Groundsman Wins Volunteer Award: The groundsman at Kingsbridge Rugby Club has been awarded the regional round of the Mitsubishi Volunteer of the Year.
Mike Shute, Kingsbridge Rugby Club, has won the regional round of the awards, which Mitsubishi and the Rugby Football Union organise to acknowledge the great work done by volunteers within the rugby community.
Mike has been a groundsman at KRFC for about twenty years, during that time he has used his own tractor to carry out the heavier side of the ground maintenance which includes; verti draining, earth-quaking and slit seeding.
He has also often been supported by having the use of machinery from KD Plant when bigger machines are required, and aggregates from his employer Jeremy Bishop Haulage.
Members and supporters of the rugby club will agree that the pitches have been improving year on year, there have even been comments made that they actually resemble a bowling gree!
This year with the dry summer we have had, this would normally have been a challenge to renovate the pitches but due to the bore hole installed two years ago the pitches have been irrigated since May and look in fine fettle. David Jarvis has been helping Mike to make sure that the pitches are watered and cut regularly.
Mike took two weeks of his own holiday in May this year to install some extra drainage on the main pitch and complete the annual pitch maintenance work.
He can be found at the club every Saturday morning, all year round, along with the small team ready to keep the rugby grounds in great condition be that match days or through the summer.
For the next round of the competition on Friday, September 7, Mike has been invited to a black tie dinner at Twickenham Stadium – England Rugby Headquarters.
He will be in competition with 42 other regional winners across the UK for the overall prize which is the use of any Mitsubishi vehicle for the next twelve months.
Kingsbridge Rugby Club wishes Mike the best of luck with the competition and greatly appreciates all the hard work he continues to puts in.
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