2025 Annual-report

MINUTES OF THE 2025 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 59 In the past 12 months alone, her team had broken new ground in the ways they had engaged with communities who perhaps felt that Trent Bridge was not a venue for them - even if they had a strong interest in cricket. The team had forged more than 50 partnerships with community organisations and faith groups across Nottingham, and now hosted cricket and non-cricket events at four community hubs. The club had thrown open its gates to welcome partners too. Last year, the club hosted an Iftar solidarity fast during the holy month of Ramadan, during which the call to prayer was broadcast over our PA system for the first time. Later, the club marked Eid by staging prayers on the pitch – another first for the venue. Our work to re-engage the African- Caribbean community had also continued at pace. MsWright’s team had delivered cricket sessions via the ACE Programme to over 900 young people in the past year and now delivered one of the most well-attended ACE Development Academies in the country.We had also worked with theWindrush Cricket Project to capture the oral histories of localWindrush cricket- ers, preserving priceless pieces of our city’s social history. The club had also strengthened its relationship with the LGBTQ+ Supporters Group, the OUTlaws. If members had attended the final Vitality Blast game of the summer, they would have seen players wearing rainbow t-shirts during warm-ups and rainbow themed touches around the ground, while the club also hosted the national LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Cricket Conference in May. Those initiatives are just a few of the ways in which we’ve reached out to communities to demonstrate that we are a welcoming sport and venue for everyone. MsWright knew that some individ- uals, and some groups, may have had concerns about becoming involved in cricket or watching games at Trent Bridge, so the club was always keen to back up our welcoming words with actions. MsWright said that she and her team were also lucky to work in a sport that had a suitable offering for people of all abilities, with a wide range of formats to choose from. Table cricket and softball cricket had continued to grow in popularity in schools for those with special educa- tional needs and disabilities, with 20 schools engaged in such activities. The club had also used the power of this venue to inspire the next generation – hosting a girls schools’ finals day atTrent Bridge and staging the first ever regional Dynamos schools’ festival. In total, over 2,250 eight to 11-year-olds took part in Dynamos festivals across the county. And MsWright’s team was always looking to widen the access to cricket that young people could have.While it was brilliant that over 17,000 children across the county had played cricket at school through Chance to Shine, we knew that children from more disadvantaged communities were at risk of missing out. To this end, the club had expanded theWicketz programme across the county, which offered both sport and mentoring opportunities. A fourthWicketz hub had opened in Clifton, and sixWicketz festivals took place this summer, allowing young people a taste of competitive cricket. Our Street Cricket U12s, meanwhile, were national champions for a second consecutive year. The decades-old format of Kwik Cricket was as popular as ever, with 1,000 primary-aged children taking part in summer leagues. In terms of young people’s involve- ment in cricket, the biggest challenge was managing the transition from softballs to hardballs. As many members would remember, those first games with a hard leather ball could be something of a rude awakening. In girls’ cricket, offering a hybrid ball, called an Incrediball, had been incredibly useful in bridging the gap and keeping girls in the game. It had been a driver of the continued growth in the women’s game, with another 29 girls’ teams and 12 women’s teams established in Nottinghamshire last year. Many of those teams had been established at recreational clubs, and the county continued to be fortunate to have such a strong grassroots network. That network was underpinned by the astonishing dedication of volunteers, 75 of whom were nominated for ECB Cricket Collective Awards last year – a new record. Congratulations were due in particular to Joss Dixon from Sherwood Cricket Club for winning the national Growing The Game Award. MsWright’s role was to try and open the door to investment and expertise, with over £150,000 invested in recreational clubs last summer, coaching and safeguarding courses delivered and expert assessments carried out by our county pitch advisors. While the traditional work of the Trent Bridge Community Trust placed less emphasis on cricket, many initiatives shared similar goals – of helping to break down barriers and raise aspirations, especially in the more deprived areas of our county. Our Positive Futures programme continued to offer mentorship, activities and formally accredited qualifications to young people in Rushcliffe at risk of social exclusion and low-level crime. Notts In Mind was a programme that had placed a particular focus on supporting women through providing a safe space to talk, learn new skills and work on physical and mental wellbeing. Having delivered classes in Cotgrave for a little while, her team had now expanded this service into Lenton.