In what is a huge step forward in unifying cricket in the United States, USA Cricket today launched the official membership program for the sport within the country, which continues the pathway laid out by the USA Cricket Constitution that was approved in December 2017.
The membership program will be divided into two major categories, Individual and Organizational membership. Individual membership will allow all stakeholders in the cricket community including players, coaches, match officials, administrators, and fans to engage with the new governing body. Organizational membership continues League engagement and involvement in the organization, but also provides the opportunity for individual clubs to join USA Cricket. Organizational membership also includes academies, schools, universities, colleges and other cricketing organizations.
The membership program is the next step in the process to build a world-class U.S. governing body for cricket and will help facilitate a fair and transparent election process that engages the entire U.S. cricket community and unifies the sport moving forward. Once the election process begins, the new USA Cricket membership will be able to vote on the seven (7) of the ten (10) Board members. The new USA Cricket Board of Directors is expected to be in place by May 2018. In an effort to be as inclusive as possible, all membership is free until June 30, 2018.
A collaborative working approach with the cricket community across the USA was undertaken when designing the membership program. USA Cricket wishes to thank all stakeholders who have contributed over the last year to help achieve a program that has been designed for all within the cricketing community.
Membership in USA Cricket will come with many benefits, that will increase over time, and includes; voting for the Board of Directors, insurance coverage for both individuals and clubs, zonal programs, CricClubs competition management platform access, educational resources, best practice sharing and more.
Patricia Whittaker a member of the Sustainable Foundation Advisory Group said: “This is another significant step forward in making the new national governing body a reality. We are excited to give the cricketing community the opportunity to engage with USA Cricket through the membership program and are certain that the all inclusive and fair approach we are taking will assist the new governing body in achieving the most impact for all involved in cricket in the United States.”
ICC Americas USA Project Manager Eric Parthen said: “Today marks one of the most crucial steps in the process for the establishment of a governing body that will engage everyone involved in the U.S. cricket community. I am hugely enthused by the passion shown by the community in this project and with the launch of the official USA Cricket membership program today, I have no doubt that everybody involved in cricket will look forward to signing up to become involved in the exciting journey ahead.”
More information on the different categories and benefits of membership, and to apply for the USA Cricket membership can be found by visiting the USA Cricket website here – https://www.usacricket.org/membership.