At the start of the year the club decided that we wanted to gain Clubmark accreditation as we felt it was beneficial to the long term goals of developing the cricket side of the club. ECB Clubmark shows that a club is sustainable, well run and provides the right environment for its members. Clubmark accreditation also means your club is recognised as a safe, rewarding and fulfilling place for participants of all ages, as well as assuring parents and carers that they are choosing the right option for their young people.

I’m pleased to announce that after a lot of hard work by a lot of people at the club we have gained that accreditation and can call ourselves Clubmark. We feel that this accreditation is vitally important in our attempts to further develop the club and particularly the already thriving junior section as it shows that parents are bringing their children to the right cricket club. Having 42 kids on all stars, an u9, u11, u13 and u17 section this year shows that we have strong foundations for the future and this is just one more block in those foundations.

I think it is further evidence that as a club we are moving in the right direction both on and off the field and helping make sure that cricket is played at Adwalton for many years to come.

There are too many people in the club that I would like to thank and I will only end up forgetting someone but would like to specifically thank some people outside of the club for their help:

1. Simon Barraclough @ Morley Cricket Club. Seeing on social media that we were going for Clubmark Simon off his own back got in touch with me to offer assistance, pointed out pitfalls Morley had found and genuinely helped us get to accreditation a lot quicker than we might have done otherwise. It really does show that cricket is a large family with many people willing to help improve the game as a whole not just their own club.

2. Steve Archer (Cricket Development Manager (West) for the YCB) for his support and help through this process. He really has made it easier than it appeared at the outset.

I would like to leave you with Steve’s comments as I think it sums up our club and why so many people are willing to give so much time to it free of charge and why we are flourishing both on and off the field.

“Thanks again for the hard work and time put in, as I said it is one of the best submissions I have ever dealt with, but also backed up with the site visit and previous visit which confirmed everything. I am really impressed with the work you have all done, the buy in from the club members and players and the plans to continuously develop to ensure the club moves forward.”

Thanks again to everyone who has helped get this accreditation

Paul Bennett

Cricket Chairman