Last week, on International Women’s Day (IWD), we were thrilled to welcome Trinity alumna and professional cricketer Kira Chathli back to school to engage and inspire our current students.
Kira currently plays for the South East Stars, Surrey and played for the Oval Invincibles in their second winning season in 2022.
The theme for this year’s IWD was #EmbraceEquity and, during her talk with the students, Kira tackled head-on the challenges in women’s cricket today, and the progress that has been made.
There are, sadly, still so many barriers facing women and girls – but at the same time it was inspiring to hear about the many organisations out there doing great work to support women in sport. One of the organisations highlighted by Kira was ‘Take Her Lead’, whose mission is for cricket to be a place where every woman and girl can fulfil their potential and thrive, within the game and beyond. In addition, Kira has recently set up her own coaching company, Next Level Cricket Academy, which aims to provide greater access to quality coaching for girls in the South East.
Kira also talked about what it is like to be a professional sportswoman; including her typical week, which includes skills, fitness training and, most importantly, recovery.
She also encouraged discussion by asking the audience the question, ‘what makes a great athlete?’ There were some great answers from the students, who talked about qualities such as competitiveness, commitment, passion, resilience, drive, self-confidence and humility – all of which Kira has in abundance!
After the presentation to the students, Kira led the Trinity Girls’ Cricket team in a coaching session in the Sports Hall, followed by a game of cricket. A great end to an inspiring day. Thank you Kira!
Kira joined Trinity for the Sixth Form in 2015 and after leaving in 2017, completed a Chemistry MSci at UCL.
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