Affiliation fees waived off, Cricket Wellington looks towards smoother resumption path

Cricket Wellington has removed all affiliation fees for the upcoming season, the board announced on Tuesday (May 26).



This is expected to help clubs support their members by minimising barriers and ensuring smooth resumption of cricket and has been backed by all the clubs in Wellington. It is a part of the wider project, which is to provide aid to the clubs to navigate their way through the COVID-19 pandemic.



This is all about being optimistic and showing positive leadership for our wider community,” said Liz Green, Cricket Wellington general manager.



“Community cricket is our number one priority and we want to ensure that clubs are not forced to pass reduced income on to members through increased club membership fees. By waiving team’s affiliation fees, we are hopeful that we can work with all clubs to ensure their club membership fees remain affordable and that participant costs are not a barrier that prevent people from joining their local cricket club.”



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This move will allow clubs to reinvest the income from its members back into the club, since there are no costs for clubs to enter Cricket Wellington competitions for 2020-21. This is also a result of an extensive consultation between Cricket Wellington and its affiliated clubs led by Green.



“Sport and our communities are facing uncertain times due to the ongoing effects of COVID-19 and we have an opportunity to come together with our clubs to encourage participants to re-engage with cricket,” said Cam Mitchell, CEO of Cricket Wellington.



“Sport will have an integral role in helping individuals, families and communities re-establish some sense of normality in the future, however for sport to be able to play its role in the rebuild it needs to be accessible as well as affordable. This is a result of ongoing support from our valued sponsors and funders, and New Zealand Cricket, and means we are able to use the reserves we have available to reinvest into our community game - our number one priority particularly during challenging times like these.”



“Sport is an integral part of New Zealand culture and we’re proud to be able to play an active role to help our clubs alongside great initiatives like ANZ New Zealand’s Good Sports Grant and Sport New Zealand’s Community Resilience Fund. These are hugely challenging times for everyone and we’re looking forward to welcoming our players back to our sport soon.”