Essex Cricket is excited to reveal that uptake in Junior Membership has risen by over 140% ahead of the 2024 season.
Recognising the importance of making the game accessible to children from an early age, the Membership Team have introduced new initiatives to attract Junior Members.
To date, 212 new Junior Members have joined the Club in time for the 2024 season, rising from 87 in 2022/23. The number of renewals has also risen, resulting in an overall increase in Junior Membership of 65%. In 2023, Junior Members made up 8.3% of the yearly Membership, with that number already at 15% in 2024.
The ‘gift a Membership’ scheme proved particularly popular with existing Junior Members able to gift a Membership to a new Member under the age of 18, helping spread the support of Essex Cricket within friendship groups and families across the region.
Numbers are expected to continue to rise with the scheme still live and referrals coming in. Although the Membership early bird window has closed, a Junior Membership is only £30 and the cost of this can effectively be halved by gifting a Membership to a friend or family member.
Find out more about the ‘gift a Membership’ scheme
On the success, Membership and Ticketing Manager Eliza Rowley said: “We are always looking for new ways to attract juniors to the Club and we’re really encouraged by the latest results.
“Junior Membership is a really attractive product, with the Metro Bank One Day Cup being played during the summer holidays and the potential of eleven days of Vitality County Championship cricket being played on weekends in 2024.
“The Cloud County Ground is a great space for families and the benefits extend beyond just the cricket. As a parent you can also access The Doug Insole Pavilion as a Members guest where there is indoor seating, toilets, changing areas and somewhere to get food and drink.”
Outside of Membership products there is yet more incentive for families to spend time at the Club, with Essex’s Vitality Blast T20 campaign being bookended by family days at The Cloud County Ground.
Essex’s opening fixture against Middlesex on Sunday 02 June has the added attraction of half-price Junior tickets, costing just £5. This means that a family of four (2 adults and 2 under 18s) can enjoy a T20 fixture for as little as £60.
There will also be family-focused entertainment during both the fixtures against Middlesex and Surrey on Sunday 14 July.
