The Cricket Board is looking to complete an audit of club facilities. This audit is the first part of drawing together information about our cricket facilities and will be used to develop an Island wide facilities strategy, which is part of our CPA agreement with the ECB.
Early in the New Year a short survey will be sent to each club to complete, asking about the age, condition and how those facilities are used by the club and local community.
It would be great if you could complete the survey as accurately as possible so it helps us develop a clear picture of the Island's cricketing facilities.

Cricket today commits to a wide-ranging action plan to tackle racism and promote inclusion and diversity at all levels of the game. The plan has been developed jointly by the ECB, MCC, the PCA, NCCA Ltd, the First Class Counties, Women’s Regional Hosts and the Recreational County Cricket network, as a game-wide response to discrimination within the game. While taking tangible and immediate action through the plan published today, cricket will continue to listen and learn from anyone who has experienced discrimination in the sport.

Further work is being undertaken to examine these issues through the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket and ongoing investigations into racism allegations and the handling of complaints made by Azeem Rafiq and others. Cricket’s leaders will also consult with independent third-party organisations with significant expertise in resolving similar issues.
The game expects to take further action based on the findings and recommendations that come out of these processes. The measures agreed today include a series of immediate changes as well as the instigation of a review period that will incorporate the work of the ICEC and other inquiries into discrimination in cricket. The initial aims include:

Understanding and educating more1: Adoption within three months of a standardised approach to reporting, investigating, and responding to complaints, allegations, and whistleblowing across the game.2: Full promotion of the aims of the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) through proactive engagement with its investigations and recommendations.3: Ongoing EDI training for all those who work in cricket, including all staff, volunteers, recreational club officials, umpires, directors, and coaches.

Addressing dressing room culture4: A full review of dressing room culture in all men's and women's professional teams, both domestic and international.5: Delivery of a redesigned programme of player and coach education, addressing any gaps identified through the dressing room review.

Removing barriers in talent pathways6: Action to aid progress into professional teams of people from diverse backgrounds (especially South Asian, Black and less privileged youngsters) through measures to address (i) talent identification and scouting,(ii) education and diversity of coaches and

(iii) targeted support programmes for players from diverse or under-privileged backgrounds.

Creating welcoming environments for all7: A full-scale review, in advance of the 2022 season, into the detection, enforcement, and sanctions against discriminatory and abusive crowd behaviour at each of our professional cricket grounds.8: Delivery of plans (tailored to local communities) to ensure professional cricket venues are welcoming to all, including provision of accessible seating, food and beverage offering catering to all faiths and cultures, and the availability of facilities such as multi-faith rooms and alcohol-free zones.9: Upgraded education in recreational cricket to ensure players, volunteers and coaches understand and champion inclusion and diversity in the game.

Publishing localised EDI Action Plans within six months. 

The ECB will today publish its 2021-2023 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan with clear actions and targets. The ECB will then work with any of its members who do not yet have an EDI plan in place to create (or revise) their own localised version within six months, with actions to include:10: A commitment to best practice governance with targets for Board diversity (30% female, locally representative ethnicity by April 2022) and plans to increase diversity across the wider organisation. (Compliance will be subject to a “comply or explain” provision to ensure Counties can respect their own governance processes in making the required change).11: The introduction of fairer recruitment processes through measures including the immediate adoption of anonymised recruitment tools for senior roles, open appointment processes for all roles and the use of balanced and diverse panels to assess interviews.12: Every senior executive employed across the game will have personal EDI objectives as part of their annual performance targets, driving leadership accountability. 

