2021 ANNUAL REPORT

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY CRICKET CLUB 2021 ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 56 Nottinghamshire Cricket Board with the county club. TheTrent Bridge CommunityTrust had, meanwhile, adapted its methods in order to continue its valuable work during the pandemic. In the immediate wake of lockdown, this work was reluctantly put on hold for a month or so, whilst the relevant risk assessments for the new ways of working were completed. During May 2020, theTrust recon- nected with the most vulnerable people to ensure that they had some- where to turn at this most difficult of times. It became clear that a lot of young people, whilst saying they were okay, simply weren’t.That was where the Trust had been able to connect with those young people and help them work through their emotions to channel them in a positive direction. The delivery methods had to change under the new rules and the Trust devised and delivered digital workshops on resilience and the identification of triggers for mental health. One of the biggest challenges highlighted by these workshops was just how many young people didn’t feel comfortable being on video calls in groups, so the Trust team members worked tirelessly to offer one-to-one sessions and workshops in friendship groups, which proved to be a big success. Mr Eatherington explained how, later in the summer, a scaled-down programme had been able to com- mence.TheTrust delivered sports sessions in local communities, open for all to attend and watch. Mr Eatherington had enjoyed seeing families doing things together and, in many cases, this served as a catalyst for them to spend more time together in general. As a return to school came about in September, the Positive Futures programme was able to recom- mence. Schools were really keen to get the Trust back on site to deliver workshops. Adaptation was key in order to make this happen and the Trust delivered workshops in bigger spaces and outdoors, which worked really well. Having won two awards, including the Health andWellbeing award at the Celebrating Rushcliffe Awards, the Trust’s Forget Me Notts initia- tive was set for big things in 2020. At the start of the year, a number of key sports clubs and businesses in Nottinghamshire had pledged their support: Edwalton Golf Club, Nottingham Forest, Notts County, Nottingham Rugby Club and the National Ice Centre. However, lockdown meant that the usual sessions had to cease, and even when restrictions were eased, because so many service users were in the high-risk category, face-to- face sessions were unable to resume. Instead, fortnightly catch ups and quizzes were hosted on Zoom, while those who didn’t have access to the internet received phone calls from the Trust to check in on them. Service users were incredibly appre- ciative of having someone from the Trust to speak to. Sadly, a number of service users’ dementia had worsened during lockdown, but Forget Me Notts volunteers were committed to providing support, hosting Zoom calls and getting people up on their feet and exercising within their own homes. Continuing to provide participants with opportunities to move around was of the utmost importance. Zoom calls were also frequently made to carers, giving them much- needed respite and opportunities to build support networks with like-minded people. In early August, the Trust felt in a position to start running sessions at Trent Bridge. A sports session was held, and 30 people living with dementia attended, along with carers. It was the only session the Trust ran in person, ensuring that it met social distancing and other health and safety guidelines.Those that took part in the session were so thankful to be outdoors, enjoying sport in a safe environment. In other work, theYouNG project offering young people an insight into the world of work did manage to complete a snapshot work experi- ence session at Trent Bridge prior to lockdown in March 2020.The project had expanded its reach with 40 Nottinghamshire employers having committed to offering a total of 329 work placement opportunities. Healthy Hearts had celebrated its delivery to the 1,000th child during the early part of the year and the healthy lifestyle course had become a big hit with local primary schools and of course the school children. Lockdown could have prevented this valuable work from being delivered, but work booklets were delivered to schools and lessons were given online to overcome any break in service. Mr Eatherington was pleased to end his section on the Trust by noting that it had finalised an agreement with Rushcliffe Borough Council to extend their strong partnership and to continue delivering services into the area, with an agreement worth just under £800k over the next four years. Despite the disruption of last year, the work of the club’s heritage volunteers had remained resolute throughout. Led by the club’s Heritage Officer, Steve LeMottee, approximately 30 volunteers had continued to work. Although the pandemic would be viewed by many through the lens of the loss and disruption it had caused, there was an important need to document such times to help form a historical record for the future, and heritage volunteers had also taken the opportunity to make updates to the history section of the club’s website. Mr Eatherington ended by stating that heritage projects only truly come to life when there is an opportunity to share them in person with the members at Trent Bridge and that he was looking forward to seeing this happen in the future. Plans for 2021 were set to include marking the 250th anniversary of the first recorded cricket match in Nottinghamshire and 150 years sinceW G Grace’s first appearance