|
|
|
|
The Boulder Cricket Club (BCC) was a loosely knit band of folks from the Indian subcontinent whose love for the game would not quite wane in the not so hospitable (at least for cricket) climes of Colorado. Note that we are talking about the dark ages here. This was a never say die group of individuals that formed the core of this club during the 80s when cricket was not quite as organized as it is today. People belonging to that era (yes, they are still playing today!) regale us with stories about how there would be just 8 players that turned up on a given game day (and that would be considered a pretty high turnout) with the home team umpire occasionally winning the game for the home team! This was a bunch of people that wanted to go out and stay in touch with cricket, never mind the result of the game. It is them that we salute today. For without them, we wouldn't be a presence in Colorado (or on the web for that matter).
BCC was composed mainly of students from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Thus, it made sense that the students approach the university for funding and grounds to help promote the game. In 1993, the University of Colorado Cricket Club (UCCC) was reactivated as part of the Club Sports program at CU. That year marked a transition for cricket in Boulder. UCCC (more correctly, BCC then) would win an average of 0-1 games in a 8 game season over the last few years. In 1993, they remained undefeated in a 8 game season. Quite a turnaround! This led to UCCC being crowned the champions of the Colorado Cricket League. The following year was a repeat (not quite emphatic though, we lost a couple of games in a 10 game season). With such consistent performance, UCCC had brought a new kind of excitement and dominance into the league in Colorado.
In addition to the university students, there were a lot of regular people who wish to play as well. In keeping with the inclusive spirit, the Boulder Valley Cricket Club (BVCC) was formed in 1997 and it colloborated with UCCC to present a team representing Boulder to the Colorado Cricket League. We gratefully acknowledge the University of Colorado Club Sports support for the University of Colorado Cricket Club (UCCC). However, in 1998, we saw a massive influx of new players most of whom work in the Boulder area. Moreover, the number of students at CU willing to participate in cricket seemed to be dwindling. As a result of this, BVCC decided to break its ties with the university, and become a club in its own right. In 1999, BVCC was able to field 2 separate teams for the cricketing season, for the very first time! Both teams were well balanced, and as it turned out, ended up with the same number of wins!
From 2000, the city of Louisville provided tremendous help for the club. The club finally had its very own "home ground", at the Louisville Recreation Center. It is at this ground that the club held all its home games, and all the practice sessions. In 2002, it was decided to change the name of the club to better reflect the geographic location of the home ground, where we will spend a lot of our cricketing lives. Hence the name Coal Creek Cricket Club was born..
The club invested tremendous amount of effort, finances and energy into
developing the Louisville ground. However, without more help from the
city of Louisville to provide proper irrigation, it was becoming
increasingly harder to maintain the ground, and was becoming a safety
issue for players. Thanks to the dedicated hard work from a few
motivated individuals within our club, we approached the city of Longmont
for providing a ground. Not only did the city respond, they also helped
install the concrete pitch. Although a bit small, the ground is
fantastic. We are truly indebted to the city of Longmont for providing
us with the facility to enjoy the game we all love.