Rotary Cricket in North America is not a Dream

April, 2010

The Rotary Club of Emory Druid Hills in Atlanta, Georgia represented IFCR at a major function in Atlanta recently.

IFCR Rotary Districts of North America region covers all Rotary Districts included in the following countries.

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Clipperton Island, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Isla Aves, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Navassa Island, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Petrel Islands, Puerto Rico, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint-Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Andrés y Providencia, Serranilla Bank, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States and United States Virgin Islands.

Cricket is not a popular game in this part of the world and it is correct to say that the majority of Rotarians have little or no interest in the game of cricket as they do not know how the game is played.

While sometime it is said that Rotary is a club of senior citizens with the average age of members being close to 60 AND while all sports activities are formatted on a commercialised business model in North America we recognised the need to locate a group of local Rotarians who love cricket and who can be the facilitators with a sense of commitment to introduce and launch the game successfully in the Rotary world of North America.

Rtn. PP Dr.Upendra Bhatt has put forward an ambitious plan to introduce cricket in this No cricket Land.

'The reason I volunteered for the cause was to make the project happen and have it continue even if I am not there tomorrow. The entire operational design is unique as the traditional format cannot work in this part of Rotary world'. said Rtn. Dr.Upendra.

1. Our first task was to locate a city where Rotary Clubs are very active and open to support new fellowship ideas and ready to take a leadership role. Atlanta is also a city home of 2 Rotary Districts 6900 and 6910, where there are many local cricket loving immigrants but they are all not members of Rotary clubs but they create a breeding environment for us.

PP Dr. Upendra Bhatt belongs to Rotary Club of Emory Druid Hills based in Atlanta, Georgia (the place of 1996 Olympic Games) in District 6900. This district is designated as a pilot district in The Rotary Foundation's Future Vision Program.

2. The next task is to appoint the Chairman of the IFCR Rotary North American cricket Council who will co-opt the council members to develop an organised structure of operation.

Rtn. PP Dr. Upendra Bhatt has been nominated for this position and he will co-opt some informal Council members in the team to promote our project. The names of the committee officers will be communicated to you soon. Over a period of time more committee members will be co-opted from various Rotary Districts of North America.

The temporary headquarters of IFCR North America will be situated at the address of PP Dr. Upendra till for the time being.

3. The IFCR North American informal Cricket Council will designate the consenting Rotary District to be part of a pilot project district to test and refine the strategy and the operating model of the IFCR North American Cricket Council.

4. During the first year we plan to consider and place emphasis on upon 5 main activities.

a. Work out a way to develop a format for an exhibition one day game series and invite Rotarians to attend the game where a commentator will not only explain what is going on to the ground but also provide explanations on how the game is played.

b. Use this opportunity to bring younger cricket-playing youth to Rotary membership offering them the opportunity to explore their talent in the sport of cricket in a friendly environment, not only in North America, but in all cricket playing nations of the world.

c. Assemble a working group of at least 30 plus cricket-loving dedicated Rotarians as well as non Rotarians in a form of 2 teams. Also market the availability of these 2 teams as being ready to play exhibition games in the surrounding Rotary Districts in Georgia and other states around while also attracting local talents in neighbouring Districts.

d. Promote cricket Training Camps for younger children and youth organised with a professional coach and to have this as a fund raising project working towards it being self financing.

e. Invite at least one International team of IFCR members to take part in a tournament played for a sponsored Cricket Cup.

When we have established a presence in multiple Rotary Districts, the democratically elected council will take over at a time to be fixed during next 3 years.

'My task will be mainly to introduce and promote the game of cricket and thereby to promote Rotary Fellowship and Friendship in the region of North American Districts' said Dr. Upendra Bhatt.

If the pilot program is effective in producing a working model for promoting cricket in non cricket-playing countries, it can provide a guideline for the expansion of Rotary cricket throughout the Rotary world.

'IFCR North America cricket Council will make its best efforts to form chapters in a number of Rotary Districts in North America so as to develop the awareness of Rotary fellowships in general' Dr. Upendra Bhatt said.