Clubhouse refurb DIY spirit praised
EXCITEMENT is building for a very special celebration at a Holme Valley cricket club.
Thongsbridge Cricket Club will be 160 years old in 2020, and they intend to party in style at their newly-refurbished clubhouse.
The local club has improved in many ways over recent years, and is now thriving.
As well as new facilities it has a successful junior section, girls’ teams, a women’s softball cricket team, successful senior teams and a number of players achieving representative honours at the highest levels
But the last piece of the jigsaw in their development plan was to transform their dilapidated, prefabricated clubhouse.
Due to funding constraints, the club were not able to employ a building contractor, so all the work to create the new facility was done by their own members, involving thousands of hours of hard work.
The project was ambitious and mainly funded by the club’s own fundraising efforts, voluntary labour, materials and monetary donations.
The club has entered into considerable loan agreements to fund this project, and while they have received some direct support in the way of grants from the England and Wales Cricket Board and the Holme Valley Parish Council, they still need as much help as possible.
The latest fundraising efforts involved the club’s most junior members.
A couple of weeks ago the club’s ‘Little Lions’ and junior players worked together to complete a sponsored 160 laps of the cricket pitch.
The children, aged from five to 15, worked together to raise over £800.
On August 25 the club will be holding the ‘Big Bridge Bash.’
Club chairman Dr Alan Moore said: “This is the fourth time we’ve held this event and I really hope we can raise more funds to support the work that has gone into our amazing new facility.
“With three games of top-quality T20 cricket, international cricket stars, live music, a duck race, bars and a barbecue it promises to be a fantastic day out for the whole family.
“I am so proud and grateful to all of our volunteers, players, organisers and – of course – our most junior fundraisers.
“By coming together, we have been able to create more than just a clubhouse, we have built a friendly, welcoming, and fully-equipped venue where the community can meet, have a drink, a bite to eat and support the sporting ambitions of those in our area – cricketing and beyond.
“It is not simply a building for summer use but a facility which can be utilised all year round by the whole community,” Dr Moore added.
“I for one now cannot wait to celebrate an amazing 160 years of cricket in 2020.”
To find out more about the project or if you can help in any way go to www.bigbridgebuild.com.