International Women's Day - from Cricket to Commissioner

Today’s Woman in Sport sharing her story is cricketer and GSC Commissioner Philippa Stahelin.

‘I came late to competitive cricket having always loved the game growing and up with three sporting mad brothers. We spent hours in the garden and while they batted as their heroes, my sister and I bowled, and bowled and bowled!

‘Coming to Guernsey 12 years ago, I played hockey in the winter and discovered a few years ago that the GCB were committed to developing the women’s game. I jumped at the chance to get involved and whilst we started with hockey, football and volleyball players learning to play cricket, we are now running a fully-fledged junior girls and senior team. We are the proud holders of the Inter-Insular trophy for the past 3 years which is a fabulous achievement.

‘Sport has always been my passion and saviour in many ways all my life, allowing me to relax from a busy career in publishing and charity work, but most of all the opportunity to meet and be team mates with the some incredible women.

‘I have been lucky in many ways to have so many memorable experiences over the years. In fact the only gaps in my sporting life was for the births of my 2 sons. Trying to regain my fitness afterwards was a challenge but it was also a goal to aim at! Having team mates around me at the time, who were all balancing work, motherhood and their sport, gave me a group of like-minded women for support and encouragement. Seeing others in the same situation was a real spur for me.

‘I consider myself a senior player now, but I lack none of the enthusiasm and passion I have always had for competitive sport. Over the years, I have captained many teams and served on various sports boards and I now get as much thrill at seeing the young players work towards and achieve their own goals in sport as competing myself. In fact, I rely on them to make me look good these days!

‘I am a Sports Commissioner and was recently elected as the first woman to serve as a Director of Guernsey Cricket, with a special interest in the promotion and development of the junior and senior women’s game. I can’t wait to see how that unfolds and seeing some seriously talented players come through to fulfil their ambitions.

‘I believe that encouraging more girls to become involved in sport is all about providing easy pathways into a variety of sports, providing a supportive and nurturing coaching environment and by seeing other women compete, coach and hold positions on sports boards, making decisions about the future of their sport.’

#ChooseToChallenge #IWD2021