The Be Active Wales Fund continues to be Sport Wales’ primary source of funding to help community clubs to achieve National Governing Bodies’ aims of growing their sports, providing opportunities for life, and tackling the inequalities that exist in sports participation.
Using money allocated to Sport Wales from both the National Lottery and Welsh Government, the Be Active Wales Fund offers grants ranging from £300 to £50,000 which can be put to a range of uses such as buying new equipment, paying for coach education courses, or using technology to engage more participants (e.g. providing online sessions).
To help inspire clubs across all sports to consider how the available funding could support their future plans, here are some excellent examples of how cricket clubs in Wales have been putting Be Active Wales Fund to good use during the last 12 months…
1. Malpas Cricket Club: Practical equipment
The vast majority of a £5,350 grant has been used by the club to buy a ride-on mower which has made the upkeep of their pitch much quicker and easier for the club’s volunteers. More volunteers are also coming forward to do the job now that it has become a lot easier!
2. Llandaf Cricket Club: Coaching courses
The club’s biggest success stories of the last year were the creation of an u12s team for girls from ethnically diverse communities as well as two new ladies’ teams. The club used part of their £4,168 grant to pay for coaching courses for new volunteers and to buy the equipment they needed.
3. Monmouth Cricket Club: Improved facilities
Whilst an additional batting cage (bought using a £1,339 grant) was primarily targeted at increasing participation among girls and women, all members at the club have been benefiting from their improved facilities.
So far this financial year, cricket clubs in Wales have shared more than £280,000 worth of Be Active Fund grants. Explaining how the Be Active Wales Fund contributes to Cricket Wales’ plans for the coming year, Community and Development Manager Mark Frost said: “By offering grants to upgrade clubs’ facilities and equipment, and also provide training for new volunteer coaches, the Be Active Wales Fund is a key element in supporting clubs’ work to make cricket appealing to the whole family.
“So many clubs in Wales have made great strides in getting families engaged in playing, supporting, coaching, organising and of course relaxing together afterwards and meeting new friends on those (many) summer nights!
“The funding also supports our work to make cricket more diverse. Clubs that are more inclusive become better and stronger. For example, the advent of women’s softball (social or ‘serious’) has introduced a new network for many clubs and in many cases has supported the retention of male players as well as engaging many more girls into our All Stars and Dynamos programme.”