Belvoir Cricket & Countryside Trust

Who we are

The Belvoir Cricket & Countryside Trust, a registered charity (1131442)

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Our main Charitable Objectives are;

• to provide or assist in providing facilities for the playing and development of the game of cricket and other games or sports on a recreational basis for the leisure time occupation of such persons who have need for such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, poverty or social and economic circumstances or for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving their conditions of life;
• to advance the education of children and young people through such means as the Directors think fit in accordance with the law of charity;
• to further such other exclusively charitable purposes as the Directors may from time to time decide

BCCT’s aim is to encourage participation in cricket in rural communities and to create access to cricket and the countryside for disadvantaged young people.  Our target groups are young people who want to play cricket and enjoy the countryside, adults who want to develop their coaching skills, and families that want to strengthen their community ties through sport.

More specifically Belvoir Cricket & Countryside Trust has three clear aims:

1. Engaging young people and families living in rural communities in regularly playing and watching cricket; putting sport at the heart of the community.

Our ‘cricket in rural communities’ programme, based on the successful Belvoir Bees’ model, delivers first class cricket coaching to young people.  The programme is equally supportive of those seeking to develop sporting excellence and of those who want to just ‘have a go’ in a friendly, family orientated environment.

1. Creating access for disadvantaged young people to cricket and countryside activities.

Our Cricket and Countryside School Days combine opportunities for disadvantaged school children to participate in sports such as cricket and orienteering with educational activities that introduce them to the working life of the countryside.

1. Encouraging adults to regularly participate in sport as volunteer cricket coaches.

Our training programme for our volunteer coaches not only develops their cricket skills but equips them also with the coaching skills to deliver first class cricket coaching to young people.

The Trust is led by ex-professional cricketer Darren Bicknell, offers quality coaching and some amazing hands-on learning experiences to more than 2,800 primary age and special needs children each year.

We reintroduce cricket into schools, run 20-week out-of-school coaching sessions at multiple venues with clear pathways to local cricket clubs and host up to 30 Cricket & Countryside Education Days on the Belvoir Estate on the Leicestershire/Lincolnshire border.

These Cricket & Countryside Education Days in particular fit with your core values as they are about broadening the curriculum, inspiring children to embrace the opportunities that sport and the countryside offer them to lead healthy, active lives.

The children play Kwik Cricket in the morning and in the afternoon take part in a range of activities which typically include learning about farming and conservation, having a go at orienteering and fishing and experiencing birds of prey and working dog demonstrations.

All this learning is backed up with the help of a classroom resource pack based around ‘the food we eat’ and ‘fundamental skills in sport’ to reinforce the core message and help tackle issues around obesity, physical inactivity and mental well-being.

In 2017 this project reached 1,585 children and in 2018 our target is to increase this number to 1,750.

We have ambitious plans to re-develop the ground here at Belvoir and develop an indoor cricket / countryside centre which will allow the Charity to grow and reach out and influence many many more children.