Wellcome Cricket Development Structure
Hong Kong Schools Cricket Association run leagues at two age levels for secondary schools. Leagues run from September to March.
HKCA run weekly cricket coaching centres for children aged 4 - 14 at three locations in Hong Kong. Centres run for 20 weeks from September to March. Two of the centres are run wholly by HKCA.
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) support HKCA Elementary Cricket Centres at four locations in Hong Kong (Happy Valley, Quarry Bay, Kowloon, Shatin). Cricket instruction is in Cantonese. Participants are aged 6 - 16 and usually have had no previous exposure to cricket. Parents of children attending are encouraged to undertake HKCA Level 'O' Coaching Course. Three eight-week courses are currently held at each centre per year from September to May. Summer programmes are now running in Indoor Games Halls at three locations in Hong Kong
4. New Clubs / Community Sports Clubs
Youngsters and parents who show an interest in cricket from the LCSD Centres are encouraged to join the existing Cantonese-speaking clubs: Genius Cricket Club (Kowloon); Happy Cricket Club (HK-side) for which financial support is available through SDB; or to form their own club. 'Super Team' Cricket Club formed Summer '99 in Shatin. HKCA provide coaching and advice for the new clubs, which are expected to enter teams in the HKCA Junior Leagues.
5. U11, U13, U15, U19 HKCA Junior Leagues
HKCA Junior Leagues were set up in 1998 at three age levels to provide structured, regular competitive cricket for teams from the 'New Clubs', teams arising from the HKCA Centres and other groups of youngsters who may band together to form teams. These leagues are vital to put into competitive practice the skills taught in the coaching sessions; enable talent spotting of youngsters for the HKCA Junior Representative Teams; and provide a pool of young cricketers to filter into the adult Saturday and Sunday Leagues. HKCA Junior Leagues run from October to March and use Super 8's format. The U11 League commenced in January 2000.
6. HKCA Primary Schools' Playground League
Over 32 Primary School Teams contest in a 8-a-side tapeball cricket league played on basketball sized playgrounds. Schools joining the league receive Coaching courses for teachers, demonstration visits, equipment on loan, videos, coaching manuals and more.
7. Junior Representative Teams
HKCA have Junior Representative Teams at U13, U15, U19 and U23 age levels, all of which play at least one international tournament per year. Players for the squads are selected from the Junior Leagues, HKCA Centres and HKSCA Leagues, and train intensively for each tournament.
8. HKCA Saturday and Sunday Leagues
These are the adult cricket leagues played from September to April with 16 teams in the Saturday League and 9 teams in the Sunday League.
The best players in the Saturday and Sunday Leagues are selected to represent the territory, with Hong Kong currently being ranked 17 in the World. The aim of the HKCA is to reach a top 3 position in the ICC Trophy in 2001 (world competition for all ICC Associate nations) thereby to qualify for the Cricket World Cup. The strict player eligibility criteria mean that it is a priority to bring locally born cricketers up to a high enough standard to represent the territory