Bassett Avenue, Countesthorpe
Leicester
Tel: 01162781950
February 2014
Dear Member,
Firstly I wanted to thank you all for continuing to support the Club. Without our members, it would not be what it is
today. We are one of the biggest and best cricket clubs in Leicestershire and we should all be proud of being
associated with an organisation which has so many members.
However, I wanted to just look back at where the Club has come from. As most of you will know, we lost one of our
most dedicated members last year, our President, John Clarke. For those of you that knew John, he would do
everything that he could to help the Club move forward and gave up so much of his time for the benefit of its
members.
I am pleased to announce that the Club has now elected John Dupey as John’s successor, and I would like to
congratulate him on his appointment. John is a former club captain who played for the club for more than 30 years
and has been a key member of the club for around 50 years.
As most of you will know, Countesthorpe Cricket Club has some of the best playing and social facilities in the
County. However, what most people do not think about is the time and effort that is required to keep the Club’s
facilities at their best. The Club has a very hardworking committee, which I can vouch for, but I am afraid that the
Club is getting to a position where it needs some new people to step up and help take the Club forward. A number of
the senior members are now getting to a stage where they are not able to put in the hours needed to ensure that you
all have the one of the best wickets and outfields around.
I am therefore asking you all to consider whether or not you can give up some of your time to help the Club. If we all
just gave one hour a week, this would reduce the burden on some of the key members of the Club and would mean
that the Club would continue to go from strength to strength. However, if the Club’s members do not give a little then
I am afraid that this will have a huge impact on your club.
We currently have two spaces available on the Club’s committee and I am looking to you, the membership, to get
involved. If you would like to know a little bit more about what the committee does then I am happy to speak to you.
Please feel free to give me a call on 07980951163 or speak to an existing committee member.
Alternatively, if you cannot commit to joining the committee then we are still looking for you all to spend some time
helping the Club in many practical ways. This can include a number of jobs including helping to work behind the bar,
assisting with manual work at the ground on the pitch and the Clubhouse or even being involved in managing the
Club’s social media presence. There are so many things that can be done to help.
As the Club needs to ensure that we keep our membership list up to date, I shall be grateful it you can all take the
time to just complete the enclosed Questionnaire and return this to our Membership Secretary, Simon Coombs, by
30th May 2014 at the latest. We need to do this because sometimes we need volunteers with certain skills or, when
we are obtaining quotes, we would rather use Club members businesses if we can. So if you have some skills that
you are prepared to offer to assist the Club then please let us know.
I am also looking to you all to give us your comments and ideas as to what you want for events and any other
facilities etc. At the end of this day, this is your Club and I want you to enjoy spending time at the Club with your
fellow members.
As some of you may know, we are also looking to recruit an overseas player this year. We are in discussions at
present with a player however we need to try and find him some employment whilst he is in the UK. He will have a
working visa and he is a trained Carpenter and would prefer manual labour. If any of you may be able to help and
source him some work then please let Simon Coombs know by email to [email protected] as soon as
possible. This is a priority.
Finally, as you will all know, the Club has just entered into a shirt sponsorship agreement with Abtec Network
Systems Limited. However, we cannot stop there. We need to try and increase the level of sponsorship for your
benefit. The Club has a number of exciting opportunities available, details of which are available on the Club’s
website. As a thank you, if you introducing a new sponsor that enters into an agreement worth £200 or more, the
Club will waive yours/ and or your child’s annual membership fee up to a maximum of £50. Getting a new sponsor
would therefore help both you and the club.
I would like to thank you for your continued support and let’s all look forward to a successful 2014 season ahead.
Yours sincerely
James Popplewell
Chairman
Countesthorpe Cricket Club
Chairman
James Popplewell
Secretary
Richard Holdridge
0116 2774675
President
John Dupey