Gloucester Cricket Club Coronavirus Support Fund

Aim

To help ensure the Club can overcome the Covid19 crisis and continue to provide cricket for men, women and children across the City.

ABOUT THE CLUB

Gloucester Cricket Club has been based at The Spa, Gloucester for over 190 years and is the premier cricket club in the City. We provide cricket for both male and female adults and run cricket coaching and games for children between the ages of 9 and 17. In total we run around 10 teams throughout the Summer.

Wisden Club of the year
In it’s recent past the Club has been awarded the Wisden Cricket Club of the Year and we are striving to achieve this accolade once again.

We were one of the first clubs in Gloucestershire to be awarded ECB Clubmark accreditation and are now a GCB focus club, meaning we are regularly assessed and audited, have a five year cricket development plan in place, a management team and deliver financial transparency.

Totally self-funded
We are a, completely, self-funded Club and receive no financial support from the City or County Council in maintaining the cricket ground, clubhouse and facilities and for providing weekly cricket coaching for children and adults.

THE IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS

Why the Club needs to Crowd Fund
Sadly, the Coronavirus crisis has hit the Club badly. The cricket club and all it’s activities is funded solely through players and supporters memberships and donations, plus the profit it makes from the bar. The latter delivering approximately 85% of all income.

£25,000 loss of income
It is no surprise that bar sales are down considerably and are set to continue at the same reduced rate for the coming Autumn and Winter. The Club predicts a loss of income of around £25,000 over the 12 month period since Coronavirus hit us all.

In real terms, this means a cut in expenditure across the board for the next 12 months unless we can secure additional funds. There will be cuts in the Club coaching budget meaning a reduction of development of new coaches, and the ongoing machinery maintenance and replacement programme has already been severely hit, with rollers now awaiting repair along with the other essential ground machinery.

Over the next 8 months the Club had planned to renew or repair machinery and obtain a new container for machinery storage. Sadly these two priority items are no longer viable and the roller will remain outside and vulnerable to theft throughout the winter.

Other social and funding functions have also been cancelled, such as:
- Club Race night with a loss of £1,500.00
- Club dinner with a loss of £4-5,000.00

Additionally, other income streams have been severely hit, as follows:
- Bar income reduced by approx £12,000.00
- Lost sponsorship of approx £2,000.00
- Loss of Club membership and match fees of £5,000.00

In total we anticipate a loss of approx £25,000.00!!!

CORONAVIRUS & BEYOND

Working towards a sustainable future
The cricket club committee is working hard to keep everything on an even keel and is actively applying for grants and continuously discussing our plight with the Council. However, one of our best options is to look towards our players, members and supporters to help us get through this tricky period. Hence, this Crowd Funding appeal.

The committee has also started the ground development plan with a new car park first on the agenda. Many of you will be aware that we only have around 5 car parking spaces and there is no free parking available near by.

So, we have submitted plans for a new 25 space car park that will not only accommodate players and supporters at weekends, but most importantly provide an income stream. See the proposed car park plans below.

Why is parking so important?
Hiring out the spaces to local businesses will generate over £10,000.00 per annum and ensure the Club no longer has to look to it’s members for donations and ‘free’ loans to sustain the great work we do, in delivering cricket and football to 100’s of children and adults each year.

£50,000 to find
Sadly, the Council is unable to help fund the new asset, so we have to find roughly £50,000.00 ourselves and this Crowd Funding might be the start! 

Therefore, any excess income will be put towards the car park, because it will secure the future of the Club by creating a longer term and sustainable income stream. 

Longer term, the committee hope this car park will be start of a whole development plan for the Club, with a long overdue new Clubhouse.

Why Crowd Fund and where will the money be spent?
Crowd funding allows us to get our message out to as wide an audience as possible, that means players and families, ex members and players, footballers, youth players, parents and anyone else we can cajole or bend an arm to donate.

If successful, it will ensure the Club has the cash to survive the Winter and allows the Club to re-activate some of the very important projects we had planned.

How much do we need?
We hope to raise £20,000.00 to £25,000.00 through this Crowd Funding project and that will go a long way to wiping out the Covid deficit.

