We are in the middle of very exciting times! As you will all know, next season will mark a new chapter in our club’s long history. In April 2023 we will see the first ball bowled on our incredible new ground.

The new ground will be a gamechanger for our club.

Ground Update
I’m sure it will also not have escaped you that we are well into the construction of our new state of the art pavilion. This project is well underway and, so far, is on track. The pitches are maturing nicely and will be in great shape for the start of the new season.

Fundraising
Many of you will have attended our community meeting in November and will know all about “The Big 6” - the fundraising campaign that we have launched to raise the £600k needed to deliver an unrivalled facility for our members and our community. This campaign will run for 6 years – unless we can raise the money sooner!

The meeting also saw the launch of our “Buy-a-Brick” Initiative, a key part of The Big 6 effort. The Buy-a-brick scheme, which is targeting £100,000, gives supporters the chance to have their name, or the name of a loved one, indelibly inscribed into the fabric of our clubhouse .

The cost of a ‘brick’ starts at £100 and, only a few weeks in, we are approaching 6% of the Buy-a-Brick fundraising target - and while this is a great start, we clearly have a long way to go! This £100k (part of the Big 6 £600k target) will enable us to fund a number of critical elements that will enable us to deliver a great experience at the club not only next season but into the future as well.

So, if you haven’t already secured your brick, why not sign up now – if not for yourself then maybe as a fantastic Christmas gift for a relative? Visit www.bsccbuyabrick.co.uk

Remembrance Sunday
The club commemorated Remembrance Sunday with former club Chairman, and resident historian, Kevin Curran laying a wreath at the Budleigh Salterton Memorial on behalf of the club.

Events and Winter training
We have an exciting program of events up and coming over the next few months – We will be publishing details of these events on our social media pages, and on our website – www.budleighcc.co.uk. Please see below some dates for your calendars! This will include our successful Junior Winter Academy which will run from January, and also Senior winter training – both to beheld at Bicton College.

• Sunday December 4th – Junior Awards Evening – Knowle Village Hall
• From January – Junior Winter Academy – Bicton College
• Friday February 24th – Pre-season skittles – Dog and Donkey

Sponsorship
Having support from our business community is critical. It creates an essential link between local businesses and our club for mutual benefit. The new club will bring significant benefits to the town – greater numbers of players, visitors and spectators, more events, and a place where our business community can come together.

We have launched our 2023 Sponsorship program and have made it even more exciting to be a part of our club – We have also created sponsorship options that cater for every type of budget. In summary – we want you involved!

Please see the options here: www.budleighcc.co.uk/sponsorship or contact our Sponsorship Secretary Nick Bolt at sponsorship@budleighcc.co.uk.

Turning to the season
Next season will see us deliver more cricket than ever before in our 148 year history. We will have 3 senior league teams, 9 youth teams (including a dedicated girls U15 team), a Ladies team, and 9 Community league teams.

We will be providing temporary changing facilities for visiting teams.

And in addition to this we will be looking to provide a fully operational (if temporary) bar serving a wide selection of hot, cold, soft and alcoholic beverages. We will look to provide a temporary covered area for spectators as well.

Parking will be available with up to 50 spaces on site, as well as an overflow carpark adjacent to Pynes Farm road and all spectators will be welcome to come and take up one of the many fantastic viewing positions around both the Senior and Junior Pitches.

In summary – there is a lot of hard work ahead of us. But with all of your help, and the wider community, we can achieve our fundraising goals and deliver a fantastic project back to our town.

Thank you all for your support – and we wish you a wonderful festive break!

Best wishes,

Joel Murphy
BSCC Chairman