Long-standing president Terry Eaton steps down paving the way for young blood as Ryan Kinnear takes the reins

The Albany & Districts Cricket Association will have a new president for the first time in more than a decade after Terry Eaton stepped down at the annual general meeting on July 25. Eaton was been at the helm for 16 years but the recent adoption of maximum terms in committee roles meant he had to move on. The ADCA’s newest life member and hard-working committee member Ryan Kinnear has stepped up to take on the presidency. Kinnear was unanimously voted in as president at the AGM, which had more than 25 people in attendance. Eaton began his stint as president in the 2006-07 season and Kinnear credited his mentor for the sterling job he had done over almost 20 years. “Tez has done it for a long time and has been a great mentor to many, even myself,” Kinnear said. “It is a good time to take it on given the healthy position the ADCA is in currently. “I’ve got good support from the board members and I’m looking forward to continuing on the right track. When you think of Terry, you think of an outstanding person in the community — someone you always look to for guidance. “He’s the first one to put his hand up. “We would be lost without his work over the past couple of decades, and he continues on.” Eaton remains a member of the ADCA executive, and there were several other changes at the AGM. John Miell joined the board, taking on the position of senior vice-president that was previously held by Kinnear. Sam Slater is another addition to the executive, while Nathan Dovey and treasurer Mitch Green have left. The ADCA will confirm a treasurer in the coming weeks, Ryan Tindale remains as junior vice-president, and Jim Walters also continues as a member of the executive. Kinnear said his main focus was to keep cricket healthy in the region and help drive the development of a women’s competition. “One of the things we’ve been trying to focus on in the last couple of years is keeping the clubs strong and healthy and engaging more players in different formats,” he said. “Trying to get a senior women’s competition up and running in some form is also a priority. “We have to try and evolve our formats for the way people are living their lives these days and the 40-over C-grade competition has been a good example of that.” Clubs nominated their senior teams at the AGM and the only change from last season was Narrikup highlighting the potential addition of a B-grade side. The likely start date for the 2022-23 ADCA season is October 15.