Cricket Victoria has capped off a busy week of WBBL action by hosting a citizenship ceremony before yesterday’s Derby between the Melbourne Renegades and the Melbourne Stars at CitiPower Centre. Alongside the Department of Home Affairs, approximately fifty new Australian citizens were honoured, with the event providing a vibrant atmosphere for the new citizens to […]
Cricket Victoria has capped off a busy week of WBBL action by hosting a citizenship ceremony before yesterday's Derby between the Melbourne Renegades and the Melbourne Stars at CitiPower Centre.
Alongside the Department of Home Affairs, approximately fifty new Australian citizens were honoured, with the event providing a vibrant atmosphere for the new citizens to celebrate their commitment to Australia, while enjoying the experience of Australia's national summer sport.
The initiative highlights the importance sport plays in assisting new Australians to find their place in the community and build social cohesion.
Those in attendance included State Member for Albert Park, Nina Taylor MP, Presiding Officer and Regional Director of Victoria and Tasmania at the Department of Home Affairs, Melissa Kay, Director of Citizenship Victoria, Darren Andrews and Cricket Victoria Directors and Executive Management.
It's Cricket Victoria's second year of hosting an Australian Citizenship Ceremony, something Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins said he was incredibly proud of.
"This is a celebration of 50 unique stories and how sport, particularly cricket, brings people together. Cricket has a proud history of uniting people all over the globe and we are delighted to play a small role in uniting you all here today as new citizens of Australia," said Cummins.
"Cricket is a game for everyone - not dependant on background or ability. Cricket Victoria, including the Melbourne Renegades and Melbourne Stars, are proud of the strength of the growing diversity of our game.
"Cricket is a truly global sport and at a local level we continue to drive opportunities for multicultural communities to come together and participate. Today we have a small token of appreciation for you to take home - but our connection with you doesn't end here.
"You may want to join your local cricket club or come to upcoming WBBL and BBL matches. We would love to see you there. We are here to help support your cricket journey in any way we can."
Two of the new Citizens honoured at the event were French couple Brieuc, from Paris and Anaïs, from Nice, who have been living in Australia for almost 10 years.
"We had a long process to get our nationality today," Anaïs explained, "and today is very important to us because now Australia is our new home. It has been ten years since we moved here, we had our children here, it is our home away from home, so today is very meaningful for us."
Brieuc further elaborated, "When you have been through all this process you've really got a huge satisfaction when you end the journey and you get the citizenship. We are very proud of it."
Having the ceremony as part of the WBBL was also something special for them, with both being new to the sport.
"We were invited to this special ceremony a couple of months ago," Anaïs said, "and when we have seen it was a ceremony with a cricket match we thought that is amazing as we have never watched a cricket match before."
