Leicestershire Monthly Report - January 2021
Fri 29 Jan 2021
Welcome to the first edition of 2021.
Whilst still in the pandemic and faced with Lockdown 3.0, everyone here at the Running Foxes is determined to continue to battle hard to ensure our great Club survives and thrives. Rest assured we will do everything we can and will not allow COVID-19 to deter us from our focus.
For this edition, I will begin with an update on our Cash.
December last year, saw the end of the first quarter of our new financial year. There were some great positives and sadly a few negatives. Firstly the bad news, COVID-19 and the continued pandemic caused our hospitality and conferencing business to fall off a cliff. There were no bookings for us over what is usually a busy festive period. It also meant that we were unable to hold our annual firework display, which in previous years had been a huge success and generated income for the Club. Equally, our Indoor School was closed to the public and we were consequently unable to take private bookings for the venue. These are all major revenue ‘hits’ for our Club.
On the positive side, we have seen some upsurges in sponsorships and partnerships (25% increase versus our budget) and delighted to say memberships continue to grow and we are currently witnessing a growth of nearly 20% versus the budget we set. Once you balance out the bad versus the good, I am also pleased to say that we are currently 17% ahead of the target we set ourselves.
I must recognise the great support of our members and sponsors but also the continued efforts of the staff to continue to build a better future. A note of caution, however, is that this is still only the first quarter and there is a long way to go, so your continued support and backing is absolutely crucial for our ongoing survival.
Onto the Commercial side of our business. As soon as the season finished our commercial team intended to speak to everyone we knew (and they continue to do so). During this period and into the turn of the new year, despite Lockdown 3.0, we have seen good growth in partnerships associated to the Club for our 2021 season including welcoming VIP Bottles, M-EC Engineers, Sport Vision and StanceBeam to name just a few. It’s great to have them join our growing number of partners. Furthermore, our pipeline is promising and hopefully next month I can report on some further additions.
Additionally, the Commercial team are now very active in selling the player sponsorships and not a week goes by where we announce another player sponsored. I would also urge that if you are considering taking up this opportunity, do so sooner rather than later before they are all gone.
Memberships and Blast Passes continue to sell well and of course, remain on sale. Our fixtures for the Blast will be announced in early Feb so please keep your eyes peeled on our official website and social media channels for the dates and times.
During this month we have taken some major strides in reconnecting with our former players. With the help of local businessman Chris Sutton, we are creating a Former Players Club. This will lead to some of our ex-superstars attending games in the future and you should be able to hear their stories from their careers – improving the matchday experience for all too. Once again please keep a lookout for additional news.
Finally in Commercial, and by no means least, you will have noticed that our ground is now to be called the Uptonsteel County Ground. In simple, it’s great to have Uptonsteel build on their great relationship with us and we are grateful for their continued sponsorship.
Our Community staff, despite the lockdown, are trying to remain as active as they possibly can. A lot of our sessions have moved online and have been well attended, including, I'm pleased to hear, that 80 girls have taken part in these sessions working on flexibility and core strength as well as self-reflection, cricket laws, knowledge quizzes and planning different approaches to gameplay. This is great news.
As a Club, we are very diverse and of course, equally, respect our diverse community. Furthermore, since I arrived at the Club, I have observed nothing but respect for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in our approach. However, we all believe we can continue to do more and ensure cricket at The Uptonsteel County Ground is as welcoming as it can be. To that effect, our team are now refreshing our EDI approach and creating a truly #foxesfamily strategy. Part of this new strategy will see us undertake some market research to continue to develop and will ultimately see us promote this strategy in everything we do. I strongly believe we can build on our excellent practices and truly be a trailblazer in this field of work.
We are also looking to expand our Community team by appointing a County Welfare Officer, someone who can ensure that we develop our procedures and policies. Details of this role will be published in the coming weeks.
Our Foundation continues to grow and we have seen two further trustees join the charity. Additionally, we have met as a Foundation team recently and are planning a couple of very exciting and challenging initiatives. These initiatives, like our #CenturyADay challenge, are going to require your support, so when details are announced please consider getting involved!
On to Cricket. Whilst there are no games for us yet, that doesn’t mean it stops. Far from it. I had the pleasure of watching our lads train recently and what is clear is that there is a real desire for us to improve, develop and be successful. Paul Nixon and all the coaching team are working very hard to be the fittest team in the tournaments. From what I have seen and the stats I have been shown, our team are clearly in better physical shape than they were for the same period last year. What’s more, the coaching team have promised that they will continue to improve and enter the season in great shape.
Earlier I mentioned StanceBeam as a new partner. In simple, this technology is now being used by our players and coaches. It is something we are very keen on and are enjoying using the product. Our aim has always been to improve our decision making, whether on or off the field. Introducing this technology certainly helps that and also fits with our #AcademyOfCricket strategy.
Finally, on Cricket I hope you have noticed the announcement of our first overseas player. It is great that we have captured the signature of one of the world’s up-and-coming talents. If you saw him play in the recent South African tests, you will know we have captured someone special to be a #runningfox. Welcome to the Club, Wiaan Mulder.
On that note of players, rest assured our squad is not complete yet and we continue to search for the right players to join our fast-evolving and developing team.
Last but certainly no means least is an update on our Company pillar. Hopefully, you will have noticed we have made an addition to the off the field staff. Jacqui Dean has joined us as our Administration and Governance Manager. In simple, this role is far-reaching and encompasses many aspects of our Club, including adhering to the ECB’s County Partnership Agreement. This ultimately means our Club continues to improve its procedures and policies. We have some considerable work to do over the next 12 months but I am sure by putting in place these improved practices will only help us get stronger.
Finally, sometimes it’s the small things that can make a huge difference too. We have now installed a new phone system, that when contacting the Club it should be easier to get through to the appropriate department. And as always we are here to help and look forward to welcoming you back to the Uptonsteel Ground hopefully very very soon.
Take care and stay safe.
Regards
Sean
