Dear Member,
I hope that you and your family are keeping well in these challenging times.
Although the weather is improving, the start of the cricket season is still some way off given the need for social distancing to reduce the spread of Covid-19. Hopefully there will be some positive developments in the coming weeks and we will be able to get back to our beloved Club at some stage this summer, but we don’t know yet when that will be possible.
As with most areas of society, the necessary restrictions are having a significant impact on Merrion C.C. The Club’s income has been severely impacted over the past month and the outlook does not look good for coming months. The Management Committee have been closely monitoring our finances and managing things as best as possible. However, we still have running costs for the Clubhouse and ground, and we are looking to support our coaches and players with some income over this period if possible.
This is a very serious situation for the Club and we are calling on our loyal membership to help support the Club at this time. We appreciate that some members may also have financial challenges at this time however, if you can, we are asking all of our members to pay their 2020 subscriptions by the end of April. This will help us enormously as we navigate our way through these challenging times.
Subscriptions can be paid via our new website at www.merrioncricketclub.ie
For senior playing members we have put in place a voucher system to allow you to pay a reduced subscription due to the late start to the season. The voucher (worth €185 off this year’s subscription) is available until the 1st May and can be availed of when making payment through the website. The code is COVID2020. The net subscription is equivalent to a Pavilion Member subscription and we will look for a further payment from playing members at a future point when the outlook for the season is clearer. However, if you are in a position to pay the full playing subscription now that would be appreciated. Junior [University] Members can use the Coupon TRIN50 to allow for a reduced fee for the first part of the season. For further details you can contact our Membership Secretary, Chirag Poddar, at membership.merrioncc@gmail.com.
Our new website will have much improved functionality compared to the previous one and the development has been made possible through a new Members Loan Scheme. There are other opportunities for members to fund capital projects at the Club so please get in touch with our Chair of Finance (Liam Casey) at lcasey@gmail.com if you are in a position to make a donation or loan to the Club.
To finish on a positive note, it has been great to see so many Merrion faces at our online quizzes over the last few weeks. These have been great fun and are a good way to stay in touch with friends in these times, and also help with our fundraising efforts. Thanks to Liam Casey and Sean Hussey for organising the quizzes. I would encourage you all to join us at future quiz nights.
Also, parents of our Youth members should keep an eye on our Youth Facebook page for training tips to keep up the kids cricket skills while at home. If there are any relaxations in the current lockdown over the next period the Club is preparing plans to enable use of the outdoor practice facilities for families in a safe environment. This of course will depend on guidance from government and Cricket Leinster.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
Stay safe,
Andrew Kay
President
Merrion C.C.