It's Not Rugby... Cricket in Hawaii

It's not rugby, but it's a small island and a small community here. So here's some cricket in Hawaii information (supplied to me by Misa, who wrote the screenplay and cast me for the short film I was in - Kava Kultcha').


MEDIA RELEASE Thursday, 29 October 2008

INAUGURRAL INTERISLAND CRICKET LEAGUE LAUNCHES IN HAWAII

The Hawaii Premier League (HPL) is launching its first 20/20 cricket competition next week. The league is scheduled to hold tournaments twice annually each November and May. The current three teams are comprised on all-star cricket players from Oahu and Maui. The three teams will wear different colored uniforms and be named the Master Batters, Spitting Cobras and Terminators. The league has plans to expand to include mainland cricket teams in 2009 before expanding further to include international teams from Asia and Oceania.

20/20 cricket was developed in the past decade and is a craze sweeping the cricket world. Unlike five-day Test cricket or even the limited over matches which take up to eight hours to complete, 20/20 cricket completes a match in just three hours, or the time it typically takes to finish a baseball game. Yet the fast paced game produces scores of more than one hundred and fifty runs per team. This level of cricket demands athleticism and all around playing ability.

The Honolulu Cricket Club was founded in 1893 and is noted by the Guinness Book of World Records as the “oldest sporting club in the Pacific.” The club is comprised of more than forty members from many nationalities that live, study and work on Oahu. The club plays its home matches at Kapiolani Park, in the shadow of Diamond Head and across from world famous Waikiki Beach. The 20/20 cricket league is the latest development in its proud, 115 year history.

The Honolulu Cricket Club has hosted teams from around the world including clubs from Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Canada, England and the mainland United States. The plan is to expand the Hawaii Premier League into an international competition, in a tournament structure beginning in 2010.

An international 20/20 cricket tournament will foster tourism from new and emerging markets including South East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and India. Mark Berwick, Captain of the HCC says “We will be partnering with the Hawaii Tourism Authority to generate interest in Hawaii as an international destination through sports like cricket. A new sports
tournament is a great way to diversify the inbound tourism traffic while promoting Hawaii as the paradise that it is for residents and visitors alike.”

About the emergence of 20/20 cricket, Berwick goes onto say “We have been eagerly awaiting the chance to play in a competitive cricket league. The Honolulu Cricket Club is excited about the development of a 20/20 league in Hawaii, especially considering the fast, action packed nature of this version of cricket”

For further information regarding the Honolulu Cricket Club please visit www.honolulucricketclub.org

Sunday 2 November 10:00 – 1:00 pm Terminators versus Master Batters
1:30 – 4:30 pm Master Batters versus Spitting Cobras

Sunday 9 November 10:00 – 1:00 pm Spitting Cobras versus Terminators
1:30 – 4:30 pm Terminators versus Master Batters

Sunday 16 November 10:00 – 1:00 pm Spitting Cobras versus Master Batters
1:30 – 4:30 pm Terminators versus Spitting Cobras

Sunday 23 November 12:00 – 3:00 pm Championship Match
3:00 – 5:00 pm Championship Celebration

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Mark Berwick, Honolulu Cricket Club, Phone (808) 384 7292 Email mark.berwick@yahoo.com

Rugger Owned Business Updates

A few more businesses owned by rugby people:

Hunter Stuckey Marshall - Removing the Barriers to Sales Performance. Sales & Sales Force consulting, training and coaching.

Raging Bull - clothing. Owned by Phil Vickery, captain of the England Rugby team. The Sales Manager is also a rugger (former England A player & Gloucester RFC captain).

SpinMill Group - A Global Communications Company.


It just goes to show that rugby people come in all shapes, sizes, and careers. There's just no limit to those of us who play "The Best Sport Ever".

Support your Rugger Owned Business.



And don't forget to Hug-A-Rugger or Adopt-A-Rugger....

Blondie's Back

Blondie, at Saturday's A Rugby Day, is back to her blog. She's one of the reasons I started this blog. While I've missed her blogging, and am eagerly reading her new posts, during her absence I've become quite attached to and have been thouroughly enjoying Wendy at Your Scrumhalf Connection.

But since computers and the internet are wonderful, I'm capturing both their feeds in my feed reader so I can enjoy them both. Oh, and can't forget Total Flanker... Keep on blogging!