The money being spent in the following ways:
- approx £5,000 on Club running costs, maintenance, utilities etc
- approx £1,500 on Club coaching and child welfare/safe hands fees and cricket league fees
- £11,500 on ground machinery maintenance and replacement
- £2,000 on ground materials and preparation

If we find we have funds to spare, they will be put towards the ground and car parking improvement scheme, as outlined above. A scheme that will help us hugely over the coming years and go a long way to ensuring the Club can stand on it’s own two feet for the foreseeable future.

CRICKET

Junior cricket - Chance to Shine Programme 

Since 2008, the club’s ECB Level 2 Coaches have delivered the Chance 2 Shine Initiative in 4 local primary schools, which has introduced many new children to the game of cricket.

Fantastic working relationships have been built up with the schools, culminating in the schools kwik cricket, taking place at the club. These tournaments have provided opportunities for all children to participate, in particular those from the local inner-city area, many being of Asian heritage, where cricket is ‘in the blood’. 

Junior cricket - All Stars Programme

The Club became part of the ECB All Stars Initiative in its inaugural year of 2018, with 23 boys and girls participating, building to 38 by 2019. In 2020, the Club had planned Dynamos Cricket and we had 12 sign-ups by March. Sadly, it was one of the Covid casualties.

Junior cricket - Friday night coaching
Due to the success of the All Stars Programme in the last two years, this year we introduced an U9’s age group for the first time. It has been very well received by the children and parents and is solid foundation for expansion next year.

Friday evening also sees the three older junior age groups U11’s 13’s & 15’s meaning we regularly see up to 80 boys and girls training on the ground. Parents often volunteering with coaching, helping to run the ever popular barbecue or general youth administration work…and, of course, socialising in the club house.

Junior cricket - Junior Playing Teams 

Junior matches take place in the Cheltenham & Gloucester League each week in the summer. Whilst the U15’s playing the longer format of the game on a Sunday in the Gloucestershire Youth league. The Club has been successful in being County Champions and League, winning both in the recent past.  

Many of our youth players have now made the step up to adult cricket and will be found playing in our adult league teams on a weekend. In fact, many of the current first eleven started their cricket journey at the Club Friday night youth training.

Every year sees a number of our young players chosen to represent the County and District Age Group sides.

ADULT CRICKET

The Club runs 3 senior league sides on Saturdays with our 1st XI playing in the WEPL in the Gloucestershire Division. The second team play in County league and our third eleven currently reside in the Cheltenham & Gloucester League.

The Club also plays regular Sunday fixtures and competes in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Cup with midweek fixtures also taking place. These fixtures allowing the Club to put out mixed teams with players from all three senior weekend teams, a great way to build ‘One Club’.

Very senior cricket!!
The Club and ground is used for various Gloucestershire County Senior sides including the over 50’s (two teams), over 60’s and over 70’s, all playing regional and national league fixtures at The Spa each Summer. Numerous Gloucester Cricket Club players regularly play in the three senior sides.

FOOTBALL

Senior football
The Cricket Club is the home for three local football teams - Tredworth Tigers, Trident and Renegades. Two of the sides lost their pitches over the last few years and so the Club offered to prepare and provide a pitch for both, meaning both clubs were able to remain functioning and local. The clubhouse also provides all three a location they can call ‘Home’ for the first time. In pre-Covid times the Clubhouse would regularly see 40-70 people post matches enjoying food and social drinks.

COMMUNITY

The Club and the Community, including BAME groups
The Club is the hub of the local community, a number of organisations use the Club facility, including cricket league committees, various local groups and businesses. This year has seen the Club used for after school activities too.

The clubroom is regularly hired for social functions and parties, both by individuals and businesses. 

The ground is used for various groups too including local Asian groups. The Club is proud to say it has been instrumental in integrating recently arrived Afghani refugees into the Gloucester community, many of them playing in the Club’s junior and senior teams. At one stage there were up to 9 Afghan players turning out on a Saturday.

Thanks for your support

So, let’s all do the best we can to support Gloucester Cricket Club through this difficult time and beyond. Your support, in any form, will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

This project successfully funded on 1st December 2020