Durham Cricket enjoyed a successful night at the annual Business of Cricket Awards (BOCAs) at a ceremony at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol on Thursday, 9 November, winning two awards as well as being finalists in two awards.
The BOCAs provide an opportunity to reward the innovation and best practice of the First-Class Counties and Marylebone Cricket Club, as well as well as highlighting the work of unsung heroes over the past year.
The club won the Most Welcoming and Inclusive Stadia award following a summer which the club made a number of upgrades to its facilities including a world-class sensory room and partnered with a number of local charities as Durham continue to make Seat Unique Riverside a ground for everyone.
The Most Welcoming and Inclusive Stadia nomination looked at clubs who have engaged with diverse audiences within their community, encouraging them to engage at the venue through new initiatives.
Partnering with Durham Pride and Young Asian Voices the club used its Vitality Blast fixtures as a catalyst to engage with new fans.
Durham marked their home opener of their Vitality Blast campaign against Notts Outlaws in support of Durham Pride.
The contest marked the end of Pride week in Durham, where Durham players donned the rainbow armband to promote inclusivity of the LGBTQ+ community in sport and in everyday life. It marked the first in an array events that the club are staging across their home Blast matches in the 2023 season in support of local charities.
Durham’s fixture against Derbyshire Falcons partnered with Young Asian Voices (YAV) an all-inclusive and multicultural youth and community organisation which works and supports young people as well as adults in the city of Sunderland, as the club invited members of the Young Asian Voices community to the fixture.
The Most Welcoming and Inclusive Stadia award also saw Durham rewared for striving to become one of the most accessible cricket venues in the country as the Chester le Street ground makes a number of upgrades to its facilities.
A number of additions aimed at improving accessibility and inclusion include multifaith, sensory room, accessible spaces and upgraded disabled toilets within the venue are now in place and proved to be successful as Durham aim to become an inclusive venue all year round regardless of gender, sexuality, religion, ethnicity, social background, education or neural or physical ability and our ground upgrades are evidence of this.
David Jackson, Marketing Director said: “It is fantastic news to celebrate this award on the back on a really successful season on and off the pitch. Our partnerships with local organisations such as Durham Pride, Young Asian Voices and Poverty Hurts has been key as we welcome a diverse audience to our cricket matches at Seat Unique Riverside; this is on the back of some key ground improvements which makes Seat Unique Riverside an all-round inclusive venue.”
Durham’s Media and Communications Manager Sam Blacklock picked up English Cricket’s Rising Star award which celebrated achievements, performance and excellent work of a staff member who is making a valuable contribution to the club they work for.
Having joined the club in 2019 as Digital Media Assistant, Sam has integrated well with the team and immediately made valuable contributions to the club. Having played a key role through the COVID pandemic with membership communications, Sam stepped up his digital content output and since the pandemic has taken on more responsibly managing all of the club’s digital channels, managing media activity on match days and works closely with our live stream producers for the club’s live stream offering.
During the 2023 pre-season tour to Zimbabwe, Sam combined his media role with team manager for the tour tackling any problems with the team or indivuals on tour.
On winning the award, Blacklock added: “This award came as a total shock, to be shortlisted was an honour in a category which was very tough and to then win it makes me really proud.
“I love working at Durham Cricket, the club, the people, the atmosphere makes it a special place to work and I am excited to see the club progressing down the line.
“We have a fantastic team at the club and this award recognises the fantastic work we do to go above and beyond on and off the field.”
Durham were also finalists in Best Development or New Facility (under 500K) and Customer Retention Initiative.
2023 BOCA winners and finalists:
2023 Best Development or New Facility (over 500K)
Winner: Lancashire Cricket
Finalist: Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
2023 Best Development or New Facility (under 500K)
Winner: Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Finalists: Durham Cricket, Leicestershire County Cricket Club
2023 Best Digital/Data Innovation
Winner: Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Finalists: Lancashire Cricket, Warwickshire County Cricket Club
2023 Communications Campaign of the Year
Winner: Surrey County Cricket Club
Finalists: Somerset County Cricket Club, Marylebone Cricket Club
2023 Community Engagement Campaign of the Year
Winner: Essex Cricket
Finalists: Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, Somerset County Cricket Club & Somerset Foundation
2023 Customer Retention Initiative
Winner: Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Finalists: Durham Cricket
2023 Digital Campaign of the Year
Winner: Somerset County Cricket Club
Finalist: Surrey County Cricket Club
2023 Most Welcoming & Inclusive Stadia
Winner: Durham Cricket
Finalists: Somerset County Cricket Club, Glamorgan
2023 Raising The Game EDI Initiative Award
Winner: Glamorgan
Finalists: Sussex Cricket, Warwickshire County Cricket Club and Board
2023 Sustainability Campaign of the Year – Energy Saving
Winner: Marylebone Cricket Club
Finalists: Warwickshire County Cricket Club, Surrey County Cricket Club
2023 Tickets or Membership Sales and Marketing Campaign of the Year
Winner: Warwickshire CCC & Derbyshire CCC (joint submission)
Finalists: Glamorgan, Somerset County Cricket Club
2023 Transforming the Women’s Game
Winner: Somerset County Cricket Club
Finalists: Warwickshire County Cricket Club, Lancashire Cricket
2023 Best Domestic Spectator Experience
Winner: Warwickshire County Cricket Club
2023 Best Spectator Experience – The Hundred
Winner: Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
2023 Best International Men’s Spectator Experience
Winner: Yorkshire County Cricket Club
2023 Best International Women’s Spectator Experience
Winner: Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club
Rising Star
Winner: Sam Blacklock, Durham Cricket
Finalists: Meg Lay – Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, Stuart Dunlop – Marylebone Cricket Club
Dinesh Patel MVP
Winner: Sarah Trunks – Somerset Cricket Club
Finalists: Matt Freeman – Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club, Becky Hartley – Lancashire Cricket