Bristol Baseball Club’s plans to start an Under 16 youth section next year has received a financial boost from the Postcode Community Trust, a grant-giving charity funded entirely by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
A £1997.00 grant will go towards providing a range baseball equipment for the growing number of young people wanting to get involved in the sport and help the club set up teams at under 16, under, 12 and under 10 age groups.
“Setting up a formal youth section has been one of the key priorities for the club for a while and we are extremely grateful for the support provided by the Postcode Community Trust,” said Pete Godwin, Bristol Baseball Club’s director responsible for developing a youth section.
“We had originally planned to get this part of the club moving this year but the pandemic put things on hold. We hope that 2021 will be the year when we can welcome under 16 boys and girls to the club and begin to organise matches against other clubs in the region.
“The club’s directors are working hard to finalise a series of open days for young players and we hope to announce these early in the New Year and the grant will be an important addition to how these are run.”
This move by the club builds on its decision this year to set up one of the first women’s teams in the country.
The Bobcats will play alongside the Badgers, Bats and Buccaneers next season with women players also playing for the club’s three mixed teams at its field at Somerdale Pavilion in Keynsham.
“We are delighted that, thanks the support of our players, we are able to fund Bristol Baseball Club’s Youth Development Project,” said Katie Tweedie from the Charities team at People’s Postcode Lottery.“We look forward to seeing this project come to a successful conclusion next year.”