Title: Stamford’s Geoffrey Hastings Recognised for Contribution to Cricket
Geoffrey Hastings, a retired hotel owner from Stamford, has been honoured in the King’s New Year Honours list for his unwavering commitment to promoting cricket in state schools. At 81, Hastings is the proud recipient of the British Empire Medal. This honour recognises his work as chairman of the Fred Trueman R66T State School Cricket League, which he co-founded in 2005. The league allows students from a number of counties, including Lincolnshire, to participate in hard-ball cricket, without any incurred costs.
In his days of managing Lady Anne’s Hotel in Stamford, now known as The William Cecil Hotel, Hastings also led his own cricket team. He played a critical role in expanding the cricket league, which now includes activities for more than 87 schools throughout various counties. In a conversation about the honour, Hastings remarked, “I’m very honoured, but I haven’t achieved this alone – numerous people have offered their assistance.”
Hastings stressed the significance of promoting participation in team sports amongst young people, emphasising the scarcity of such opportunities. He also mentioned the added benefits of getting the children to engage in wholesome activities as opposed to spending excessive amounts of time staring at their smartphones. According to him, such activities contribute positively towards their overall wellbeing.
The league, besides promoting cricket, also provides new cricket kits and support to the participating schools. Over the years, it has seen significant growth and now operates in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, also extending to Middlesex and has a trial run in Derbyshire.
There are also other Lincolnshire residents who have been honoured for their invaluable contributions across various fields. These include John Mackey from Burton upon Stather for his services to table tennis, Emma Green from Stamford for her work in early years education, Prof Simon Pearson from Boston for his innovations in agriculture, Heather Sandy for her services to education, and Lucy Conley for her commendable work with the South Lincolnshire Academies Trust.
This story was adapted from original reporting by www.bbc.com by The Lincoln Post.
