THC over the moon to receive funding for new Cricket Academy
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THC is celebrating after being awarded a grant to go towards creating a Cricket Academy for their students. Tower Hamlets College in Poplar has been awarded £1500 by the Play Sport London initiative and will put the money towards founding the Tower Hamlets College Cricket Club in January.
Play Sport London is part of the Mayor’s ‘A Sporting Future for London’ plan and provides grant funding to sports clubs and community groups in order to encourage greater participation in sport in the build up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The application process is demanding and time consuming and it is the first time the College have been given funding through this initiative.
The College plans to purchase new kit and arrange weekly coaching sessions with qualified external coaches during the winter months before joining the Victoria Park Community Cricket League in spring.
Daniel Searle, the Sports Co-ordinator at the College was delighted to receive the funding. “It is terrific that we are now able to create something a proper club. We were awarded the full amount that we applied for and it will be put to good use. This College hasn’t had a cricket team to speak of for 15 years but I know we have some good players who will only get better when given professional coaching and the opportunity to play competitive league cricket.”
It is hoped that the legacy of the funding received will be a sustainable college cricket team with links to the local community through local leagues. Many of the senior schools in Tower Hamlets offer cricket as an integral part of their sports programme but it loses impetus in the FE sector for 16-19 year old students and Tower Hamlets College is looking to instigate an increase in participation among this age group.