Recent Achievements

Best Kept Playing Field Competition
This is a countywide competition, in existence since 1971.  Its overriding objective is to improve the standard of facilities.  There are several classes all of which are sponsored, and the overall competition is supported by Essex Police.  Entrants have the opportunity of winning significant prizes; judges can identify and report areas which need improvement; the EPF field officer can follow up these issues with the local council; judges gain experience in evaluating playing fields and EPF is able to keep in touch with the actual state of playing fields.

The Playing Field
This is a nationally produced quarterly publication with each County Association producing their own four pages of local information wrapped around a central core of about twenty pages of national news, information and guidance.

Training and Training Seminars
Seminars were run in 2005 and 2007 at Writtle College, focusing on the preservation and maintenance of playing fields.  The 2007 seminar included a practical session on pitch preparation with emphasis on water conservation.  Our survey of participants indicated that this had been a particularly worthwhile exercise.

Small Grant Fund
This was reintroduced in 2005.  Applications for project funding are assessed and if approved a small grant (typically £500 - £1000) is made.  This is often sufficient to get a project off the ground, but additionally, and crucially, our experience and contacts often enable us to direct the applicant to other sources of funding.

Field Officer
A part-time field officer was appointed in 2007.  This means we can offer practical advice to councils and clubs, particularly on safety issues, and allows us to take proactive steps following the BKPF competition.  The appointment also means that working with the director, we can offer almost full-time cover on our Helpline.

Website
This new website has been set up and will be progressively updated and improved.

Cricket Project
In the summer of 2007, and working with Essex County Cricket Board, Great Dunmow Cricket Club and four local schools, we set up an Inter Cricket competition involving six teams and about 50 boys and girls from “Year 7″.  All participated fully and received some coaching.  The event was considered a great success and the schools involved plan to repeat it.  Our objective is to run similar schemes on an annual basis throughout the county, and to this end we repeated the event in July 2008 at Witham Cricket Club for three more local schools.  Once again it was very successful, and early in the New Year we shall be discussing with ECCB potential venues for the tournament for 2009.  We chose “Year 7″ pupils since we perceived that it was at that age, having just crossed over from primary to secondary education, that schoolchildren were most likely to lose any previous involvement with cricket at school.

Appointment of Ambassadors
Peter Such (Essex and England cricketer) has been appointed and joins Danny Crates (Paralympian Gold Medallist) who was appointed in 2006.