Sport England: Active Together has provided £3,750 of match funding
Great Shelford Cricket Club
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom
Aim
We aim to raise £12,500 for an artificial cricket pitch for our thriving junior section with over 130 young cricketers aged 5-13.
Our Club
Great Shelford Cricket Club would love to do more to encourage children to keep active, by introducing cricket particularly to those from schools where cricket is not played.
We aim to keep costs low and provide bursaries where needed, to attract children from all backgrounds and abilities and then develop them as players. This includes training in playing the game, but just as important is that the children learn to be part of a supportive team so that their confidence and mental health is built up as individuals.
Our Community Impact
We now have over 130 local children aged 5-13 playing cricket. We work with local schools to promote cricket (e.g. donating cricket equipment / providing coaching). Many parents and carers create a wonderful atmosphere at the side of the pitch as supporters and helpers.
For those just starting we have fun activities and games in our Dynamos (aged 8-11) and All Stars (aged 5-8) programmes.
We have competitive league teams, for mixed boys and girls teams (U13s, U11s, U9s) and all girls' teams (U13s and U11s). Every team has pre-season indoor nets and then weekly training from qualified coaches during the season.
Our Ambition
All this has been wonderful to encourage children to become more active, build strong peer relationships in their local community and so support improved mental health and wellbeing.
However, to continue this activity and expand the positive benefits for our community further we have an enormous need for an artificial pitch.
This would provide all weather, better and safer surface for the children than the out-field of the recreation ground which we currently use for our training.
It will also be used for friendly games and league matches (both boys and girls) and as a rainy day alternative for youth and adult cricket teams. Finally, it will enable the girls and boys to continue training into the autumn.
We have already secured planning permission from the District Council and support from Great Shelford Parish Council. Now all we require is your help for funding and the installation can begin.
This is what it will look like:
How will we spend the money?
Our work will (subject to funding) be carried out this autumn by Total Play Ltd an England and Wales Cricket Board approved contractor, who have also completed many other quality artificial pitches in Cambridgeshire as pictured above.
How you can help
There are three ways to play your part and make this project a reality:
1. Make a pledge and claim a reward
Don't delay if you are going to support us. Even a small donation would be helpful. Please make a difference and help bring a smile to the children and youth of Great Shelford Cricket Club!
2. Spread the word
Share our project on your social media pages and tell you friends and family and colleagues to get behind us. The more people we reach the more support we will get.
3. Offer rewards yourself.
Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters.
This project successfully funded on 3rd July 2024