Obituary: Mick Hunt

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Obituary: Mick Hunt: The cricketing world is mourning a true titan of the turf industry following the passing of Mick Hunt, the legendary former Head Groundsman at Lord’s. For nearly half a century, Mick wasn’t just a staff member; he was the heartbeat of the Home of Cricket.

Joining the groundstaff in 1969, Mick dedicated 49 years of his life to the hallowed sward of NW8. By the time he retired in 2018, he had become as much a fixture of the ground as the Pavilion itself. Known for his technical mastery of the pitch and his trademark “permanent smile,” Mick was a beloved figure among MCC Members, colleagues, and the international players who relied on his expertise.

An obituary to Mick Hunt

An obituary to Mick Hunt

Few individuals can claim such an indelible connection to the history of Lord’s. From the changing face of the game to decades of historic Test matches, Mick saw it all from the best seat in the house. His passion for the craft and his warmth as a person left a mark that time will not erase.

We offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends. Lord’s feels a little quieter today, but Mick’s legacy lives on in every blade of grass.

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Husqvarna and The R&A shortlisted for major awards

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Husqvarna and The R&A shortlisted for major awards: Husqvarna, the world leader in robotic mowers, and The R&A, golf’s global governing body outside of the USA and Mexico, have been shortlisted in two of the sports industry’s most respected awards programmes following their pioneering autonomous mowing activation at the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Porthcawl.

The collaboration between The R&A and Husqvarna has been named a finalist in the Best Use of Cutting-edge Technology category at the 2026 European Sponsorship Association Awards and the Tech in Sport Award at the Sport Industry Awards. Both nominations recognise the groundbreaking deployment of Husqvarna’s robotic mowing technology across all 18 fairways during a major championship, marking the first time The R&A entrusted an entire fairway operation to autonomous machines.

Husqvarna and The R&A shortlisted for major awards

Husqvarna and The R&A shortlisted for major awards

The project was delivered in close collaboration with the late Royal Porthcawl course manager, Ian Kinley, and his greenkeeping team. Ian, who passed away earlier this year, was instrumental in championing the integration of autonomous mowing at championship level. A widely respected figure within the profession, he led the preparation of the course with characteristic vision, humility and attention to detail.

At Royal Porthcawl, a fleet of 15 robotic mowers, including Husqvarna CEORA units and Automower 580L EPOS models, worked overnight in the build up to and throughout championship week. Monitored via Husqvarna Fleet Services and supported daily by technicians, the machines delivered consistent, championship-standard conditions while enabling the greenkeeping team to focus on detailed presentation work across greens, tees, and approaches.

Jonathan Snowball, Head of Professional Development at Husqvarna, said: “To be recognised by both the European Sponsorship Association and the Sport Industry Awards is a powerful endorsement of what was achieved at the AIG Women’s Open. This was live championship delivery at the highest level of professional sport, demonstrating how autonomous technology can support elite performance while respecting the craft and expertise of greenkeepers.”

Daniel Lightfoot, Director – Sustainable Golf at The R&A, said: “At the AIG Women’s Open, The R&A’s collaboration with Husqvarna and the integration of its robotic mower portfolio enabled us to deliver high performance surfaces in a sustainable way through improved resource management, consistent lightweight mowing, and reduced carbon usage. We are proud that this innovative initiative has been recognised through these award nominations, reflecting our shared commitment to sustainability and performance excellence.”

The ESA Awards celebrate best-in-class sponsorship campaigns across Europe, while the Sport Industry Awards recognise excellence across brands, rights holders, and suppliers. Together, the dual nominations reinforce Husqvarna’s position at the forefront of autonomous innovation within global sport.

The winners of the 2026 ESA Awards will be announced on Thursday 12 March, with the Sport Industry Awards ceremony taking place later in the year.

