New 2 bay net system

Aim

To provide a new 2 bay net facility that will increase the number of sessions and dramatically improve our coaching environment

Who are we?

Carnforth Cricket Club has been in existence for over 150 years. The club is at the heart of the local community and has developed close relationships with the schools in the area who in turn are channelling their pupils in the direction of our club.

We run 3 senior men’s teams and a thriving junior section with teams at U9, U11, U13 and under 16. The club participates in the ECB All Stars and Dynamos programmes. In total 170 children are members of our junior section, including 100 All Stars and Dynamos.

The club is fortunate to have 25 coaches to facilitate the junior training sessions, 50% of these are from our ladies’ section,

To generate interest in cricket in local schools, the club organises an annual primary schools’ cricket competition on our ground. This is proving to be very successful and 12 schools have entered this year. This creates an opportunity to showcase our facilities and has the added bonus of inspiring the children to play for other clubs that are situated within these schools’ catchment areas. 

A feature of our club in recent years, has been the dramatic growth in the women’s and girls’ section, who now field 3 softball teams and 2 hardball teams. These ladies have brought a renewed vibrancy to the club, especially on the social side.                                    

Why are we crowdfunding?

Our existing net is a one lane facility that is old and worn and not really fit for purpose, it no longer meets the ECB’s requirements. It points out towards the square and encroaches onto the outfield. With matches on most nights of the week, the times it can be used are very limited.

The club owns a plot of land adjacent to the ground where a new 2 bay net system will be installed. Planning permission has been approved. The nets will be built in line with the ECB’s strict regulations by an ECB approved company. The land is currently an unsightly piece of wasteland where rubbish is often dumped.  

The new nets will mean that coaching can take place when matches are in progress and will double the number of sessions that can take place at any one time. This will make a huge difference as demand increases in line with the expansion of our junior and ladies’ sections.

How we’ll spend the money raised

Carnforth Cricket Club is a not-for-profit organisation. All the money raised through the year is ploughed back into the club.

Any major capital projects are largely funded by fundraising activities and grant applications. 

The new net system will cost £60,000. The club has been successful with grant applications from The Walney Island Community Fund (£20,000) and The ECB County Grant (£10,000). The club has agreed to provide a further £10,000.

The £20,000 raised by this Crowdfunding campaign will provide the outstanding amount. 

Shortly after getting planning approval, we found out there was a gas main and high voltage electricity cables laid directly across the site of the nets, both protected by deeds of easement. The club approached Cadent Gas and Electricity North West about this and both companies agreed to redirect the cables and gas main at a combined cost in excess of £65,000. The club, with support from Carnforth Town Council and Lancashire County Council, appealed to the 2 companies, and after negotiation, both companies agreed to carry out the work free of charge as a gesture of support for the communities of Carnforth and the surrounding areas.   

 Community impact

Carnforth Cricket club has gone from strength to strength over the past 10 years and is now at the heart of the local community. We have 170 junior members aged 5 to 16, 50 senior male playing members and 30 female playing members. A number of community groups use our pavilion.

The club has recognised the need for quality and professionalism in everything we provide. This is evidenced by the refurbishment of our pavilion, the high quality of our playing surfaces and the professional approach by our coaches. Cricket exposes young people to a variety of life skills, including teamwork, discipline, leadership, fitness and interaction with people from different ethnic backgrounds. We believe our approach is helping to instil positive values into these young people at a time in their lives when they can potentially be affected by negative influences.

For years, Carnforth has been plagued by anti-social behaviour, we are providing an alternative and evidence suggests that this is working with the instances of anti-social behaviour in the Town gradually reducing. We now need to take the next step, our practice nets are of extremely poor quality and it is essential that we provide this new facility. It will help to further enthuse these young people, making it more likely they stay in the game and progress to senior cricket.

Commonwealth games Birmingham 2022 - Impact

The 2022 Commonwealth Games provided a timely boost, coming so soon after the covid pandemic. The games reminded us of the physical and mental benefits of participating in sporting activities.

Women’s T20 cricket featured in the games for the first time. This was particularly beneficial for our club as our women’s and girls’ section was really starting to grow. Primarily the ladies all played softball cricket and we still field 3 softball teams. This season some of the ladies have formed 2 hardball teams and have entered the women’s hardball league. The new nets will really benefit these ladies by providing a quality, safe facility for their coaching and practice sessions  

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

This project successfully funded on 5th July 2023