Leopold announces new-look committee, first female president

LEOPOLD Cricket Club has begun a new era at Memorial Park with the club’s first ever female president and six first-time committee members announced to lead the club into the future.

The Lions unveiled its new-look committee last week, led by Leopold resident of three decades Ashlynn Begg.

“I’m ecstatic because I have two young boys, and I’m such a big believer that if you don’t try something then you aren’t really living, and I hope that they learn from this too,” she said.

“For me, I’m excited to take on the responsibility, I love our community, I love my club and I’m excited to see what others can bring to the party changing Leopold into a more modern direction.”

Begg takes over the reins from outgoing president Cam Horne, with vice president Chris Aston, secretary Luke Murray and treasurer Tess Barmby also departing their posts.

Begg said re-establishing the club’s senior female program would be at the forefront of the new committee’s agenda.

The Lions last fielded a women’s cricket side during the 2019/20 season under Geelong Cricket Association’s (GCA) Women’s T20 competition.

“It’s a huge priority, we’ve already spoken about it as a club and set a date for when we host our Come & Try Day,” Begg said.”We’ve already implemented plans and it will be our number one priority this season.

“We expect to make our first announcements about a women’s division in the next couple of weeks.”

The committee has also cited Leopold’s return to GCA1 and building on its junior ranks as other objectives.

New vice president Dylan Barmby said it was his first executive position on the club’s committee.

“We still have a few roles we need to distribute but we really want to get rolling on next season.

“We want to remain engaged with the community and be a place that the community wants to be around.

“If we can establish some good seasons in the men’s program, return to GCA1, reignite our women’s side and continue to increase our junior participation, we’ll be well-placed heading into the future.”

Chris Hennessy is the club’s new treasurer and Nick Hughes will serve as secretary.