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Evergreens UK extends ONE-DNA™ partnership

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Evergreens UK extends ONE-DNA™ partnership: Evergreens UK has extended its partnership to distribute ONE-DNA™ artificial grass across the UK Outdoor Living market, marking a pioneering step forward in the delivery of circular, responsible artificial grass solutions. 

Through this partnership, Evergreens UK is the UK distributor of game-changing ONE-DNA™ products for outdoor living solutions, integrating the range across its trusted brand portfolio including LazyLawn, LazyExpo, LazyPlay and EverRoof.

Evergreens UK extends ONE-DNA™ partnership

Evergreens UK extends ONE-DNA™ partnership

Designed as a 100% circular system, ONE-DNA™ artificial grass is made entirely from a single raw material allowing the product to be mechanically recycled into high-quality new applications at the end of its lifecycle, retaining the full value of the material.

Now integrated into the market-leading EverRoof wind and fire safety rated rooftop space solution, ONE-DNA™ will also be available to homeowners and events customers with sustainability at the forefront of their green space solutions.

Andy Driver, Commercial Director, Evergreens UK, said: “This partnership reflects Evergreens UK’s long-term commitment to raising industry standards, not only in product quality, but in responsible specification, installation, and end-of-life stewardship.

“Third-party analysis shows that the grass surface is 100% circular meaning it can be reused in high-quality formats. This is full recycling and not down-cycling, marking a significant development for the industry, and one which we are proud to be leading to offer our customers the newest and most advanced technologies.”

Jasper Eppingbroek, Managing Director, ONE-DNA™, said: “We are delighted to extend our partnership with Evergreens UK to distribute our advanced and sustainable products to customers in the UK. Together, we are providing the future of artificial grass, maximising performance and a sustainable lifecycle.”

ONE-DNA™ products are Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) verified, and to protect product performance, will be available exclusively through trained and approved channels, ensuring installations are carried out following the correct process and to the highest technical standards.

Evergreens UK will offer a 15-year warranty for all ONE-DNA™ installs and also lead the development of a UK recycling and take-back programme, working with accredited partners to deliver a credible end-of-life solution.

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SiMa.ai and STIGA S.p.A. Announce Strategic Partnership

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SiMa.ai and STIGA S.p.A. Announce Strategic Partnership: STIGA S.p.A., the leading European manufacturer and distributor of garden machinery and equipment, and SiMa Technologies Inc., the Physical AI company, today announced a strategic partnership to bring AI-powered solutions to robotic lawnmowers. STIGA will lead the industry with real-time decision-making on an ultra-low latency and power draw platform from SiMa, providing a scalable solution architecture for all robotic lawnmower products – domestic and commercial.

STIGA has established itself as a leader in lawn and garden technology, known for combining engineering excellence with practical, user-friendly design. From classic lawn mowers to state-of-the-art autonomous robotic solutions, STIGA continues to push the boundaries of innovation, delivering products that set the standards for precision, performance, and reliability in the industry. Emerging technologies like Physical AI are transforming the capabilities of autonomous devices. By embedding intelligence directly into machines, Physical AI enables devices to perceive, decide, and act independently in real-world environments. For STIGA’s robotic lawn mowers, this represents the potential for even smarter, more adaptive, and highly efficient operation. SiMa.ai is a leader in this field, providing low-power machine-learning system-on-chip (MLSoC) platforms and software that enable intelligent edge devices to run advanced AI workloads efficiently, without the need for high power consumption — a key requirement in a consumer device.

SiMa.ai and STIGA S.p.A. Announce Strategic Partnership

SiMa.ai and STIGA S.p.A. Announce Strategic Partnership

“This partnership represents a major step forward in delivering real-world AI to edge devices,” said Krishna Rangasayee, Founder and CEO of SiMa.ai. “By joining forces with STIGA, we’re removing the traditional complexity of edge AI and empowering STIGA with solutions that perform effortlessly—without compromise.”

