The Leinster Cricket Union is encouraging all clubs to sign up to the RSA supported initiative ‘Get Into Cricket’. The objective behind the initiative is simple. It is to promote greater participation in the sport and to get more people to join their local cricket club. It is directed at all ages and is intended to cope with a wide range of interests – from those who want to take up or return to competitive sport to those who are looking for a social outlet – either to play, help out in some capacity or simply to make friends through watching cricket in a pleasant environment.
As part of the initiative the LCU, with the support of RSA, has added a new feature to Cricket Leinster website which will make it easier for anyone to find out more about their local club and to make contact. Once an enquiry from the public is entered it goes directly to the chosen cricket club – after that it is up to the club to respond.
To make the best use of this new website feature, RSA will be running a media campaign, locally and nationally, which will reference “Get Into Cricket’ and will provide information on how to find a club using the new arrangements.
For the cricket club – all that is required is that it make sure the information displayed on the Cricket Leinster website is relevant and up to date and that it is ready to respond to enquiries.
The LCU will also use the new feature to publicise special campaigns around cricket summer camps run by clubs, to help clubs target new members from the local community, to link in with winter sports and so on. Individual clubs can run their own campaigns using the new feature.
Given the advent of the summer holidays, cricket camps are the immediate focus of attention and clubs are encouraged to provide details of their camps to the LCU so that they can be integrated with the regional and national ‘Get Into Cricket’ programme. Also don’t forget that RSA have a support pack for clubs running summer camps [Contact Shammi at 087 1223388].
The new feature will go live on Friday, 7th June. Before this clubs need to sign up. What this entails is simply checking that all the necessary information, club location, contact details, services provided etc., is relevant and up to date and confirming that this is the case to the LCU. For many clubs this will require minimal effort as most of this information is already on the website. A simple email to ewldublin@gmail.com saying that the club is ready to go will suffice.
RSA’s ‘Get Into Cricket’ is an important part of the national campaign to grow the sport in Ireland. It is hoped that through the use of the Cricket Leinster website we will be able to contribute to and benefit from this campaign. The first step is the creation of a simple mechanism for members of the public to register an interest and make contact with their local club. This we are providing for here. Over time it is hoped that the facility will grow to include a wider range of activities including support for the setting up of new clubs, information for touring teams and much more.