We are a successful club with a rapidly growing membership but our practice nets require urgent modernisation and replacement.
by Martin Reece in Kettering, Northamptonshire, United Kingdom
We will enhance our coaching equipment to maximise the opportunity for players to practice. For example we would like to purchase bowling machines, catching nets and cradles and fielding target stumps. We would also like to provide training and match clothing for our junior teams.
Our Project
We have raised most of the funds required to build a modern, high quality practice facility through grants and donations and now require the final sum of £20,000 to enable us to go for a practice facility large enough to accommodate training for all of our players. During the season, the nets will be used by all teams every night of the week .
Our Club
Kettering Town Cricket Club has been a major sports provider in the local community since 1885. The club has competed at the highest level in the county and has produced a number of professional cricketers. We are blessed with a beautiful ground with two high quality playing surfaces and a modern and spacious pavilion.
Our commitment to inclusivity, diversity and families
We are an inclusive club, one of the largest in the county catering for a all levels of ability. We also are proud of our diversity. We have five Saturday adult teams and one Sunday adult team. There are two junior teams at each level under for under 11, 13 and 15, together with under 17 and under 19 teams. In addition we have All Stars and Dynamo junior squads for the youngest players. We have fourteen "Level 1" and nine "Level 2" coaches who provide an excellent experience for our juniors, helping them to learn the wonderful sport of cricket and we now need a practice facility to meet this growing demand.
One of our greatest achievements in recent years has been the development of our ladies section. We are proud to have two midweek T20 ladies teams and a 40 over ladies Sunday team. A number of our girls have represented the county at various age group levels. Six of our ladies regularly play in our predominantly male Saturday teams. We also enjoy hosting county boys and girls age group matches and practice sessions which will benefit enormously from the new facility. Alongside the prestigious ECB Clubmark Quality Mark, we are also a County Focus Club and a Women's County Cricket Hub.
We also have many families where both parents and all of their children play, increasing the friendly and inclusive atmosphere that we see as vital to the success of the club and the well-being of the playing community.
50% of our five Saturday, two Sunday and two midweek teams are made up of young players under the age of 25. We are also proud of the 25% of our players who come from British Asian families. As an urban club with a large catchment area we also have players from a range of socio-economic backgrounds.
How your contribution will help
We are determined to improve our practice facilities for all age groups and adult teams with the provision of a four lane caged all-weather practice net (see images below) that will provide excellent opportunities for all players to improve for many years to come. This will replace our existing aging two lane facility which at present cannot do justice to the many hours provided by our wonderful coaches. A four lane facility will enable us to meet the demand from our rapidly growing adult and junior sections. Our aim is to provide a state of the art practice area that will be the equal of any club in the county. The project will provide safe practice areas with consistent bounce and pace.
What our new facility will look like
In Conclusion
Like all clubs our fundraising projects were affected by the Covid 19 pandemic. Previously successful fundraising activities were severely curtailed in 2020 and 2021 and during this time we were unable to raise funds for our practice nets project which has been in the funding development phase for five years. This has left us short of the required amount for our project and we hope that crowdfunding will fill that gap with your help.
We would love you to support our project and make a generous donation that will help make this facility a lasting benefit to the community and help encourage more young people and their families to take up this amazing sport.
Testimonial
"The Smart family have been club members since 2013. My two children Ethan and Poppy inspired me to resume playing after a gap of ten years! My wife Sophie also plays in the ladies section. Kettering Town is a friendly and welcoming club that has become a second home for us. The new net facility is desperately needed to meet the needs of the growing membership and to further improve playing standards at all levels." Graham Smart, parent and player
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