Three years of progress

THE Gary Tapp reign is almost at an end. After just over three years as president of the Guernsey Cricket Association, he will step down from the role at the association's annual meeting at the KGV on Wednesday.

Tapp's tenure has certainly been eventful and often controversial but, most importantly, it was carried out whole-heartedly and with an exceptional dedication.

The man is big enough to hold his hand up and admit that he and his committee have made mistakes over the three years, but he is rightly proud of the state that he leaves Guernsey cricket in for whoever his successor should be.

'I'm very proud - not just proud from my point of view, but proud that the committee has achieved everything it stated it would do and more over the three-year period,' he said.

'Teamwork has to be the emphasis. While I may have been the person being shot at, a lot of people have been putting a lot of their own time in to make things work, and that is not just the committee members. That includes the coaches, the groundsmen, people such as Jeff Guilbert at the KGV, who has been a pleasure to work with, and so many others.

'There are too many people to thank individually.'

Guernsey cricket has evolved over those three years. To mention just a few important improvements that have been made, the GCA's finances are back in good order, the association's website has been developed and is a crucial source of information, the standard of the GCA Championship has undoubtedly risen and, perhaps most importantly of all, junior cricket is thriving.

'My biggest enjoyment has to be seeing the large number of kids playing cricket now. That is down to the development officer and the coaches whose focus it has been to raise standards, raise the profile and raise enthusiasm levels. Their work has been just incredible,' Tapp said.

But he and his committee had two major issues to address away from junior cricket when they came into power.

'One was the finances. The year before we started, there was £8,200 lost as an association. We were desperately in need of rejuvenating cricket from the bottom up. We needed to raise the profile to encourage sponsors and investment into the sport. Now, sponsorship is up some 300% across all ?bodies? of local cricket.

'Secondly, the whole committee wanted to regenerate and rejuvenate interest in weekend cricket and in that time the standard has improved and competitiveness increased. The fact that people have recognised the need to be competitive - as shown by the merger between St Saviour's and Pessimists - can only be good for the long-term of Guernsey cricket.

'One of my personal aims was to address the stagnation in the Evening League and I believe the restructuring of the format to premier and reserve leagues has done that,' Tapp said.

But there are some disappointments for him as he leaves office.

Tapp is concerned with the behaviour of

'certain players and clubs' on the field of play and said that the 2003 season was the worst he can remember for indiscipline.

He is also worried by the fall in GACUS membership.

But the biggest disappointment for him is what he described as the attitude towards the work of the committee by

a minority and the inability for some to look outside the scope of their own clubs.

In his time, Tapp has been an easy target for jibes and complaints because he has always made himself approachable in his role as the GCA's figurehead and so has bore the brunt of often over-the-top criticism.

'People just do not appreciate how much work it involves. They fail to see how much time and effort people put in to continue and improve on the momentum and development that has gone before,' he said.

'It has not just been done by Gary Tapp as president. I would not have taken the job if I did not have the support of people like Sue Veillard, Ian Damarell and Richard Headington who have been part of it since the beginning. Those people have put in as many hours as anyone - in Sue's case probably more - and people just do not recognise that.

'Also, it was a committee that was put together to come up with decisions that were right for Guernsey cricket as a whole. What has been good on the committee is that club allegiances have been left behind.

'The constant whingeing and criticisms can get to you after a while, no matter how think-skinned you are. But I am a person of conviction and I set out to see it out over three years. The fact that we have done what we set out to achieve, and more, is a plus,' Tapp added.

And he is still a strong enough character to look back on some of the criticisms with a sense of humour.

'One of the first e-mails I had when I became president, and I think I still have it now, said that I was going to kill Guernsey cricket. Well, GCA membership has risen from 851 to 1,400 in the past three years. That does include 400 juniors, but it still means an extra 150 seniors. Is that killing Guernsey cricket?'

But now that he is stepping down, what does Tapp see as the future for the local game?

'We have laid foundations to be built on, and solid foundations at that. Now it is down to the association as a whole to ensure that progress continues.

'Guernsey cricket now stands on the brink of a momentous and crucial decision with the opportunity of joining the ICC.

'If we go down the ICC route, clearly there will be some significant opportunities for developing players and senior island players to play at a much higher level than ever before. The opportunities for additional funding are much greater also so the chance to plough back money into development will hopefully be made available to us.'

There is also good news on the search for more grass wicket facilities with possibly two venues being secured in the next couple of months, for laying these two wickets hopefully by the end of 2004 for use, at the latest, in 2006, according to Tapp.

'Guernsey cricket is pushing forward and the horizon is a positive one. The new committee will have to find its own style of management. There are posts that have to be filled but the current committee supports the nomination of Dave Nussbaumer as my replacement and Dave will stamp his own mark on the Association if elected,' he said.

As for his own future, Tapp will be assisting Dave Piesing in arranging fund-raising functions for the Friends of Guernsey Cricket Charitable Trust - the next being a visit by former England wicketkeeper Jack Russell for a dinner, an exhibition of his art and some coaching sessions at the end of February.

Otherwise, he is looking forward to helping Wanderers attempt to retain the Championship title and continuing his Evening League loyalties with St Saviour's.

'It is going to be quite strange to have a season without anybody coming up to me and talking about committee decisions. I will be happy just to be playing.'