Alumni Grant Impact Report
November 2023
I’m delighted to report that we have taken great steps towards establishing Baseball as a mainstay offering at the University. We held a very successful taster session in late October which drew a turnout of 22 participants. We have since established a regular training regime and have grown our community of members.
The grant has allowed us to fund kit, ringfencing membership funds to cover pitch hire. We’ve held a number of sessions at Bristol Grammar School focusing on batting practice and having negotiated a free trial at Coombe Dingle, we’re looking to offer sessions at the University’s sports complex. This has proved to be a huge upgrade from using the Downs for training sessions and has given our members the sense of prestige that comes playing a University sport.
We’re planning to offer a Give it a Go session in the new year to hopefully attract more members. We’ve managed to recruit students new to the sport as well as those who know and love the sport, having played in their home countries. We're fortunate enough to have the kit to accommodate more members, allowing us to potentially increase out membership from 18 to 20+.
I’m currently liaising with the UWE Titans baseball team regarding playing a competitive friendly match, with a view to hosting the match at the Bristol Baseball Club’s diamond in Keynsham. This would be a great opportunity to showcase the positive progress of University baseball in Bristol, of which our club is an integral part. We’re grateful that we’ll have the kit and numbers to field a team and play our part.
Our sincere thanks to the donors of the Alumni fund for their generous gift, helping us to found the University's first baseball club in 2022.
