel down the coast through nine regions involving 14 festivals and finally ending in Cape Town on Friday 12 December.  

An exciting new addition to this year’s festival is the ‘Find a Calypso Fast Bowler’ drive which is set to uncover new bowling talent amongst the expected 8000 nine to fifteen year old participants. The festival, started by Brad Bing of youth sports development agency Sporting Chance in 1990, is an annual highlight for the thousands of children who participate every year.  

Children are bussed in from their communities to their local festival site where they pit their skills against fellow cricket enthusiasts. The “Find a Calypso Fast Bowler” drive will be undertaken at each festival with the aim of seeking out a promising new Makhaya Ntini or Dale Steyn.  Over the years the festival has been recognised as a vehicle for identifying local talent, for fostering a love of cricket and sport in general and as an opportunity to provide a large number of children with a fun filled holiday activity.  

Bing, who is passionate about the positive benefits that sport can bring to children’s lives, says the Pick n Pay Calypso Cricket Festival was borne from a desire to introduce large numbers of kids to cricket and to bring the various communities and cultures of South Africa together. Traditionally played in the cricket-crazy West Indies, Calypso Cricket is a fun adaptation of the conventional game, where two teams of ten players engage in play on a sand pitch. Since its early introduction in South Africa, the game has garnered much enthusiasm from children of all ages and the thousands of would-be Kallis’, Ntinis, Smiths, Pollocks and Gibbs’, who descend upon the beaches at the end-of-year holidays, are testament to this.  

Aside from a trip to the beach for many children who would otherwise not have this kind of opportunity, the festival highlights Bing’s determination to encourage sport as a fixture in children’s lives. “All boys and girls should ideally be exposed to sport and a healthy lifestyle,” says Bing.  “Research has shown you develop your habits by the age of 12yrs. If you’re not playing sport or leading an active and healthy lifestyle by then, the chances are that sport and physical activity will not feature in your adult lifestyle”.  

Kim Webster CSR Manager for Virgin Active added: “Virgin Active is really excited about the multi-faceted opportunity that this festival provides to children.  They have fun, they make friends and more importantly, they gain access to great coaching skills to develop them as cricketers.  Virgin Active is proud to be associated with a vision of development and sustainable impact on the lives our nation’s children.”