A Message from Richard Skyrme of Herefordshire Cricket
We hope you are staying safe and well at home. We know this is a very challenging time for everyone, including everybody working and involved in cricket. Fingers crossed we can return to normality and get the season up and running as soon as possible. The last month has been remarkable in every sense, we were doubtful of starting the season due to floods, we have had one decent downpour in the last four weeks and the grounds are now looking perfect for play, but nobody could predict what was around the corner !!!! I am sure we all agree, we must all applaud and support the front line workers, also keep to the advice of the government but what ever we can salvage from this season, will be worth it, even if it is 4-6 weeks of matches through August and into September, this will be vital to keep your club together, people in the bar and at the ground, trying to get everything back to normal. We are keeping all clubs updated of all ECB, Sport England, County Council announcements and it is fantastic that a good number of clubs have received the small business grant from the Herefordshire County Council. It was also extremely helpful to personally discuss individual club issues with everyone last week, please dont hesitate to contact any of the staff if you have any questions or need advice, so stay safe and we all look forward to the glorious prospect of cricket, sooner rather than later !!
Be Extra Vigilant
Despite the odd visit from the groundsman unfortunately our cricket clubs are standing empty at a time when they should be buzzing at the start of the season. Unfortunately there has been a number of reports recently of clubs being broken into in neighboring counties and we urge you to stay vigilant. Make sure everything is locked up securely particularly sheds housing mowers and other equipment.
icoachcricketis an online resource for anyone who wants to be involved in coaching or supporting players. icoachcricket helps you to support players’ needs, inspire participation and enhance performance. Why not encourage your volunteers, or older juniors to take a look.
Register here:
https://icoachcricket.ecb.co.uk/
During this period, we would encourage all club admins to update their club Play Cricket sites. Play Cricket have created a dedicated YouTube support channel, giving access to video tutorials on all Play-Cricket admin-related activities. Access it here (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB84ANJzWVGStP3KAxkYutA) .
Play Cricket launch new club website templates!! to enable you to have a mobile friendly, fully customised and up-to-date website.
* A new Homepage featuring sections for announcements, community news, your Hall of Fame and a snapshot of fixtures, results and league tables.
* An About Us section to give some brief information about your club
* A Fixtures and Results section
* A Teams section
* A Statistics section
* A News & Docs section
The templates are now live and can be set up in your club’s Site Admin. To support you, Play Cricket have created a video tutorial to show you exactly what you need to do. It can take as little as 5 minutes to update and we’d encourage you to do so ahead of the return of cricket. Access the Website Template help guide here (https://play-cricket.ecb.co.uk/hc/en-us/articles/360007194237-Club-Homepage-Template-Admin?utm_campaign=11484991_Player%20Comms%3A%20Website%20templates%20%26%20YouTube&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Email_AdHoc&utm_content=helpguide&email=&dm_i=1FT6,6U5VJ,S9I2B1,RELVM,1)
Play Cricket Scorer
Now would be a good time to encourage a few of your volunteers and players to learn how to use the play cricket scorer system. The easy way to digitally score recreational cricket. Send them this link to get them started.
https://www.play-cricket.com/features-playcricketscorer
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Raising Money and Saving Money
We know from speaking to clubs that there will be financial implications in having a delayed start to the season. This is a good time to look at how you can save money and also look at new ways of raising money.
Listed below are a few suggestions from us based on feedback from clubs and other cricket boards.
Raising Money
* Online quizzes with members
* Donations towards running costs instead of subs. Those that have charity status or are eligible for Community Sports Club Status (CASC) benefit from the 25% Gift Aid - 5 clubs in the West Midlands have done this and their income is more than they would normally collect in subs.
* Bonus Ball winner – linking to the National Lottery
* Crowd funding initiative
* Set up an easy fundraising site for your club
* Club sponsors – can you continue to engage and support them through your Social Media platforms
* Individual challenges for sponsorship
Saving Money
* Can the club agree to pause/ suspend any payments while the club remains closed?
* Sky Sports (https://www.sky.com/help/articles/pause-sky-sports) (and other subscriptions) – get in touch with your provider(s) to suspend payment during the Covid-19 outbreak.
* Contact your insurers to discuss whether your current policy is appropriate during this period. Can payments be delayed or deferred? Is there a clause relating to ‘loss of earnings’, worth checking!
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Stay Connected
It is really important to stay in touch with your members both senior and junior. Why not think about an online social event, maybe a quiz about your local club or community. There will also be important things to discuss with members so why not hold a general meeting to keep everyone in the loop.
Social Media - If your club is not on social media now is a good time to set this up and follow all the updates from HCB and the ECB and connect with other local clubs.
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