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As has been mentioned in previous seasons, the club needed to attend to the issue of longevity. During the past few seasons there has been a marked decline in the number new sign ons to the club and a steady increase in the average age of our current players.
This has been an often discussed point with the various club committees over the past 4 or 5 years and it was felt that to combat these issues we would need to encourage some form of Junior participation in our club.
With that in mind the current Committee have been working towards improving the facilities of the club, to hopefully be in a position to have a Junior team competing under the name of the Wyndham Cricket Club by season 2002/03.
It was decided that for this to go smoothly and become a reality, the club had to formulate a plan. After much discussion the "Junior Development Program" was written. It contains a number of steps(Phases) that will see Juniors playing for the Wyndham Cricket Club in the near future, not only at Junior level but also at Senior level.
Phase 1 of the program involves various steps but the main one is to have nets constructed at the Lawrie Emmins Reserve, so that our practice and playing facilities are in one location. The second major point of Phase 1 is to encourage some Junior particpation in our Senior teams.
The club is now proud to annouce that after to initial problems with planning permits, construction of the nets is about to commence. The two practice wickets will be constructed on the South East boundary of the Reserve, parallel to the road and should be ready for use just after Christmas. Coupled with this good news is the fact that we do have quite a few Junior Cricketers playing in our Thirds team already.
The construction of the nets and successful integration of Juniors into our Senior Teams is a major step in the Junior Development Program as it will allow us to present a total package to potential Junior Cricketers and their parents.
It has been a costly and time consuming exercise but the rewards are almost here.Fortunately the finanicial burden has been eased some what thanks to a successful application for a grant through the Wyndham City Council.
The club applied to the council in August for support as part of their Community Partnership Program and were informed in September that we were successful, to the tune of $5500.00. Together with the funds already available we are in a sound position for the future.
The club would like to thank John Conte for his hard work and also Rob McVernon from the Wyndham City Council for his guidance and help filling in the application.
This is an extremely exciting and rewarding moment for those on Committee and we hope that all members of the club can gain some satisfaction from this development.
Once again Thank You to all involved. |
