By Georgie Hay, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Carioca Cricket Club (CCC) will be launching their 2016 season on Thursday, February 18th, at the Lord Jim Pub in Ipanema. After a hugely successful 2015, the club will be announcing the calendar of events for the year ahead and will be looking to recruit new members, aiming to grow their membership base in 2016.
The event will be a chance for current club players to sign up for the new year, and for new players interested in playing cricket at any level to come, meet the team and sign up.
“Our main objective in 2016 is to continue to grow the membership base of the CCC. We know that several of our members will be leaving Rio post-Olympics, so we continue to need to recruit new members and new Brazilian players to ensure the continuity of the club into the future.” says Club Chairman Tobias Hanbury.
In terms of what is new for the club organization in the coming year, Hanbury adds, “Most of our big capital projects have been completed in the last three years (new pavilion, new tennis court, new bowling machine, new nets) so this year we will hunker down and invest in more good cricket equipment.”
Over the course of 2016 the CCC will play seven internal games on the club grounds at São Fernando Polo and Cricket Club, near Itaguaí about an hour south of Zona Sul (South Zone) in Rio. They will also tour to São Paulo and Lima, Peru and will be hosting the National Championships in April.
Additionally, Hanbury announced, “We are also hosting the South American Cricket Championships in Itaguaí in late October, a four-day ICC-recognized tournament with both male and female teams competing from around the continent.”
Along with recruiting new players, the February 18th launch night will also be a chance for existing players to welcome newcomers and celebrate the success of the previous season. The last CCC social event of 2015 saw awards given to a few notable club members.
Mark Harris and Sam Kelly were jointly awarded Granado Player of the Year, and Freddie Brunt collected Granado Bowler of the Year. Vim Akula, in his last season for the club, was awarded Granado Clubman of the Year for his longstanding contribution.
Following the season launch event, the first internal CCC match of the season will be held on Saturday, February 20th. All are welcome, club members or not, and Hanbury explains, “São Fernando P&CC is located about seventy minutes drive by bus from Ipanema, and the CCC arranges transport free-of-charge for everyone who wants to go and spend a glorious day away from Rio de Janeiro. The bus leaves Praça General Osorio at 8AM, and returns to Rio de Janeiro at 5:30 PM.”
For more information on the CCC and the February 18th event, visit the club’s Facebook page.
* This is a Sponsored article for the Carioca Cricket Club.