Gelvandale CC blazing a trail of success
New sponsorship deal will enable northern areas club to plot a brighter future
Building a sustainable entity capable of benefiting future generations is crucial to the success of the Gelvandale Cricket Club, president Gary Dolley said.
Dolley announced a partnership with freight services firm Trans-Atlantic Logistics (TAL) at the northern areas club yesterday.
The event, which was held with all the necessary Covid-19 protocols, was also attended by TAL managing director Kurt Shaw, a former member of the club, as well as Eastern Province cricket services manager Colin Gxowa, and a few club members and sponsors.
The installation of water tanks and generators as well as acquiring infrastructure maintenance equipment were only some of the ways in which the club was looking to become a more self-sustaining institution.
Through Dolley’s endless passion for community upliftment and the hard work put in by the members, players and sponsors, he believes they can achieve even more and set an example for other clubs to follow.
“You need to have the right model and have the correct system in place to address the needs of the community and the players,” he said.
“We talk about sustainable models, you need to be self-sufficient and that is key, so for us to be able to do that, you need to have a plan from juniors up to seniors.
“For us, the pipeline is there, from U11s right up to your veterans.” Dolley, who celebrates his 57th birthday next week, also highlighted the importance of having facilities from which to carry out these plans, in addition to administering an outreach programme to feed back into the community.
“We want to offer an entire package, a holistic type of viewpoint of sport and the importance that sport and cricket, in particular, can play in terms of giving people hope,” he said.
Dolley said they were greatly aided by their maintenance infrastructure and it played a key role in them being able to carry out their own maintenance.
“We have the infrastructure to cut our own grass, so that makes us self-reliant.
“With the water situation in the country, we have invested in 10 water tanks around the facility and we have included two tanks on the field with an electrical power supply and use recycled water to prepare the turf.
“We have acquired some generators specifically for when there are electrical outages in our bid to make the facility almost independent from an electrical and water perspective,” he said.
Shaw said it was an easy decision for him to give back to the club that gave him so much joy growing up.
“The values I learnt here, I still apply in my life today. The people I have met here and stories I have shared, you cannot make up.
“I remember when I was a youngster and we would have to prepare the facility before a match, now the pitches are ready to play.
“It just goes to show what can be done if people work in unison and have a common goal in mind,” he said.
Gxowa said the success of the club was a testament to what could be achieved.
“There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a kid, and I think the Gelvandale Cricket Club is an indication of that,” he said.