To be transparent and build trust, the game will provide regular updates on progress against delivery of the action plan and EDI goals. To underpin the actions being taken across the cricket network, the ECB has committed to providing additional resources and take several further steps in support of consistent progress across the game. These have been agreed with the game and will include:

• A review of governance and regulation in cricket to identify any opportunities to strengthen the structures and processes across the game

• £25 million of strategic funding over five years in support of EDI actions

• The formation of a new anti-discrimination unit, within six months, to ensure that the ECB has the right resources and capabilities to help tackle discrimination in all its forms and provide guidance to the wider game

• The inclusion, with immediate effect, of EDI minimum standards for all venues

• A link between funding and EDI minimum standards, including withholding central distributions where necessary to ensure all stakeholders meet agreed standards

• Collaboration with Sport England to help the whole game to achieve the increased diversity of Boards

Barry O’Brien, ECB Interim Chair, commented: ‘’There is no doubt this is a critical moment for cricket. After our all-game meeting last week, we said we must rise to the challenge and respond with one voice. “We have now set out a series of game-wide commitments so that cricket can start to make the transformation that we know is needed. Change is required as a matter of urgency, but we also recognise that sustained action is required over months and years to achieve fundamental and long-lasting progress.
This must begin today.” Tom Harrison, ECB Chief Executive Officer, added: “For cricket truly to ‘connect communities and improve lives’ – our stated aim at the ECB – we must start by accepting that not enough has happened to make our game better, both inside our own walls and across the wider game. That is the only possible reaction to the powerful testimony of Azeem Rafiq and others in recent weeks. “I am delighted that this plan represents the whole game coming together to commit to tangible action and meaningful change. Our role as the ECB will now be to acknowledge the changes that need to be made internally, as well as offer support, resource, and funding to assist the game in making these changes. We look forward to working with our partners across the game to create a stronger, more inclusive sport and build back the trust of everyone who loves cricket.”
Mike O’Farrell, Chair of Middlesex Cricket, commented: ‘’This has been a time of deep reflection across the sport. It was critical that we came together and agreed a way forward. ‘’All those involved in leading the game are aware of how fragile cricket’s future is if we do not address the issues laid bare by Azeem and others. More importantly, we realise how many people we have impacted by not acting together. We are all determined to act as one and implement these actions but also to keep listening in the coming months and adapt to all that we continue to learn. 

The Isle of Wight Cricket Board is looking to recruit a County Safeguarding Officer to work alongside our present officer. The job will be to liaise with the IWCB on all welfare issues, to offer advice and training to clubs and to undertake any investigations if necessary.

Job Title: County Safeguarding Officer

Work Address: Isle  of Wight Cricket Board, Newclose, Blackwater Rd, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 3BE. 

Pay and Benefits: Voluntary (Agreed Expenses Paid)

Hours of Work: Varied depending on time of year but average of 4hrs a month made up from:-

• 2/3hrs for a Board Meeting once        a month
• Other meetings/training as         required

Line Manager: Isle of Wight Cricket Board Director Responsible for Safeguarding

Working Relationships:

• England   and Wales Cricket Board Safeguarding Team
• Cricket   Development Manager
• Isle of Wight Cricket Club Welfare Officers

Outline of Position

• To  be the lead person with responsibility for setting the standard on safeguarding and embedding a culture of good practice throughout clubs and counties.
• To   be the lead person for the county in supporting clubs to achieve the ECB   Safeguarding standards.
• To build relationships with key staff to ensure the County meets its   safeguarding responsibilities.
• To support and assist staff in clubs to understand their safeguarding   responsibilities, and to create a positive child-centred environment.
• To build and maintain supportive relationships with Club Welfare Officers, and   act as a first point of contact for them in all safeguarding matters.
• To   provide learning outcomes and training for Club Welfare Officers on   safeguarding and best practice.
• To   ensure there is a clear referral pathway for sharing, reporting and recording concerns, in line with ECB policy and guidance; and Club staff know how to access them.
• To  act as the first point of contact for clubs in response to safeguarding   concerns and referrals, and act as a link between the County and ECB   Safeguarding Team.
• To   support any safeguarding concerns being managed within the club, and   ensure they are investigated swiftly and thoroughly in conjunction with   statutory agencies – and with demonstrable outcomes. The ECB safeguarding team will retain oversight of the investigation.
• To  ensure compliance with safer recruitment practices, including as the Primary   County Wide ‘Safeguarding Recruiter,’ and ID verifier, using the ECB Online   system.
• To   support clubs and the County in ensuring people in required roles have ECB   DBS checks, and requirements around Overseas Players/coaches.

