Dazzler Newsletter October 10 2019

This newsletter is more of a procedure document than a news roundup, but it does contain important information

The Annual General Meeting of the League will be held on Wednesday November 6 at Oakmere CC and will commence at 1930.

The business of the meeting will include:

• Reports from the 2018/19 League Officers, so if you have held a position of responsibility on the Committee for the last 12 months, please prepare a brief summary of your activities
• Election of Officers, so please send your nominations to Caroline Sheridan if you would like to stand or know someone who is interested in standing. In particular, someone is needed to attend a few meetings of the local Association of Cricket Officials as the League’s representative. The current incumbent is John Bone and he will be able to provide guidance to his successor as required
• Election of new clubs, so if you know a club who may be interested in joining the League’s senior competitions for the first time in 2020, please let them know the date and venue, and that they need to complete all questions on the standard application form. 2019 Lancashire League champions Leyland have expressed an interest in moving to the Cheshire league, and were they to be accepted, it is likely that they would be placed in either division 1 or 2. The clubs in the top two divisions, as well as the first and second placed teams in this year’s division 3, will all receive an email highlighting possible issues with this application, such as the distance between Leyland and the Cheshire border, and clubs are invited to send replies to League Officers with their thoughts
• Promotion applications, so any club wishing to be placed in a higher division in 2020 needs to prepare a submission explaining why they believe their on and off-field set-up warrants a promotion. Clubs are asked to note that different regulations apply in each of the League’s four divisions, and that any club seeking promotion will need to confirm their acceptance of the division for which they wish to be promoted to. Division 2 champions Leigh have an automatic right to enter Division 1 in 2020 should they wish.
• Approval of new second teams, here any club wishing to enter a women’s second team into League competitions for the first time should prepare a submission detailing issues such as numbers of players, pitch availability for the second team and who will captain or manage the second team

Exactly how much the League can offer via the Small Grants scheme in 2020 remains unclear, as does exactly when the grants can be paid. However, clubs should assume that they will need to be represented at the AGM and at the Rules meeting in early January 2020 – date to be confirmed – should they wish to be eligible for a grant.

Many of you will be aware that in the earlier part of the season when there is the Cheshire Cup and Shield and other men’s club competitions also being played on Sundays it can be much more difficult to obtain a qualified umpire for a CWCL match. In recognition of this, the Cheshire Association of Cricket Officials is prepared to run an umpiring course specifically for women and girls, or for men and boys with connections to the Women’s League and its member clubs. The suggested minimum age for participants is 14.
One of the principal tutors will be Ingeborg Bevers who is a fully qualified umpire, scorer and tutor – she has previously umpired matches in the League and acted as scorer for Cheshire Women. Inge promises to “be available to help the participants find their feet, whether as mentor, colleague or agony aunt.” Whether the course takes place is dependent on the level of interest – the Association says it would need around 10 to 12 participants to make it worthwhile. The course will require attendance for two full days over a weekend in November, late January or early February and the venue is likely to be either Oakmere CC or Toft CC. Anyone who wishes to make a definite commitment to help their club and the CWCL in this way, please contact Geoff Young at curzon99@tiscali.co.uk or on 01352 755881 to register. Those who complete the course will also be able to umpire in Cheshire men’s club cricket should they wish and would receive expenses for each match.