COVERED 2025 Spring

45 JOIN OUR MAILING LIST FOR ALL THE LATEST: TRENTBRIDGE.CO.UK/MAILING LIST access points, multi-faith rooms, breast- feeding rooms and beyond. Our force of volunteers are a vital part of what makes the match day experience at Trent Bridge award-winning and so well renowned, too. At T20 matches and internationals, we’re responsible for all the blue shirts around the ground who provide spectators with all the information they need to have the best experience possible. Some of our volunteers have been with us since the 2023 Ashes Test, and they come from all kinds of backgrounds – from students to retirees (whom I like to call our ‘professional volunteers!’). At T20 matches, we also invite kids from local clubs to play small-sided games on the outfield before the match, and they form the guard-of-honour as the players make their way out onto the field.We really do have a hands-on role on match days! Why do you love your job? What I love about our team is that we are the people who go out into commu- nities and are the connector between Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club and local people.We bring in a lot of people who wouldn’t have previously walked through the gates of Trent Bridge, we want to support diverse communities and people in hard-to- reach areas by giving them opportuni- ties and experiences. Seeing how sport andTrent Bridge itself can bring so much positivity to people’s lives really makes the job so rewarding. I also take a lot of pleasure in seeing my team achieve so many great things. I love talking to my team members and hearing what they’ve accomplished with the work that they do out across Nottingham and the wider county. We want our employees to be the best that they can be and to grow in their roles, and in turn that means that more people can benefit from the great work that they do. Are you a big cricket fan? Do you follow any other sports? I absolutely love cricket – and sport, in general – but I never actually played it as a youngster. Football was always my biggest passion; growing up in Barnet in North London (you can tell from my accent that I’m not from around here), I became a supporter of my beloved Arsenal. I had an intense rivalry with my brother who unfortunately is a Spurs fan. I’m also a huge fan of walking, and I love going on walking trips across the UK.The Peak District is probably my favourite place to trek, it’s a stunningly beautiful area and it’s right on our door- step across the county border. Did you always want to work in sport? As a matter of fact, no! I can’t quite specify why, but growing up my aspi- ration was always to be in the army as a police officer. But when I was 17 I suffered from an asthma attack, and in those days that meant I wasn’t allowed to apply to be in the army on medical grounds. I then wondered about what on earth I’d do next – but I realised that I’ve always loved sport, so I decided to study sports development. I started out working in leisure centres – working my way up from a lifeguard to a deputy manager – and then got the chance to work for Nottinghamshire County Council in a sports development role. I was then sadly made redundant in 2011, so I decided to have a reset and retrained as a painter-decorator.That lasted two years before I wanted to come back to sport, and I landed a job with Notts! What is your most treasured memory working at the club? When I held the first ever meeting of the Forget Me Notts dementia pro- gramme seven years ago, not one person showed up! I had laid out the tables, the teas and coffees, biscuits, cakes and everything ready for guests to arrive. The second week, only a gentleman, his wife and his daughter visiting from Australia came along. But I knew that there were so many people out there who needed support, so I was persistent and we showed so much perseverance, now – seven years on – we have over 140 members and we can barely find room to fit everyone in! I’m extremely proud of how far the programme has come. MANDY WRIGHT