If you are interested in finding out more please contact Stuart Chatfield at stuart.chatfield@iwcb.org.uk 

The ECB Support Coach Course programme has been designed to give learners the knowledge, skills and confidence to support qualified coaches and enhance player experience.

This programme has been designed to give learners the knowledge, skills and confidence to support qualified coaches. An ECB Support Coach is not qualified to lead coaching sessions independently and therefore must be supervised by a qualified cricket coach.

• Supporting coaches and players
• icoachcricket
• Communicating with coaches and players
• Supporting fielding, bowling and batting
• Safety

Anyone aged 16 and over wishing to support qualified coaches, inspire players and make a difference to the game.

• Free of Charge 

• 1 face-to-face module lasting 3 hours 

• 2 bitesize e-learning modules lasting 10-15 minutes each 

• Multiple choice question assessment.

• Face to Face (Module 2) Saturday 12th Feb 2022 @ Ryde School, 3-6pm

  We are delighted to announce that the 47th Isle of Wight Sports Achievement Awards will take place on Thursday 31st March 2022 at the Medina Theatre.

The evening will be hosted by

Lord Grade of Yarmouth; Lucy Morgan, Audience & Content Editor at the County Press; and Shirley Robertson, British Sailor and Olympic Gold Medallist.

This event recognises outstanding achievement or service, amongst sportsmen and women of all ages and celebrates our Isle of Wight success stories.

Putting forward a nomination is acknowledging in public, the success that a member or team has achieved, or the contribution that a volunteer or officer has made to the progress of a club. 
 

Although these Awards focus on 2021, achievements from 2020 will also be considered.

Please do nominate worthy candidates even if their nomination doesn’t appear to fit into one of the categories listed.

Please submit your nomination by clicking on this link:

https://www.iowsports.org/candidate-nomination-form/

Nominations for the 2021 Isle of Wight

Primary & Secondary Sporting School are also Open!

The Primary Sporting School Award recognises the Primary School that has done the most to encourage sport at their school.  Please submit a nomination showing what your school has undertaken to promote and inspire physical activity in 2020/2021.

Please nominate your primary school by clicking on this link: https://www.iowsports.org/nomination-form_primary.php#form

The Secondary Sporting School nomination form concentrates on a specific project that the school has undertaken to encourage sport, or physical activity in 2020/2021.  If you ran more than one initiative, please feel free to submit more than one entry.

Please nominate your secondary school by clicking on this link: https://www.iowsports.org/secondary-school-nomination-form/

Nominations close on Monday 17th January 2022

Nominations will be judged by an independent panel.  All finalists will be notified at the beginning of February and will feature in the County Press coverage. All finalists, and nominators of finalists, will be invited to the Awards Ceremony on Thursday 31st March 2022.

If you experience any difficulties, or if you would like a physical copy of the nomination form please email: info@iowsports.org

Thank you and we look forward to receiving your nominations.

 Isle of Wight Cricket Board Ltd AGM Meeting Monday 20th December at Newclose County Cricket Ground Meeting will start at 7pmAll documents will be posted on the Board website over the next 7 days. These can be downloaded from the download section below and will include the following: -

• 2021 Agenda  
• 2020 AGM Minutes 
• 2020/21 Profit & Loss
• 2020/21 Balance Sheet
• Financial Report
• Chair Report
• 2020-21 Director Nominations

Voting - Please can club Chairs or Secretaries confirm who will be the voting on behalf of their club. Please send to stuart.chatfield@iwcb.org.uk before the 13th Dec 2021
Nominations – Those wishing to be nominated for election as a Director of the Board will need to be proposed by a club or association and must confirm they are happy to stand. Nominations should be sent to stuart.chatfield@iwcb.org.uk. along with a short pen portrait to go on the website.  The Board is encouraging nominations in line with ECB best practice governance in respect of equality, diversity, and inclusivity. i.e. female, those with disabilities, and representative ethnicity. Nominations need to be submitted by the 6th December at the latest. Election of Directors - There will be a slight change to the process in electing directors from previous years. We will be following the Board’s Articles of Association. At the meeting the membership will elect any new nominations and those directors that have retired and wish to stand for re-election.