St John’s, Antigua – The West Indies Cricket Board Digicel Grassroots Club Grant Programme continues with the latest disbursement of a total of US$35,000.
Seven clubs have been selected for US$5000 grants each in the third period of the Grassroots Grant Programme which is open to all clubs in the West Indies.
Two of the clubs selected are repeat beneficiaries. They are Antigua’s Liberta Sports Club which is the club of former West Indies fast bowler Kenny Benjamin and St Andrews Cricket League of Grenada.
Liberta had previously received a grant for building all weather batting nets while St Andrews used their first grant to procure gear and execute a training programme.
Benjamin president of Liberta SC, one of the most prominent and active cricket clubs in Antigua, said he is most grateful for the financial support.
“These funds have really assisted Liberta Cricket Club in a tangible way to help us improve our facilities so that the young players especially can work in all conditions to improve their cricket,” Benjamin said.
“We will use this new grant to help these players to further develop their game which will be to the benefit of Antigua and Barbuda, Leeward Islands and ultimately West Indies cricket,” Benjamin added.
“I would like to encourage other clubs in the Leeward Islands to also get more organized and take advantage of the Grassroots Grant which I think is a fantastic programme and WICB and Digicel should be commended highly,” Benjamin said.
Digicel Group Director of Marketing Operations, Kieran Foley, said; “At Digicel, we believe the funding and support of grassroots cricket organisations is critical. This not only enables them to be sustainable and effective but also does wonders for the continuity of the sport by increasing direct participation and appreciation – as well as having a positive knock-on effect to the wider communities. As such, the WICB Digicel Grassroots programme is a fantastic initiative that empowers cricket clubs to develop the sport at grassroots level in local communities throughout the region. The initiative underpins our sponsorship of West Indies cricket and we are proud to be a part of it.”
Alwyn Benjamin, secretary of the St Andrew’s Cricket League said that the Grassroots Grant has led to huge successes in Grenada.
“As a direct result of the training programme we have been able to execute from the grant funds nine of the Under 15 players from St Andrew’s Cricket League have made it to the Grenada national team,” Benjamin revealed.
“This Grassroots Grant has been a God send for us because it has helped us to focus on the development of our Under 15 players by running a comprehensive training programme for them from Monday to Friday during the school holidays,” Benjamin explained.
With their second grant St Andrew’s will upgrade the facilities at Pearl’s Playing Field which will better enable the league to host matches at all levels of cricket.
WICB Digicel Grassroots Grants Recipients Period 3
Antigua & Barbuda
Liberta Sports Club – Training programme
Dominica
Tete Morne Grand Bay – Training equipment
Grenada
St Andrews Cricket League – Washroom facilities
Jamaica
Kensington Cricket Club – Renovate clubhouse/gym
St Kitts & Nevis
Pennyless All Star Cricket Club (Nevis) – Training equipment
St Vincent & the Grenadines
Radcliffe Sports Club – Training equipment
Trinidad & Tobago
Alescon Comets Sports Club – Training programme
This brings the total disbursements over the three periods of the WICB Digicel Grassroots Club Grant Programme to over US$120,000.
A total of 23 clubs in nine countries have now benefitted from the initiative which is geared towards assisting clubs in three main areas:
- Infrastructure development
- Strengthen training programmes
- Procurement of gears and equipment
WICB Digicel Grassroots Grants Recipients – Period 1
Antigua & Barbuda
Pigotts Sports Club – Cricket gears and drive mower
Barbados
Isolation Cavaliers – Pitches and cricket gears
Pickwick Cricket Club – Covers, nets, boundary rope, cricket equipment
St Catherine Sports and Social Club – Ground preparation and land filling
Dominica
Grand Bay Sports Committee – Covers, door and burglar bars
Guyana
Wakenaam Community Centre Ground – Sightscreen, ground levelling and rolling
Jamaica
St Catherine Cricket Club – Bowling machine, practice balls, training equipment
St Lucia
Choiseul Cricket Coach Programme – Coaches, playing surface, pitch construction and cricket gears
Trinidad & Tobago
First Citizens Clarke Road United – Cricket gears and coaching
Orange Field Sports Club – Drive mower
WICB Digicel Grassroots Grants Recipients – Period 2
Antigua & Barbuda
Liberta Sports Club – All weather batting nets
Grenada
St Andrew’s Cricket League – Gears and training programme
Guyana
Demerara Cricket Club – All weather batting nets
East Bank Demerara Cricket Association – Field and fencing
Georgetown Cricket Club – All weather batting nets
Jamaica
Kingston Cricket Club – Training programme
St Vincent & the Grenadines
Neil Williams Cricket Inc – Training programme
Trinidad & Tobago
Preysal Cricket Club – Gears and training programme
