Glamorgan's Head of Women & Girls Cricket Aimee Rees speaks ahead of a historic and exciting summer in Welsh women's cricket.
A historic summer is on the horizon for the Club; how excited are you for this?
We’re excited to see cricket advancing to the next generation for women. It’s something we’ve been eagerly anticipating, and we’re hopeful it will pave the way toward a fully professional era by 2027.
It all starts in April, but there is quite a lead-up to it with a long winter ahead. How do you plan to use the off-season heading into a massive summer for women’s cricket in Wales?
There are many changes this winter. We’re starting the Glamorgan EEP, the Glamorgan Academy, and transitioning into the women’s first team, which will play in Tier Two. We also have Glamorgan age groups—U12s, U13s, U15s, and U18s. What excites us most are the new programs and relationships with Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, offering more access to girls joining the programmes.
As you mentioned, we’re aiming for Tier One in 2027, becoming the ninth professional women’s county on the circuit. Are the next two years a big lead-up to 2027, or are you just taking it one game at a time?
It’s definitely a build-up to 2027, with an eye on the bigger picture. It’s crucial to support our young players over the next two seasons. We’re aware that we’ll have 15 professional contracts to attract quality players to Glamorgan, but we’re also focused on developing our young talent in Wales, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire, giving them the opportunity to become professional cricketers.
How important is it from your point of view for young girls in Wales to have a women’s team like Glamorgan to look up to, potentially inspiring them to consider cricket as a career?
If you can see it, you can be it. Now, there will be real role models and stories of young girls who progress through our pathway and become professional cricketers. We’re fortunate to have players like Alex Griffiths, Sophia Smale, and Claire Nicholas as inspiring examples in professional cricket. Now, girls can come through our pathway and play for Glamorgan, not just regional teams. There’s a real sense of pride in representing your home county and your nation.
How will the Academy and pathway structure change now with the arrival of this Tier Two team?
The pathway is changing, and it is growing. We now have access to these elite programmes with better coaches, strength & conditioning specialists, and physios. This is going to help our young girls transition through better, and while my role is to look at 2027, I am still quite passionate about the pathway and development programmes. I want to see the young girls from the pathway and academy structure end up wearing the famous Glamorgan shirt and becoming professional. Now, our focus is on that EPP Academy group and the Tier Two cricketers. The goal is to increase contact time and develop these amazingly talented youngsters.