Restarting the Cricket Season
RCC were one of the first clubs in the country to open up our nets for 121 coaching and practice. We were able to do this due to the work that we had done prior to lockdown to prepare for safe cricket as the virus spread. We were also swift to extend to groups of 6 once the ECB guidelines allowed. We are now, carefully, starting to run some age group cricket in the form of parallel groups of 1 coach to 5 players. We are also scheduling adult nets in groups of 6. The schedule is published here - it is subject to change as we learn how to run these activities more effectively, have a clearer picture of demand from our members, and allocate coaching resources as effectively as we can. For juniors, your Age Group Manager will be in touch, and for seniors it will be the team captains.

We are introducing a reduced membership subscription for this abbreviated season - this will be £25 for everyone (adults and juniors) and is priced to cover our costs. Please click here to purchase.

For juniors that initially covers managed small group training for the next 6 weeks, along with other activities (possibly including matches) as and when ECB guidelines allow.
For adults that initially covers access to Old Deer Park training facilities for small group training and club net practice for the remainder of the season. Match days cost will be confirmed as and when ECB guidelines allow.

Members who have donated in excess of £100 are not required to pay as, under HMRC's Gift Aid rules, goods or services to the value of £25 are permitted as a benefit. We will be in touch with families who have more than 1 member as the benefit rules are more complicated for higher donations.

We expect the ECB's guidance to change and we will adapt as it does. Please remember that those of us who are working all of this out are volunteers and we are doing the best that we can to provide cricket for our members and to secure the financial future of the club.

Finally, when you are at the club, please do all you can to follow the guidelines from the Club, the ECB and the Government. To steal a slogan from our friends at the tennis club: “Keep your distance - keep your club open!”

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At what age can my child join the junior section?
We accept boys and girls from U6 to U17.

Where and when does training start?
Please click here for details

How do I register?
Please click here

What do i need to pay?
Please click here for information on subs

Do you offer discounted membership fees?
Yes, we offer discounted subs to those applicants who are eligible for free school meals. or equivalent, please contact juniors' chair, Rich Zotov to discuss in confidence.

What clothing should my child wear to training?
It is not necessary to wear whites for practice sessions – tracksuits/shorts, T-shirt and trainers are fine. Abdominal protection is required (for boys) when using a hard cricket ball - this applies to u9 and above only. Sunhats, sunscreen and plenty of water are essential for the warmer weather.

Does the club provide specialist cricket kit?
The team manager or coach will have a kit bag with spare equipment. We would advise that boys have their own abdominal protection when playing hardball. Many children will bring their own equipment and the first piece of equipment we would recommend is their own gloves but this is not required.

What happens if it rains?
Unfortunately, the one thing we can't arrange for is the weather. When it's raining or the ground is very wet, it may be necessary to call off training. This decision is made by Director of Cricket or Juniors' Chair one hour before training starts, whenever possible. The decision will be posted on Twitter (click on link).

Can I be sure my child is well looked after?
Richmond CC has Clubmark status, which is awarded to clubs who have the best practice welfare and child protection processes place. All our managers and qualified coaches are CRB-checked, and have attended first aid and child protection courses within the last three years. In addition we expect that for children who are under 12, a parent or guardian should be present at coaching. We have a club welfare officer (Neil Wharton) who is available to discuss any individual concerns or issues.

What is expected of me?
On joining the club, you undertake to abide by the Club's Code of Conduct for parents and guardians, and to make your child aware of the Code of Conduct for young people.

Who are the age group managers, and what do they do?
The age group managers are your main point of contact. All of the age group managers are volunteers, and they are often (but not always) the parent of a child in the same group.

They run coaching sessions; organize and run fixtures themselves; make sure that responsible adults are available to run fixtures in their absence; communicate with parents on matters relating to selection, match arrangements and other admin.

How can I help?
Any help is very welcome, and in many cases you don’t need to have any knowledge of cricket to help out. We value our volunteers in whatever capacity they choose to help the club, be it team management, coaching, scoring, umpiring, helping with the admin, fundraising, or simply helping with lifts to and from the ground. If you can help in any way please contact juniors' chair, Rich Zotov.

Can my child play outside of his / her age group?
We encourage children to play in their designated age group. Any exceptions to this are made in the interests of the child and factor in potential impact on other players.

Playing up: if a player is good enough to have a major impact in the A side of an older age group they may play the season in that age group. This is typically a strong county player and should be agreed with the age group manager and Juniors Chairman. It is generally in the cricketing interest of a child to be a major contributor in their own age group rather than an average player in an older group. We also have to factor in the potential lost opportunity for players in the older age group.
Playing down: at present there are no options to play matches in a younger age group. Whilst there has been some movement in schools to allow summer born children to select the younger school year this has not been replicated by the ECB for competitive cricket.
Girls playing boys cricket: the general rule is that girls can play down 1 year in boys cricket. Specifics will have to be discussed with age group managers.
An age group manager may request the assistance of younger players if this is needed to fulfil an individual fixture due to limited availability. This should not pull players away from a fixture in their own age group.

Any further questions, please contact Juniors' Chair or one of the Age Group Managers.