IOG Industry Awards Honour UK Grounds Expertise

IOG Industry Awards Honour UK Grounds Expertise

Almost three hundred grounds professionals and sports dignitaries enjoyed the 2010 IOG Industry Awards at the SWALEC Stadium.

Young Groundsman of the Year

Sponsored by Harrod UK
Winner: Nick Phillips, Tottenham Hotspur FC
Finalist: Anthony Harry, Pencoed College, Wales

22-year-old Nick Phillips is deputy head groundsman at Tottenham’s first team training ground. In addition to excellent personal interaction skills, Nick is a model of good timekeeping and punctuality and, importantly, is very enthusiastic about his work. He has so far gained  level 2 and 3 NVQ in Sports Turf maintenance and management.

Independent Schools & Colleges Sports Ground of the Year

Sponsored by Sports-e-Quipment
Winner: Shiplake College, Henley-on-Thames
Finalist: St Albans School, Herts

This is the second year in succession that Shiplake has won this award! The college grounds embrace 44 acres for the main sports of rugby, hockey, cricket, tennis and athletics.  In addition to college use, the rugby pitches are also used by Oxfordshire RFU, while local primary schools also ultilise the grass athletics track, and the tennis courts are used by top class players, including Wimbledon seeds.

Spectator Sports Ground of the Year

Sponsored by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), Sport England, The Football Association, the Lawn Tennis Association, the Premier League, the Rugby Football League and Rugby Football Union

Winner: Bolton Wanderers’ Reebok Stadium, Lancashire
Finalist: Parc y Scarlets (Llanelli RFC), Wales

The 28,000-capacity Reebok boasts many attributes and accreditations, including being the winner for the last three years of a British Safety Council International Safety Award, plus it was the first Football Club to be awarded Carbon Trust Standard and it is a Groundworks Award winner for environmental innovation.

Professional Sports Ground Management Team of the Year

Sponsored by Campey Turf Care Systems and Imants BV
Winner: Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, London
Finalist: Manchester City Football Club

Spurs employs 10 full time groundsmen and two gardeners all of whom report to a grounds manager. The team is responsible for the main stadium at White Hart Lane, a 28-acre first team training centre and a 30-acre interim academy training centre – and they consistently produce first class surfaces at all these facilities.

Professional Football Grounds Management Team of the Year – the Alex R Millar Award

Sponsored by Environmental Turf Technology

Winner: Manchester City Football Club,
Finalist: Arsenal Football Club
Finalist: Nottingham Forest Football Club

The passion and the pride in the job that is consistently displayed by Roy Rigby and his grounds team at the club’s training ground as well as at the City of Manchester Stadium exemplify the level of professionalism and standards that everyone aspires to.

Groundsman’s Groundsman of the Year

Sponsored by DLf Trifolium and Johnsons Sport Seed
Winner: Iain Main, Surrey University’s Surrey Sports Park
Finalist: Dean Gilasbey, Llanelli RFC
Finalist: Dan Duffy, Swansea’s Liberty Stadium
Finalist: Stuart Kerrison, Essex County Cricket Club
Finalist: Graham Osbourne, Halifax Town RLFC
Finalist: Tony Sinclair, Manchester United FC

Iain Main manages 80 hectares of land, 40 hectares of which are dedicated to sport. Part of his role includes a major input on the long-term strategic issues and usage of the facilities which Iain constantly strives to improve while taking into account budget constraints and environmental impacts.  As a manager he is highly respected; he motivates guides, trains and supports his team

Lifetime Achievement Award

Sponsored by Scotts Professional
Winner: Keith Boyce

Keith’s reputation was founded during his time as head groundsman at Headingley where, often in difficult circumstances, he used skill and ingenuity to produce playing surfaces of the highest standard. Now in his 70s, Keith continues to produce similarly high quality pitches at the New Rover cricket club in Leeds.

All the above would be reason enough to win an award but throughout his career Keith has been an inspiration and mentor to many – his training courses at Headingley regularly attracted audiences of 200 at a time – and now, as then, he has always found time to offer advice or solutions to a problem. 

His former  apprentices have all progressed to prestigious positions and they now inspire a new generation.

There’s no doubt that Keith is a unique and very special person.