Details have been published:
https://edgbaston.com/warwickshire-ccc/membership/?utm_campaign=14073418_WCCC%20-%202024%20Full%20Club%20Launch&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=DotDigital&dm_i=1AFS,8DN4A,8II8VY,YJTQA,1
I haven't had chance to compare prices with 2023, but I'm sure someone will do that.
Still no Country Membership option. Shame.
I agree that Country Membership would be a boon; but no sign of it. I think my Senior membership has gone up by £5, which is pretty good considering the rate of inflation.
Could someone enlighten me as to what Country Membership is/was?
Exiled Bear wrote:
Could someone enlighten me as to what Country Membership is/was?
You had to live a certain distance from the ground as the crow flies. I think it was 30 miles. A discount was given for living further away which I found quite useful!
Some counties still have country membership Notts for one. It makes sense at Trent Bridge which is centred around a single free standing city with surrounding towns & villages that fan out almost evenly and there are old industrial towns to the north and east of the county. Slightly more awkward to justify at Edgbaston as you're potentially making it cheaper for someone from e.g. leafy Kenilworth to be member of Warwickshire than someone from nearby Balsall Heath. I still think they should have a country membership category however and use other strategies to assist local residents into membership. At Lord's if you had a residents card in the borough of Westminster that used to get you into the ground for Middlesex Championship matches
I see that Kent have a country membership for those who live over 75 miles from Canterbury. Because I live over 80 miles from Edgbaston, a Warwickshire 75 mile limit would benefit me, though it doesn't seem all that generous.
I recall that there may have been, in the past, not only a country membership but a distant country membership for those living a really long distance away.
Reading Leslie Duckworth's Club history, I see that in 1972, the country membership limit was just 15 miles and a proposal to increase it to 20 miles was defeated. The ordinary membership rate was increased to £7 (!).
Going back still further, Duckworth reveals that in 1959, membership rates had gone up from £2 2s (two pounds and two old shillings) for ordinary members to £3 3s; and for country members from £1 10s to £2 2s. It was pointed out at the members' meeting that members had free admission to Test matches (yes, really!).
I also read with some amusement that, in the debate, there were those arguing for more use of out-grounds!
I was just going to add that there was distant country as well as country membership.
The point of course was that WCCC belongs to all of our county but with Birmingham on its extreme western edge there ought to be some compensation for those whose attendance is not easy.
Even more in these days of not playing games around the county!
I know that my role on here is to moan about other people moaning; but I'll repeat a moan of my own.
I've received information about 2024 membership but it would seem that it is still the case that it is not possible to set up a direct debit so that membership renews automatically. Surely the Club must be the losers because of this.
I’m struggling to justify a membership next year due to the schedule. I’m mostly interested in red ball cricket. Enjoy the white ball too, but the T20 can be a bit too slap and giggle for me.
From what’s been reported recently both from the ECB and in the press. Looks like only 3 championship rounds from the start of June to the end of August. So there’s the potential for June, July and August to have only 1 home championship match in it. Roughly half of the championship season to be played in April and May.
I want to sit in the sun and enjoy championship cricket in the middle of the summer, not dodge the rain and cold in April.
Certainly with games barely lasting a couple of days recently puts a dampener on any enthusiasm about renewing at the prices they're charging. There is an urgent need to re-instate two divsions of nine meaning 8 home championship matches so that forking out £245 can then be argued as reasonable for the privilege.
Currently it is 7 home CC games, some hit and giggle (I can normally stomach about two of those) and 4 glorified Second XI One day cup games plus the bonus Quarter Final matches which they've had to throw in lately and reciprocal membership with a number of counties which is very hit and miss as to whether you get chance to take advantage of. I managed a day at Derby back in May saw Henry Brookes take a stack of wickets. Reciprocal membership would be quite good if there was lots of cricket in June, July and August to make use of it
Traditional memberships used to offer decent value say £150 (excluding Blast games) you wouldn't mind the CC games only lasting 2 days quite so much then