Press Release
Sikkim Cricket Association is proud and happy to announce that Sikkim will have its First Official Women’s Club Tournament starting from January 2022. This historic milestone is not just about cricket, but also about women empowerment and for women from all walks of life. An event like this focused specifically on women’s cricket is rather rare even when considering programs in the rest of India.
To give a brief background, SICA on its own volition conceptualized the tournament to reach out to both men and women of the state when hosting the 1st Khangzhendzonga Tournament held in 2020. This would later serve as a testing ground for the manner in which various strategies needed to be applied in a state where cricket is still in its infancy, and even more so for women’s cricket. Various committees were formed and assistance from existing club management was sought to brainstorm methods required to form an adequate number of women’s cricket clubs to be able to host a tournament, where until now not even one woman’s cricket club existed.
The list of clubs participating in the Khangchendzonga Women’s Club Tournament 2022 are;
- Alpine Sporting Club
- Aakraman Sporting Club
- Cricket Association of Tathangchen (CAT)
- Denzong Girls Cricket Club (DGCC)
- HRCC Namchi
- Jorethang Irises Cricket Club
- Pakyong District Club
- Yuksom Capitals
Despite the 2nd wave pandemic having created several difficulties and delay, SICA is thankful to all members and clubs who have assisted in bringing into reality a noble cause. The tournament will also serve as a bedrock for would be talents making it through to the Sikkim Women’s team.
Senior women’s Coach, MrAmosh Rai and Mr. Nayan Tshering Bhutia will be mentoring the 8 women’s clubs, apart from holding weeklong camps in all the Districts. One noteworthy change from the 1st Khangchendzonga Tournament is that unlike previously, SICA would not completely sponsor the Clubs. (This has been done to ensure a sustainable long-term model is placed without excessive handholding, though all required assistance would be provided.)
The remaining 5 matches of the Khangchendzonga Men’s “A” Division will also start from the last week of December and an estimated time frame till the first week of January 2022.