Over last winter the Club Committee decided the time had come to seek a replacement for the so-called "Wendy-House", our hut that has stood by the ground for the last 20 years and houses just about everything the OCC owns (cricket kit, ground equipment, catering stuff, tables, chairs, benches, drinks machine) and much other stuff that mysteriously accumulates in there and which the Club does not actually own!
The aim is to have a new building which meets the evolving needs of the Luxembourg cricketing community, which is of course much wider than just the OCC, and embraces all LCF teams, the Maidens and our investment in the future - our Juniors.
We have identified 5 broad areas of need that a new building should satisfy:
- shelter from the weather (hot, cold or wet) for teams and numerous junior cricketers;
- changing space for 2 teams and their kit;
- sanitation (at minimum, integration of men's and women's toilets in the building);
- storage for club cricket kit and (separately) ground maintenance machinery and materials;
- a place to serve refreshments.
Starting point for our campaign to achieve this has been a meeting with the Mayor and Echevins of the Commune of Walferdange. This meeting took place on 2nd May and we received a very nice welcome and a positive response.
Second meeting was with the communal architect and this was on 9th May. Again a warm welcome and a very positive approach. Now we have to sort out plans of what we want, taking into account that the ground remains an area prone to flooding, financial resources available, the sensibilities of neighbouring households and so on.
This is where you can all help, as needless to say, we will need help from people throughout the cricketing community with practical inputs on the design and layout, getting the construction organised and fund-raising. Please let me know if you would be interested in participating in a project that should provide all Luxembourg's cricketers with a home and centre we can be proud of!
Rob Deed
14/05/2014