Get into Cricket
Get into Cricket initiative centred around training, developing, and rewarding young people at your club across all areas of the game.
Volunteers are the heartbeat of the recreational game, and many clubs rely on a small number who do a great amount.
The recent growth has put a strain on resources, and we have reached a tipping point. If they were to leave, it would put clubs at severe risk of regression as succession plans are often not in place and this is largely due to a lack of new volunteers putting their hand up.
To buck the trend, the Foundation have built an initiative centred around training, developing, and rewarding young people at your club across all areas of the game. Our exciting new programme will inspire Young Leaders aged 14 to 18 (school years 9 to 13) to ‘Get into Cricket’ volunteering and provide them with a toolkit of qualifications that will directly benefit them and the clubs they’re involved in and encourage them to start immediately with incentives to complete and log voluntary hours.
The initiative will include the following mandatory workshops:
- All Stars Cricket & Dynamos Cricket Activators Course (Coaching)
- Introduction to Umpiring
- Introduction to Scoring
- The Grounds Management Association Workshop
- Certificate in Emergency First Aid
- Nutrition and Health Workshop
The whole programme will only cost £30 per participant and on completion of the course, this will be refunded in full.
This means that you will receive all six certificated workshops listed above for free. The Foundation aim to make the course accessible throughout Gloucestershire where we will deliver strategically placed courses, one per district and there will be 15 places available per course.
Get into Cricket encourages Young Leaders to use the qualifications they’ve obtained on the course to complete voluntary hours at their cricket club. On reaching 25 hours, signed off by a club official, young leaders will receive a reward from Foundation partners Gray-Nicolls. In addition, the course will dovetail nicely with Young Leaders completing voluntary hours as part of other award schemes such as, the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
To recognise outstanding contributions to the game, Young Leaders will have the opportunity to be rewarded through the Foundation’s Young Volunteer of the Month scheme, which runs through the summer months of the season. Furthermore, all course graduates will be invited to Gloucestershire’s Volunteer Cricket Awards Day that will take place at the Seat Unique Stadium during a Royal London Cup game on Tuesday 22nd August 2023. At the event, individuals will receive their certificates for completing the course as part of a wider celebration of Gloucestershire volunteers.
Gareth Dawson / Workforce Development Officer
Gareth joined the GCB in 2016 and progressed into his current role as Workforce Development Officer in 2021. His main roles are being the main point of contact for the ECB on all Coach Development matters and grow the number of active coaches across the County of Gloucestershire.
Additionally, he will support the Gloucestershire Association of Cricket Officials (GACO) in developing an Officials Strategy that aims to grow the number of officials across the game. Increase the number of courses that are available to potential officials and work with GACO to transition volunteers from ‘course takers’ to ‘standing officials’.
Support the Gloucestershire Grounds Association in developing a programme of activity that supports ground staff across each year. Coordinate and manage both national and local Reward and Recognition events for all groups of volunteers. On top of practical delivery in schools, he will work with teachers to enhance their cricket delivery and work with universities/colleges to provide opportunities for students to gain qualifications and coaching experience.
Gareth is a Liverpool FC fan, a big follower of cricket around the world and plays his cricket at Hatherley & Reddings.
