Topklasse starts May 1
Hello <<Voornaam>>,
 Spring has finally arrived and with that comes lots of hope for better weather, more time outdoors and hopefully a season of cricket. True, things aren’t yet back to where we want it to be. The pandemic is still with us – in fact, the number of daily infections is currently consistently ticking higher. And lockdown will remain in place until at least the second half of April. Will some of the restrictions be lifted then? When will we be vaccinated? Will our cricket season look similar to last year? We are faced with these and so much more uncertainties every day in these very difficult times.
Let’s be honest, the past four months or so has been very, very challenging. In a normal world I’m still getting used to the European winters, but this past winter has undoubtedly been the most difficult one I’ve ever had to deal with. Like (possibly) many of you, my emotional tank is pretty empty. I can’t wait for the world to heal from or better be able to deal with this nasty virus. We need to get out and be active. We need to spend time together and connect with family and friends.
Fortunately, there are a number of positive developments on the cricket front. Players started training informally during March and we even commenced with some official training sessions during the last weekend of the month. It’s great to see players hungry to get going again. We now know that the top senior men’s and ladies’ teams will commence with their competitions during May, and we really trust that spectators will be allowed at these games sometime during the summer. We don’t yet know when our other teams will be able to start competing against other clubs, but believe that some good news will arrive in coming months. In the meantime, preparations of our main field at VCC are going very well. With such a capable and committed team looking after our grounds, we look forward to another season of good cricket pitches and beautiful outfields.
On many fronts we are constantly making preparations for the season of cricket that awaits us – in whatever shape or form. We have always pulled together as a VCC family and we need all members to contribute now more than ever before. As a board, we have formed committees to execute on the strategies and perform the operational duties required in all areas of the club. I again encourage members to get involved and serve on these committees or help as volunteers where possible. We need all of you as we make final preparations for the season to get going and as we run with things during the year. A huge thanks to all that are already helping, serving and contributing in whatever way. The club culture is alive and well and with that strong base we can confidently move forward.
As mentioned before, things are obviously still difficult at the moment and there are many uncertainties. There are however many reasons to have hope for tomorrow and to keep on holding onto that. As Andy (Tim Robbins) wrote to Red (Morgan Freeman) in The Shawshank Redemption: “… hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” Let’s stay hopeful, thankful and expectant of a healthier world and with that a season of cricket fun together
Take care and stay healthy,
Kobus Nel, Chairman Board VCC
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VCC 1 (m/f) to start May 1
As Cricket is classified as one of the sports of which the highest league may take place (in a bubble), both our first teams will start playing their leagues as off May 1. For the schedules, also see KNCB website.
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Four VCC players in Dutch XI (m)
In the second half of April the Dutch men's team will fly out to Asia to play a double round-robin tournament in Nepal with the home country and Malaysia. The coach of the national team Ryan Campbell invited no less than 4 VCC players, of whom Aryan will make his debut. Congrats Aryan, Bas, Flippie and Viv!
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New sponsors: Five Flavors restaurant and Shakti Aarna
We are proud to announce two new sponsor for the club. Five Flavors is an Indian restaurant at the Monseigneur van Steelaan, Shakti Aarna is an Indain grocery store at the Van Faukenbergestraat, both in Voorburg. They'll be visible at the scoreboard and provide meals during the season (once permitted). Definitely worth trying them out!
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New beer: Kompaan
Last year we have already experimented with the sale of Kompaan beer at certain events, such as T20 Finals day, and that was very successful. From this season we will serve a primeval lager on tap and we will regularly have special promotions in the bottle.
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New: lifstyle program with Homegym
De Coronatijd heeft een enorme impact op ons dagelijks doen en laten. Niet alleen in je werk en privé, maar ook sportief heb je waarschijnlijk de laatste maanden minder kunnen doen dan je zou willen. Wil je weer actief en veilig aan de slag? Schrijf je dan nu in voor het lifestyle-programma van onze sponsor Homegym!
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New shed/ storage room
in our ambition to constantly improve the quality of our facilities, we are happy that we are currently replacing the blue container with a permanent storage barn. This extension of the storage facilities will provide the groundstaff with a larger workspace to store and maintain all equipment used for our precious grasswicket. The realisation of the barn has been a joint effort between Gemeente Leidschendam-Voorburg, the Stichting MSW (our landlord) and VCC. Tom de Grooth with the help of Floris de Lange and Marc Nota will use their Meccano skills at professional level in the coming weeks setting up the barn. The board would like to take the opportunity to thank all involved.
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Practice Schedule
The attached practice schedule will be applicable as off the weekend of 27/28 March. For other recreational teams please contact our match secratary Floris de Lange if you want to go out and train! With people older than 27 this can only be in groups of 4!
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GMM March 30, 8pm
On Tuesday, March 30 VCC will have its GMM. Please register via secretaris@voorburgcc.nl and you will be sent the link to attend via Zoom well in advance. Agenda, budget and other relevant documents can be found on a password proteced site, password has been sent to all members.
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Important dates for 2021
Obviously Covid-19 may still have an impact on the year, but we'd like to announce a couple of dates already to pencil in the agenda
| Tuesday March 30, 8 pm |
GMM (expect an online meeting) |
| Tuesday April 20, 8pm (POSTPONED) |
The lecture from Jan Luitzen will be rescheduled once Covid-restrictions have been lifted |
| Sunday April 25 |
The ChicKing T20 Cup |
| Saturday May 1 |
Start Top-,Hoofd- and Eerste Klasse |
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Events committee
VCC is a very vibrant and active club, hosting a number of cricket (inter-)national events every year. VCC is blessed with a great number of enthusiast members who are willing to volunteer on the day during these events and we are now looking to build a committee to structure all that energy. If you feel it would be fun to sit on the events committee, send us an email at secretaris@voorburgcc.nl or check our website
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Bar committee
The bar committee is a next target to populate with enthusiastic members, who have a feel for hospitality, food&beverages, events, etc. Our club house is the heart of the VCC community and is a place that nees to be looked after. We have had some responses on a previous call and who are the men and women that will complete the team? This is not about doing a bar shift (we have teams doing that), but about managing the bar. Come forward, send an email to barcommissie@voorburgcc.nl and make our club house an even better place to be!
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Membership fees
A reminder: in the coming weeks we will take the membership fee from your account. Please make sure you have enough budget on your account. If you foresee difficulties or want to pay in installments, please contact our treasurer via penningmeester@voorburgcc.nl in advance to find a solution.
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Clinics
Do you know a company that wants a staff or company outing, brainstorming, breakout or team building session? But then "different", stylish, active and really fun? Consider a cricket clinic at the beautiful accommodation of Voorburg CC. For more information contact pr@voorburgcc.nl
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Join VCC?
VCC is still growing and we want to continue to grow in particular in our junior section. With a dozen juniors moving up to the seniors, we're now just below 100 juniors again, and we want to to grow this steadily, so in the end we have in each age category at least two teams.
Are you interested? Or do you want to follow a trial practice? Send an email to jeugdcommissie!
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