It is now nine weeks since we took the difficult decision to cease all cricket activities and close down the clubhouse. Since then, we have all lived through an exceptional period in history, with the whole country living in lockdown and coming to terms with the short and long-term impact of Covid-19.
The Government's Road Map published this week begins to offer some indications of when clubs like ours might start to open for business, but there is still no absolute clarity on when we will be able to resume any of our regular club activities and get back to something like normal. The only things we know for certain are that there will be no cricket activity before July, no inter-club matches before August (at the earliest) and that all league cricket in Scotland has been abandoned for 2020.
Nevertheless, we thought that it might be helpful if we shared an update on work that the committee has been doing in the background to deal with the present and prepare for the future.
April to September is obviously the busy time for any cricket club. It is the playing season for our sport and the period when the club is at its busiest. Financially it is when we generate the income which enables us to operate all year round – offering both cricket and social opportunities to members.
The first priority for the Committee during the lock down period has been to secure the Club’s financial position and ensure that we are in a position to resume our activities when the time comes.
We are pleased to say that we have been able to access some of the Government’s support schemes and these are making a massive contribution to our financial stability.
We have also issued membership renewal letters and have been delighted by the positive response from our members – despite the fact that we are not currently able to provide them with cricket to play and watch. If membership fees continue to come in at the current rate, they will make a massive contribution to our overall cash flow position.
In addition to generating income, we have managed to reduce our expenditure significantly and are grateful to all of our suppliers and service providers for the assistance they have provided.
In summary, we are confident that the club will emerge from lockdown in a reasonably positive position.
The Committee has also been doing what it can to keep in touch with members and prepare for the future.
We hope that you have been engaging with and enjoying the challenges, puzzles and quizzes that we have been posting on social media channels. We will keep posting for as long as the emergency lasts.
The Big Walk to The Big Dance – our fundraiser for the year continues. Members and friends of the club have been taking advantage of the lock down period to walk/run their way from Forfar to Hobart. We have already covered over a third of the distance. But we still have a long way to go – and there’s plenty of time for more people to get involved. Details are on the website if you’d like to join the walk or make a financial contribution
Last week we launched an on-line version of our junior cricket programme – which we are calling Home Stars. We hope that this will help us to keep in touch with our younger members and maintain their interest in cricket.
On the playing side, we are keeping in touch with players and making sure that the ground is ready when we need it. A big thanks here to volunteers who are cutting the grass.
We are also in discussion with the SPCU and local clubs on what cricket should be played, if conditions allow for it, in August and September.
We are monitoring Government advice and guidance and as soon as we can, we have plans to resume our work on grounds maintenance and improvements. That could be within the next few weeks.
So, although we have no cricket, we are working hard to be ready and able to go when we are allowed to play again. And we are looking forward to welcoming members, friends and partners back to Lochside as soon as we practically can.
We will provide further updates when we have news to share. In the meantime, take care and stay well.