The ACCSO (Association des Clubs de Cricket du Sud Ouest) is encouraging club tours to South West France. The local playing season runs from April to October.
Peter Townsend the ACCSO branch secretary writes:
"Are you interested in playing cricket under blue skies, in warm sunshine and surrounded by some of the world’s most celebrated vineyards? Surfing Atlantic breakers or paddling in the Mediterranean? Golf? If so, then perhaps your club ought to be thinking of arranging one or more matches in south-west France, where cricket is alive and well and with no fewer than 10 clubs totally geared to welcoming you. And we haven’t even mentioned the food yet!
Apart from all being very hospitable, these clubs are quite varied in their ages and origins: students to seniors, from all quarters of the Commonwealth, and with more than a sprinkling of French nationals, some of whom turn out regularly for France in ICC tournaments.
Several clubs have been around for over 20 years and in that time quite a few UK club sides have clocked up 10 or more visits…. So we are clearly meeting a need that you might also have!
Our playing season runs from April to October and we know how to organise the fixture lists for our own long-established League and Cup competitions to take account of the typical preferred dates for visiting UK clubs. We’ve just agreed the shape of our own competitions for 2013 and those fixtures will be firmed up by the turn of the year. So, the clubs are open for business!
We run a region-wide website. This is not just to inform our own clubs; it’s also there to help clubs such as yours to get a better understanding of who we are and where we are. There’s a whole page of links to each and every club; and the previous page tells you how to get here and how to travel around the region.
You’ll find that every club has a fixtures secretary and they are used to working together to help visiting clubs to construct their own programme of matches and side activities.
If you’re still frustrated by the “summer” of 2012, perhaps it’s time to think about how to get away from it all? Take a look at our region-wide Web site, and let yourself be tempted!
Best wishes – et à bientôt!
Peter Townsend
Regional Secretary"