Wiltshire Cricket Club Forum 2022 - Follow up Information, Slides and Recording of the Event

Many thanks to the clubs that attended the 2022 Wiltshire Cricket Club Forum that took place via Zoom on Wednesday 4th May. We are pleased to now share a full recording of the event for clubs who may have missed it. We also share below some key follow up links and information relating to the topics covered on the night

Club Forum Recording and Slide Deck

Wiltshire Cricket Club Forum 2022 Slide Deck

Special thanks

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the speakers and guest that supported with delivery of the Club Forum, most notably:

  • Lee Ward – Wiltshire Cricket Chair Elect – [email protected]
  • Joanne Vickers – Wiltshire Cricket Non-Executive Director and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Lead – [email protected]
  • Andy Fairbairn – ECB Network Partner – [email protected]
  • Neil Higginson – ECB Facilities Planning Manager – [email protected]
  • Sam Dent – Wiltshire Cricket Development Manager (Clubs, Programmes, Women’s and Girls) – [email protected]
  • Harry Mattingley – Wiltshire Cricket Disability Development Officer – [email protected]

What was covered during the evening?

By way of a summary of the evening, here are the topics covered, together with some easy contacts or links to find out more …

The ECB Participation and Growth Action Plan:

  • The game’s headline participation and growth priorities can be captured within the four pillars of:
    • Focus on kids
    • Create family friendly clubs
    • Take Cricket to urban areas
    • Transform the game for girls
  • Clearly we collectively deliver a huge amount beyond just those four pillars but in terms of making our game a truly inclusive and diverse one, and one that is sustainable for the future those four pillars encapsulate a lot of our priority work and also set the scene for the support that is available for clubs via the ECB

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion:

  • This section sets the scene for the importance of EDI within your Cricket clubs, why it’s the right thing for you to be thinking about
  • Before the weekend, we will be launching an Affiliated Club Audit in order for us to capture some key baseline information to help shape our county EDI Action Plan that will be released later in the year
  • Also, during the course of 2022, we will be issuing some self-assessment guides to cricket clubs so that you can begin to think about how inclusive and welcoming your cricket club truly is. In the meantime, we would signpost you to the following Creating Welcoming Environments guidance
  • Lead contact: [email protected]

All Stars Cricket:

Dynamos Cricket:

Second Window Programmes:

  • We are encouraging clubs to think about the importance of Cricket being visible during the second part of the summer. We want Cricket to be competitive in our post Covid-19 society, and available to new audiences during that crucial school summer holiday period
  • Ideas for your club within a second window could be to run summer holiday camps, second window All Stars and Dynamos programmes or taster sessions for new audiences

Inspired to Play Grant Scheme:

  • The Inspired to Play Grant Scheme is available to clubs to help resource and inject funding in to support second window programmes
  • £1,000 available through a simple and non-bureaucratic application process
  • Funds can support a wide range of costs associated with running second window activities

Women’s and Girls Cricket:

  • This section provides a review of the current status of Women’s and Girls Cricket across the county and what is currently on offer in Wiltshire
  • We introduce the competitions available to clubs, what is available for elite female cricketers, opportunities for female coaches, grants for clubs running Women’s and Girls Cricket and the club development support that is available
  • Lead contact for Women’s and Girls Cricket: [email protected]

ECB Safe Hands Management System:

  • This introduces the SHMS; a system for clubs that monitors the key safeguarding qualifications of all volunteers from within your cricket clubs
  • If your club would be keen to utilise the ECB SHMS in order to ensure your club is fully compliant with its key safeguarding standard contact [email protected]
  • For clubs who achieve SHMS compliance, free liability insurance is available via the ECB Howdens Insurance Offer
  • Lead contact: [email protected]

ECB Clubmark:

  • This section covers both an update on Clubmark timeframes for clubs going through re-accreditation in 2022, plus an introduction to Clubmark for clubs who may be interested in pursuing it
  • Clubmark is an accreditation scheme recognising clubs with good governance, sustainability, safety and compliance to ECB regulations
  • Lead contact: [email protected]

Disability Cricket:

  • In Wiltshire we are fortunate to have a dedicated Disability Development Officer, employed through support from The Lord’s Taverners. Through this funding we deliver our Super 1s and Table Cricket programmes
  • In addition, this section introduces the concept to clubs of becoming a Disability Cricket Champion Club and within Wiltshire we have launched a tiered system of bronze, silver, gold ways in which affiliated clubs can support Disability Cricket
  • Lead contact: [email protected]

Facilities:

  • This section contained an update on the County Grants Fund, a fund launched in 2021 which has already supported approximately 12 clubs in Wiltshire with grants of up to £10,000 across three project themes; Creating Welcoming Environments, Enhanced Playing and Practice Facilities, and Climate Change. For information on the County Grants Fund, contact [email protected]
  • During the course of 2022, Wiltshire Cricket will also be writing a countywide facility strategy. This will involve us coming out to clubs to audit our current stock of facilities in order to understand where improvement and investment may be needed to support our wider strategic aims.

Safeguarding:

  • Wiltshire Cricket has recently appointed Iestyn Lewis in to a fully resources Safeguarding role, and this will result in a shift towards more pro-active safeguarding support and education for cricket clubs
  • Lead contact: [email protected]

Wiltshire Cricket Talent Pathway Framework:

  • We have been delighted to recently launch our Talent Pathway Framework and associated Skills Framework videos
  • Both of these are resources that will guide players, parents and coaches through the different aspects of pathway cricket in Wiltshire. We also hope they will support clubs in being aware of what is being looked for and what we are trying to achieve at a pathway level
  • Also within this section we covered the newly launched Talent Pathway Support Fund and how clubs may look in the future to do something similar in the future

ECB Anti-Discrimination Code:

  • The ECB Anti-Discrimination Code was launched earlier this year with the aim of providing recreational cricket with a consistent and appropriate set of regulations relating to discriminatory behaviour.
  • Within this section we also reminded clubs of the reporting discrimination process that remains open
  • In the near future, we will be coming out to all affiliated cricket clubs with a call to action around adoption of the Anti-Discrimination code within your clubs

Thank you and best wishes for the 2022 season

Wiltshire Cricket would close this message by acknowledging that in covering so much during our club forum it has really shone a light on the breadth of work that you as clubs do, and just how much voluntary work goes towards ensuring the continued growth and sustainability of our cricket clubs.

As the closing remarks on the recording say, we at Wiltshire Cricket have the pleasure of launching a lot of the programmes and initiatives mentioned above but it is the incredible volunteers in clubs that bring them to life. Quite simply, without your time and commitment, recreational cricket wouldn’t happen.

Wiltshire Cricket wishes all clubs the very best for the 2022 season, and please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you want further information or advice on any of the topics covered within our Club Forum.