Welcome to the 2022 Season at RCC.

We live in uncertain times with the pandemic still at large and events in Ukraine causing us all to reflect. At times it feels wrong to spend time on things as seemingly unimportant as cricket. However, I believe that sport, and cricket specifically, offer a real opportunity to bring people together, to keep mind and body strong, a safe space for competition and, yes, to have fun.

I feel it is also appropriate to mention the much published issues about inclusion in cricket. There is no place for discrimination of any sort in our game and at our club. We are working to increase the diversity of our club officials and also taking a lead in tackling financial exclusion. Watch this space for more on this.

Here are a few of my reflections on 2021 at RCC:

The club community stayed strong through the pandemic
The incredible support for our holiday camps, partly as an escape from lockdown, meant lots and lots of kids had a great time and made a significant improvement to the financial position of the club
There was plenty of success on the field. Lots of divisional and area wins, the U14 boys were Middlesex Champions and the U13 girls made it to the final of the Lady Taverners
11 juniors or former juniors represented the RCC mens’s 1st XI, with special mention to Tanmay Thanawalla who, aged just 18, made back to back premier league hundreds. We had over 35 current juniors playing men’s adult cricket, and our girls were major players in the success of the women’s 1st XI
We consulted with our members and published a new club strategy - see the video presentation here
We voted through a change to the club constitution to support implementation of the club strategy and to formally recognise the role of parents by giving each family voting rights at the club AGM
On a personal level in the space of a few days I played for RCC on the same team as both my daughter and my son

We formally start things off on Sunday 24th April. If you want a quick guide for the season please go to the “All you need to know” page on our website. Please come along, bring your friends and enjoy the summer at RCC.

Through our new club strategy we aim to be the go-to cricket club in London. We will do this by becoming a trusted, successful, inclusive, family oriented cricket club that attracts and welcomes families and players of all genders, ages and abilities. To make this happen we have identified 4 pillars. These emerged through survey feedback from our members and volunteers, and also through extensive interviews with people inside and outside of the club. The themes are:

Cricket & Coaching- unsurprisingly this is first and foremost. We stand for winning elite cricket alongside participative cricket for all. We aim to provide high quality coaching and player development and a clear pathway from junior to adult cricket
Culture & Social - we are building a One Club culture, are a welcoming, family friendly club and are building a social calendar to appeal to all
Grounds & Facilities - we have excellent playing and training facilities at ODP and Christ's School and we are working to improve the off-field facilities at ODP
Governance - this is not the most exciting to read about, but is essential as we look to steer the club forward. We have slimmed down the club executive committee and are standing up sub-committees which will drive the other 3 themes in our strategy, as well as a Finance. Please get in touch if you want to be part of building the next phase of this great club.

RCC is an amateur sports club and is wholly dependent on volunteers. We are all incredibly fortunate to have so many people who dedicate time and passion to help the club thrive. If you are a Welfare Officer, Age Group Manager, Kit Supremo, Grounds and Facilities miracle worker, mid-week scorer or umpire, or Sunday morning cat herder (and all those other roles that I have missed) I offer you my warmest thanks. You are Richmond Cricket Club. We need more help. Whatever your skillset please get in touch.

I am delighted to offer special thanks to our sponsors - Chestertons (our prime sponsor), Dice Communications (sponsor of the men’s coloured clothing) and Slaughter & May (sponsor for women and girls). The contribution that they make to the club is significant and important one, all have been with us through challenging times and look forward to sharing in more of our successes. There are further sponsorship opportunities and we would welcome approaches from anyone interested in associating their company with this great club.

RCC Juniors continues to stand for “cricket for all and for elite player development”. So we welcome all comers at the same time as helping players of all abilities to develop their games. We want to turn up the dial on the buzz that is created at both Old Deer Park (ODP) and the Newman Cricket Ground (NCG) at Christ’s School when they are full of junior players enjoying cricket. We would love to increase the amount of time that families spend at the club: expect announcements soon about a new catering offer; and we would love to see more of you enjoying the cricket in the evenings and at the weekends.
As a result of the success of last year we are investing in our facilities. The most visible example is the new net area at ODP, but we also continue to invest in the playing surfaces at both grounds. We now have a Grounds & Facilities sub-committee and are putting together a multi-year capital plan.

As you all know we are not a profit making organisation but the books need to balance. We must cover our costs, including putting money aside for capital works. We are holding our subs flat again this year. However, an ever growing fixture list and demand for more professional coaching are driving up our costs. Against this backdrop it is essential that our members pay up on time. We believe that we offer excellent value for money - please see the link for our subs policy [insert link]. As a reminder these subs cover:

The lease on Old Deer Park - this has been subject to an increase from a peppercorn rent to a full commercial one. We are actively pursuing revenue generating opportunities to insulate the members from the bulk of this increase.
Ground maintenance for ODP and NCG including nets, pitches and scoreboards
Capital reserve for large scale projects
Coaching - professional coaching from Adam London (Director of Cricket) and his team and the cost of ECB training for our volunteers
Equipment for training and matches - and you would not believe how many balls “disappear” from the club
Ground hire - as the number of teams expand we need to hire more grounds to run concurrent matches. The summer leagues have put additional pressure on this
Insurance – which only covers registered and paid up members

Other activities that we run, such as the academy or winter nets, have a separate fee to cover costs.

Holiday Cricket Camps - we do make money on camps and this is all ploughed back into the club. These are great fun so please participate and support your club - see the latest offer here

As always we are more than happy to agree discounts for those not able to pay, but the club as a whole needs to cover costs – so please respond when Sarah, our memberships secretary, gets in touch.

In summary RCC is a wonderful place to spend your time in the summer months. Please continue to participate, understand when club officials chase you for subs, and help us to build the sense of community at this special club.

Bring on the cricket.
Rich Zotov
RCC Juniors Chairman

10. From our Junior Correspondent