Accrington Cricket Club

Members Update
Friday April 23rd 2021

In line with government guidance at Step 2 (from 12th April) spectators are not allowed to attend any recreational sporting events, including cricket. The only people allowed on the ground will therefore be the following:

a parent, suitable adult or carer attending in a supervisory role for an U18 player or a player with a disability (maximum 1 adult per U18 player)
those attending for hospitality where available, subject to following the club’s and the government’s guidance.
a club official/volunteer who is organising on and/or off-field activities
catering and bar staff
players and match officials and media

The ECB guidance clearly states that any spectators should be asked to leave the ground and the request logged by the club.
We ask that everyone adheres to this rule please as there are serious ramifications if clubs do not follow the guidance.
We are pleased to say that we will be opening our designated outdoor hospitality section serving alcoholic / non-alcoholic drinks, tea coffee etc and a small selection of food for MEMBERS ONLY on matchdays from 12.30pm to 8.00pm under the following rules:

Please note the following information / rules:

Everybody attending Accrington Cricket Club is required to comply with the requirements for venue check-in as below to ensure we are compliant, or we may face a £1000 fine.

From April 12th, 2021 regulations for outdoor hospitality are as follows:

All visitors aged 16 and over will be required to check-in to enter hospitality venues, not just one per group, this is a legal requirement.
Individuals can do this by checking in with the NHS COVID-19 app or, by providing their name and contact details to a member of staff or committee member. If members could download the app prior to Sunday this will save time. www.covid19.nhs.uk/
Anyone who does not comply and refuses to check in must leave the premises.
Customers must sanitise on entry to the hospitality area.
Please avoid close contact with other people outside of your bubble or household.
Please do not move any benches or tables, they have been positioned for correct social distancing.
Please take notice of and follow all signs when moving around the hospitality area.
Everyone must remain seated inside the hospitality area and must not leave the designated area, except when arriving and exiting. Areas outside of the hospitality area are out of bounds to everyone other than players and officials, therefore there is no opportunity to walk round the ground unfortunately.
All children must remain seated within the hospitality area and must be accompanied to the toilet by an adult.
The toilets in the clubhouse will be open however a mask or face covering must be worn when inside the clubhouse and you must sanitise on entry to and exit from the clubhouse.
Government guidelines on social distancing must be adhered to at all times whilst you are on the grounds of Accrington Cricket Club.
Service will be outdoors only, please be aware that there is no shelter if it starts to rain/snow or is just extremely cold. Please wrap up and bring your poncho or umbrellas.
Plastic glasses will be used as much as possible in order to reduce the potential for spread of COVID-19.
The cricket club has had no income for much of last year, we are opening purely as a venue offering outdoor hospitality to our members and as such we would ask you to NOT bring your own alcohol and purchase your drinks from the bar and food from the tearoom. Anyone that doesn’t do this will be asked to leave.
We understand the frustration some of you may feel but foul and abusive language directed towards any staff member, committee member or fellow customer will not be tolerated under any circumstances.
Accrington Cricket Club has ‘Challenge 25’ in place with regards to the sale of alcohol so please remember your ID if you’re lucky enough to look under 25.
Customers must order and consume their food or drink whilst seated with the Rule of 6 or 2 households rule adhered to.
To order you will need to gain the attention of a staff member who will take your order. We are hopeful of having an ordering app in place soon.
Payment will be taken by the member of staff when your drinks are delivered ideally by card, but cash payments will still be available if required.

There will be limited parking available on the ground with priority given to players and officials.

If you are parking on the surrounding streets please be considerate of our neighbours and do not block any access to houses.

Membership cards must be produced when entering the ground and again when ordering.

Committee members will be on hand on Sunday to collect payment for membership, please mention this to our staff if you wish to pay.

Any new members wishing to join for the full season please email Secretary marktaylor197@sky.com for details.

We are also offering Social Membership covering the period up to the 17th May at a cost of £15.

This will allow access to the outdoor hospitality for all home 1st XI and 2nd XI games (5 games) between now and 17th May (Step 3).

Again please contact Mark Taylor 07949 610512 for details of how to join.

There has been a lot of hard work that has gone into the planning and preparation to be able to open outdoors for our members and there may be teething troubles to begin with.

We ask that you are patient with our staff as it may get busy at certain times, they will be doing their best to serve you as efficiently as possible.

Finally......the rules and guidance are as frustrating for us as it will be for any of you, but as a club we must follow them otherwise we cannot open.

Please keep that in mind and treat any staff member, committee member or volunteer with the respect that you would want to be treated with.

MARK TAYLOR
HON SECRETARY