IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!
PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR THE 2008 CRICKET SEASON AT OTTERY.
Junior Committee Re-Organisation
Welcome to one and all to this pre-season newsletter in the post-Bornet era. As some of you may not be aware, last season was Nick and Viv Bornet’s last season as Junior Committee organisers and they have handed over the Computer memory stick and the priceless “Crate of Papers” to Mandy Gibbins who will be taking over their duties (with support from the Team Managers). Nick and Viv have done a marvellous job not only for the Club but also for the East Devon Youth Cricket League, and everyone at the Club owes them both a huge debt of thanks for such sterling work. They have left behind a great organisational legacy and have really helped to move the Youth section of the Club forward particularly with the Clubmark Award that was secured last year.
Nick and Viv will still be around the club during this forthcoming season and we all very much hope to see them watching, rather than organising, some junior cricket.
Pre-Season Indoor Nets
Five indoor net sessions have all been booked for the Colin Tooze Sports Hall in Ottery. The first net session begins on Sunday 2nd March. The under 13’s will net from 5pm until 6pm and the under 15’s from 6pm until 7pm. Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate under 11’s due to numbers but it will not be long until the outdoor sessions start. Each session will cost £2.
Junior Registration Evening
FRIDAY 11TH APRIL AT 6.30pm.
The first Friday night will, as usual, be a registration evening on the 11th April. There will be presentations throughout the evening by the Junior Committee to new parents to explain how we organise the practice nights, what we expect from the children who come along to play and how the registration system works. Packs will be given out on the night to all members who sign up. Alternatively you can sign up in advance by completing the attached forms and sending them to Mandy Gibbins.
As per last year, we will be using the Registration Card system which will ensure we know who is attending and we will also be adopting the loyalty attendance scheme again which faltered a little last year due to the bad weather we experienced.
We hope that Honiton Sports Shop will come along to display their wears, and we also plan on running our own kit sale stall probably on the first practice night.
The first full practice evening will therefore be on Friday 18th April.
Membership
As per last year, anyone using the bar facilities at the Club will have to be a member, or be signed in by a member. To this end, Junior Membership will be £15 to include 1 playing child and 2 non-playing adults. Any additional playing children will be £5; other non-playing siblings will be free of charge.
Junior practice outdoor sessions at Salston Field will be held every Friday from April 18th starting at 6.30pm and running to 8pm approximately. The evening, like last year, will be split into 4 sessions.
1. 6.30 – 6.45pm Registration and warm up
2. 6.45 – 7.00pm
3. 7.10 – 7.35pm a variation of batting, bowling and fielding coaching
4. 7.35 – 8.00pm
The children will be put into their age groups and rotate around the groups so that they will receive batting, bowling and fielding practice and some sessions will end with a game.
It is important that we stick to the times in order for the coaching sessions to run smoothly. Therefore, we would ask parents to make sure their children are at the club and ready to register at 6.30pm prompt.
Please also ensure that your child is appropriately dressed for practice sessions. Shorts/training trousers, t-shirt/sweatshirt and suitable footwear are essential for safe coaching.
Kit and Sponsorship
We are hoping to have some new, sponsored shirts to sell to all juniors this year. The Club’s shirt sponsor is The Tumbling Weir Hotel and samples of the shirts should be available at the Registration evening and on Friday nights. We are also hoping to have some team ‘hoodies’ with the Ottery logo on them available for sale at some time pre-season. Watch this space for details.
Parental Help
As always, we couldn’t do all this without your help as parents. Please put some thought into how you could help on Friday nights. The bar and BBQ need plenty of volunteers, and if you feel you could help our coaches, your help would be much appreciated. We will be making an appeal for parental help in the first few weeks and please do come forward even if it only involves help with travel arrangements, as there is always so much for Team Managers to organise.
Clubhouse Re-development
If you have recently seen the ground, you will note that there has been a start on the redevelopment of the clubhouse, which will hopefully update and enhance our facilities (which is long overdue). This involves an enlargement of the pavilion area, a new bar, and a newly decked viewing area. The cost to the club for this phase of development is somewhere close on £25,000 for which a bank loan is being put in place. However, loans have to be paid back and accumulate interest in the mean time, and the club is hoping that there may be some business sponsorship opportunities as well as member loans/donations that will help us find some of the necessary funds.
Rob Bradshaw-Smith and Andy Harrison are co-ordinating the appeal for funds and so if you know that either you, personally, or your employers/businesses would be willing to support this project then please do get in touch or email Mandy who will pass on your interest. This is only the first phase of building works and will be followed (when funds are available) by improved kitchen facilities, new umpires changing, girls changing facilities and a disabled toilet.
150 year Celebrations
In 2008 club cricket will have been played in Ottery St Mary for 150 years! This is quite a milestone for any club and we plan to mark the occasion by hosting a Cricket Week from the 6th to the 13th of July. There will be a number of sport related events ranging from a Quiz Night, to representative cricket matches and even plans for a Victorian Cricket Match. The festival inevitably needs people to organise it and John Tierney is co-ordinating the Club’s plans and will be very pleased to receive offers of support, ideas, sponsorship and even help putting together a celebratory programme. This is linked into the clubhouse redevelopment and so much is happening this year to improve your club and the promotion of youth cricket in Ottery and its surrounds. John can be contacted on john@ifaadviser.co.uk or on 01404-850608.
Website
Remember that you can find out more about the club, including all the fixtures for 2008 on our website www.otterystmarycricketclub.co.uk.
I can be contacted on email amanda.gibbins@btinternet.com or telephone 01404 814814 should you require any further information.