1 September 2009 Welcome from Lincoln University to the Twenty20 Cricket Tournament

Lincoln University is delighted to once again sponsor the Secondary Schools' Twenty20 Cricket Tournament. It is the second year of our involvement and the event is a fine example of youth participating in outdoor activity.

Cricket and summer go together, like bat and ball, and here at Lincoln University our association with the sport is equally close. The establishment of New Zealand Cricket's High
Performance Centre on the campus in the mid-1990s, the introduction of Sports Scholarships in Cricket at the end of the 1990s, the opening of the Bert Sutcliffe Oval following that, and the subsequent holding of numerous national and international tournaments there, are all examples of the connection.

Sport is an incubator for leadership and the combination with education is a powerful one for human development and the good of society.

Sports tournaments like the Secondary Schools' Twenty20 event make a positive contribution to the community and at an educational institution like Lincoln University, which offers degrees in sport and recreation management, we see a natural alignment of interests.

We wish all associated with the Twenty20 tournament a happy and enjoyable event.