Venture Capital in the Down Economy

This is a follow up to my previous post regarding doing business in a down economy.

I went to a meeting of the Hawaii Venture Capital Association (HVCA) last week. One of the key points made by the venture fund managers was that any business they fund during the current economic conditions must be well run. They must cut costs and operate efficiently.

Excuse me, but shouldn't any business they invest in operate efficiently and effectively, no matter the current economic conditions? Shouldn't investors or owners of any business expect it to be well run and operate as efficient and effective as possible?

Or do we tend to only worry about wasting time and money when times are tight? When business is booming, we do tend to let waste creep in. Usually unintentionally, but not always. But that's not good business. We should always examine our operations, drive out waste, and design and manage our processes so that they are efficient and effective.

Good times or bad, good business is good business.

Doing Business in a Down Economy

Why are these ladies smiling? The economy is tough, people are curtailing their spending, and businesses are cutting costs to survive. Yet Kerry Hewitt, owner of The Crown Pub in Southampton (that's in England, southwest of London, according to my google map), is doing quite well, thank you. Other pubs are struggling, as are businesses all over the world, but The Crown Pub is thriving. How do they do it, and what can you learn from them?

Bars and pubs are businesses just like any other, and have to be run well to survive and thrive. So how do you survive and thrive in these tough economic times?

The real question is, should you run your business differently during tough times? One of the keys to The Crown Pubs success is retaining customers. Do you only want to be aggressive at retaining customers during the tough periods? Of course not! If you want your business to thrive and grow in the best of times, as well as the bad times, you have to keep your customers loyal to you. And you do that by providing your customers with the best products and services, at a reasonable price. Meet and exceed your customer's expectations.

Ensure your products are produced in the most efficient and cost effective manner possible. Make sure they meet specifications. The same for services you provide. The process for providing your services must be efficient and effective.

These are basics of business whether the times are tough or the economy is growing and people are spending freely. Too many businesses allow waste to creep in when they think they can afford to waste a little. It's hard to drive that waste back out, so it's better to not let it in in the first place.

Effective and efficient business operations, which includes superior customer service, will not only get you through the lean times, it will allow you to thrive while others are falling by the wayside.

So head on down to the nearest pub and contemplate your operations over a pint of finely crafted ale. Better yet, head on over to The Crown Pub and see how business should be run.

Rugger Owned

I've added the latest Rugger Owned Business link; Spencer Investigations, owned by semi-retired player and current high school coach (Oakland, CA Charter High School Warthogs RFC), Mike Spencer. Mike's a Private Investigator. Check out his website, it's very interesting. Definitely read his article on working with a private investigator, it's very informative. Not quite what you'd expect if you think Magnum, P.I. is your typical private eye. Sounds like an interesting business, though.


And remember to Hug-A-Rugger and Adopt-A-Rugger. Proceeds from the sales are donated to USA Rugby. The first donation was designated to the Senior Women's Team.

Still here

Yes, I'm still here. Been busy, so have been lax on posting. Been getting back into cooking too, which I enjoy. Made pizza for the first time. Amazing that I've never done that before with all the cooking I used to do. Really easy, and fun. Need to try more different combinations of toppings.

Will try to write something more substantiative soon.

Hawaii Rugby News

There's going to be a rugby game this Saturday. It's a pre-pre-season game between the Islanders and Harlequins. The game will start at 4:00 pm at Kapiolani Park.

It looks like the Harlequin's Rugby Tournament will being going on. October 24th and 25th, also at Kapiolani Park. There will be teams from Canada, Australia, Maui, and they're expecting New Zealand, along with the home teams of the Islanders and Harlequins.

Check out the Islanders Rugby Club's website (link included in the Rugby Related Links list). Nothing fancy, but provides contact info and location of their practices. And best of all, it's free using GooglePages. I put it together for them, and I'll be getting with Lofi to add some pictures, some history of the team, and some other information. Oh, got to update it to put in their practice times of 7:30 - 9:30 pm (under the lights). I should probably include the days too, but need to look that up real quick (Tues/Thur?).

And don't forget to Adopt-A-Rugger and Hug-A-Rugger, where all proceeds are donated to USA Rugby (so the girls - the Women's National Team - don't have to pay their own way to play in games).