FOUR new teams are gearing up to take the field in the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association's two junior female age groups this summer.
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Twenty teams - nine in under 14s and 11 in under 17s - will vie for two premierships if the 2020-21 season is given the green light.
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WDCA chairperson Gordon McLeod confirmed the association received nominations from Woodford and Russells Creek for the under 17 competition.
Another Allansford side and West Warrnambool had expressed their interest in expanding the under 14s.
"We are very much hoping all cricket can get on the park this year and we certainly have some really encouraging numbers to show an increase in the number of women playing," McLeod said of playing this summer.
Outdoor sport in regional areas can resume when step three of the state government's roadmap to re-opening is introduced. It is expected to be implemented shortly.
The WDCA is also hopeful of getting a senior women's competition started this season with the association seeking interest from clubs to be one of the first four teams.
McLeod said the trial games and training the association ran last summer was successful in creating the base for the push for creating a senior competition.
The WDCA has received grants in the off-season which it plans to use for expanding the women's game in the region this summer.
McLeod hoped to see an increase in participation across the association after a number of other winter and summer sports were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.
Cricket Australia reported participation among women and girls had grown 61 per cent in the last four years from 47,831 players across the nation to 76,413 in 2019-20.
In CA's 2019-20 census it recorded an increase of 11.4% year-over-year in female participation in the sport.
As a result of the rise, the country's top body has this week launched its new female participation strategy - The Next Innings: Accelerating Female Participation.
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