Grantley Sawmills Ltd
Masham Sports Club
“ The biggest challenges across all sports are around growing participation . There is so much choice and things to do that some sports are finding it extremely difficult to survive especially at local club level .”
Grantley Sawmills Ltd
Timber merchants since the 1950s
Grantley Sawmills are a Ripon based timber merchant , supplying a whole range of timber-based products for commercial , agricultural , equestrian and domestic use .
The mill specialises in fencing materials for the agricultural trade , stocking a range of standard sizes . However if you cannot find what you are looking for we can cut to order in our onsite mill .
Fencing | Animal Feeders | Doors and Gates | Sheds
01765 620635 | www . grantleysawmills . co . uk Grantley , Ripon , North Yorkshire , HG4 3ES is one of the most prestigious club competitions in Yorkshire . Unfortunately the bad weather intervened but we are hopeful that the game will be played at Masham early in the new season next year .”
Youth
“ Youth development is crucial for the survival of any sporting club and Masham Cricket Club has prioritised the development of our junior section over the last seven years . Up to that point junior cricket was not really on the clubs agenda . But over that period we have grown our junior section from zero to more than 70 .
Each Saturday morning during the season we hold coaching sessions for juniors aged 5 to 16 . It has revitalised our club in so many ways including increased membership , growth in our finances , sponsorship from local business and we have generated so much interest within the community .
Our junior teams play in both the local Hambleton and Nidderdale Junior leagues which has resulted in cricket being played at least four or five days each week at our ground during the summer . Some of our juniors are now playing regularly in our senior teams and the future looks really bright in terms of player availability as our juniors continue their transition into senior cricket .
The Tennis club like the cricket club have always encouraged junior participation and continue to provide training for this age group . They have also developed close links with the local primary schools enabling the schools to have access to the clubs excellent courts .”
Transition
“ Like most cricket clubs our challenge is to ensure we keep these players as they move through their teens into their 20 ’ s . There is a real concern that local cricket is seeing a huge fall in player participation , resulting in both clubs folding and matches not being played . At Masham we recognised this several years ago and put in steps to prevent this from happening to us . It ’ s been hard work , but we are beginning to see that hard work paying off .”
Community
“ Masham is a small market so it ’ s essential we are a community club and we work hard on developing this . There are good links with local schools , the local parish council and local businesses but we want to see more of the community access and use our facilities .
As we work on both expanding and improving our facilities , we are soon to launch a community consultation to get the views of the community as we work to put in place sporting and community facilities which everyone can benefit from .”
Commercial
“ Although Masham is a small market town in rural North Yorkshire , we are fortunate that located within the town are some businesses which are well known nationally but are great supporters of local sport . The two breweries in the town , Black Sheep and Theakston brewery , are both involved with sponsoring clubs in Masham as well as wider support for sport at both league and county level .
Swinton Castle , a local 4 star hotel and country park , are also great supporters of junior cricket . The businesses in and around Masham appreciate what we do and are always there to support us in any way they can . Developing and maintaining a high profile on social media also allows you to work with sponsors to raise their profiles as well . There is more work to be developed in this area .”
Challenges
“ The biggest challenges across all sports are around growing participation . There is so much choice and things to do that some sports are finding it extremely difficult to survive especially at local club level . Administrators and sports governing bodies working with local clubs need to be open minded and flexible in their approach in encouraging participation .
With concerns about the funding of sport and the health concerns around lack of exercise , it ’ s important the local sports clubs are recognised for the good work they do and the opportunities they offer . We probably need to think less about sports competing and more about how different sports can work together to help reduce costs and increase participation .”
Ambitions
“ The four clubs within the association are all at different stages of development . The association as a whole would want to see the continuation of the development of both the clubhouse and its sporting facilities .
We want to attract more members , both playing and social , to enable us to become a hub of the local community , hopefully resulting in the facilities being used more . From a cricket perspective we are confident that the next five years will be some of the best years . We are on the cusp of something special following our investment in youth over the last few years . We are firmly on the map and we hope that we can achieve a lot of success and that we can all enjoy more local sport .”
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