Groundsman of the Year Awards 2007

28 August 2007

Laurence Gale - Pitchcare

As always this year’s Cricket Groundsman of the years judging was a very rewarding experience, the opportunity to meet so many dedicated Groundsmen at their aspiring venues gave me the opportunity to see a wide range of skills, knowledge and experience being put into practice.

I had twenty finalists to judge representing this year’s four categories:-

School or College Grounds
Cricket Club Grounds
Local Authority Grounds
European Grounds (including Jersey and Scotland)

As usual the standards where high every ground I visited emphasised the commitment and hard worked involved in producing playing surfaces to meet the needs of their user groups at whatever level.

As you can imagine how do you compare a ground that has everything, plenty of resources machinery and staff to one that is managed by volunteers with little or no equipment? I believe it’s about the Groundsman himself, what he brings to the table in terms of commitment, enthusiasm and guile along with the ability to get things done with the resources he has at hand. And above all produce a playing surface that is both safe and consistent and while at the same time promotes the game of cricket.

This year’s weather has certainly tested the skills of every groundsman at every level involved in the preparation of wickets the dedication and effort alone in keeping pitches covered and protected has been enormous.

There are no two grounds alike they all have there own quirks and characteristics they generally only become playable through the skills and decision making of the Groundsmen on site. That’s what makes the job so interesting and challenging.

For me they are all winners in my book the dedication and commitment demonstrated to me during my visits was fantastic. However, we still have to select a group of winners for each category so for this years competition the following Groundsmen have been successful in their respective categories:-

RESULTS

Category: School / College

First Place: George Alexander - Tonbridge School

George has been at the school for 15 years and currently manages a staff of seven who between them maintain all the sports pitches at the school.

During April through to July (summer term) cricket is the dominant sport played at Tonbridge. George has seven squares to manage giving him a total 54 pitches for play. As for fixtures George will oversee the production of 95 match wickets for school fixtures along with providing another 140 pitches for internal in-house matches.

Over the years George has continued to improve the equipment and facilities at the school. He as secured a range of pitch covers that include raised covers, flat sheets and coconut matting to protect his wickets.

Other equipment includes the following 2 Auto rollers, a Barford roller,2 Paladins ,Allett shavers, 3 Allett Buffaloes, 2 Toro Outfield mowers, A Graden Scarifyer, Toro Procore, Sisis Seeder and a Charterhouse top dresser.

George has also constructed a number of new pitches, one of his squares has 6 pitches that all have a different loam contents. Enabling him to monitor the performance of different clay loams.

The presentation of the school grounds is exceptional with particular attention to the cricket outfields and squares. The technical abilities of his staff stand out.

Second Place: Mike Rutherford - Framling College.

Mike as been at the college for 25 years and has been in the post of HG for seven years. Mike oversees all the works relating to gardens and grounds. He is in charge of 8 staff that like Mike has served the school for a number of years.

The standard of workmanship and presentation of the grounds is exceptional. Mike looks after several different areas of sports turf of which there are two main squares and two nine-hole golf areas to look after along with some winter sports pitch areas.

The square and outfields are well presented and offer a reliable consistent surface for play. Mike also controls the day to day budgets and overseas any project works on both sites.

Mike has built up a good working relationship with his staff and developed what seems to be, a very good set of working practices that works well at the College.

Mike is well aware of the wide range of products and services available within the industry and keeps himself well informed through regular communication with reps and industry trade shows and his use of the Internet.

Third Place: Ian Smith - St Albans School

St Albans School’s ground is a fairly new facility having been constructed back in 2002. Ian has been involved from the start overseeing all phase of the construction of the following facilities:-

The school facilities consist of the following: -

• 6 Rugby pitches.
• 4 Football /2 small sided pitches.
• 6 cricket tables/3 separate synthetic match pitches/3 blocks of nets.
• 4 Tarmac Tennis courts.
• 1 full size sand filled artificial pitch/9 tennis courts.

780 pupils have access to these facilities on a daily basis; the Schools two storey sports pavilion has 18 changing rooms to accommodate the needs of the pupils.

The Old Albanians site consists of the following: -

• 6 rugby pitches.
• 2 cricket tables/nets.
• 4 artificial sand filled tennis courts.

The standard of provision at the school is again excellent Ian and his staff work tirelessly to keep up with the demand for these facilities. Ian involves his staff in the choice and selection of equipment for the site, effective mechanisation is essential with only five staff its important they are efficient making best use of time and resources.

With regard to cricket there are eight squares that are in constant use, It is remarkable he manages to keep on top of all the work with such few staff while at the same time providing such a high standard of wickets.