STIGA’s leadership in autonomous garden solutions, combined with the advancements of Physical AI and the sophisticated hardware and software platforms from SiMa.ai, is shaping the next generation of smart outdoor equipment. These technologies demonstrate how autonomous devices can operate with greater precision, responsiveness, and efficiency, setting a new standard for intelligent machinery.

“At STIGA, innovation is at the heart of everything we do,” commented Sean Robinson, CEO of STIGA S.p.A. “Partnering with SiMa.ai allows us to push the boundaries of what autonomous machinery can achieve. By integrating Physical AI into our robotic lawn mowers, we’re delivering a new benchmark of intelligence and performance. How the robot senses, decides, and operates lies firmly within STIGA’s capabilities and expertise. The way these operations are delivered with low power consumption is where SiMa.ai technology truly excels — allowing the robots to achieve much more with the battery power available. This results in lighter, more efficient, and cost-effective intelligence. It’s a great example of what two experts in their fields can achieve through engineering-driven collaboration. And the real winner is the robot owner, who gets significantly more use from their machine”.

About SiMa.ai 

SiMa.ai is a pioneer in edge AI computing, developing innovative platforms that enable intelligent applications at the edge. The company’s Modalix platform delivers exceptional AI performance with industry-leading energy efficiency, making advanced AI capabilities accessible across diverse industries and applications such as robotics, smart vision, autonomous systems, and beyond. Founded by seasoned technology veterans, SiMa.ai is headquartered in San Jose, California. For more information, visit www.sima.ai.

About STIGA S.p.A. 

STIGA Group ranks among the leading European manufacturers and distributors of garden machinery and equipment. The Group consists of five brands, which together represent over 90 years of experience in the industry: in addition to the premium brand STIGA, the Group includes the brands Alpina, Mountfield, Castelgarden, and Atco. STIGA Group sells more than one million gardening machines every year and operates in 87 countries worldwide; with a workforce of more than 1,300 people, STIGA has three production plants in Italy, Slovakia and China. The Group also has 15 sales offices throughout Europe. For more information, visit www.stiga.com.

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Tom Curry’s New Game with STIGA

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Tom Curry’s New Game with STIGA: Tom Curry has been enjoying swapping the scrum for stripes as the new brand ambassador for STIGA, one of Europe’s leading garden machinery brands. The partnership has brought together one of rugby’s most respected and powerful players with a brand renowned for performance, reliability and innovation.

Known for his relentless work rate on the pitch, Tom is now applying that same precision and dedication to creating his own “pitch-perfect lawn” at home.

Tom Curry’s New Game with STIGA

Tom Curry’s New Game with STIGA

Through the collaboration, he has been exploring STIGA’s range of advanced battery-powered and robotic mowing solutions, combining smart technology with sustainability to deliver professional-level results in the garden.

The partnership also forms part of STIGA’s wider collaboration with England Rugby, reflecting a shared commitment to supporting the game at every level, from grassroots clubs to the international stage.

Supporting Local Rugby Clubs

Great games start with great grounds. Across the country, thousands of volunteers give their time week in, week out to maintain rugby clubs. STIGA and England Rugby are working together to support these vital community hubs with time-saving, cost-effective mowing solutions that help keep pitches in peak condition.

By reducing maintenance time and lowering running costs, clubs can focus their energy on developing players, growing participation and strengthening their local communities.

15% Off for Members + Cashback for Clubs

As part of the initiative, every RFU club has its own unique STIGA discount code*. When members use their club’s code online, they receive 15% off STIGA products, and their club earns cashback from every purchase.

Funds raised can be reinvested into facilities, whether that’s improved pitch lighting, upgraded clubhouses, kitchen refurbishments or essential structural improvements. It’s a simple way for members to invest in their own gardens while giving back to the club they love.

This partnership is rooted in performance, community and long-term impact, ensuring both home lawns and rugby grounds are always match-ready.

To read more about the partnership got to: STIGA & England Rugby

Shared Values, Shared Impact

At their core, rugby and STIGA are built on the same foundations. teamwork, reliability, performance, and community. It’s this shared spirit that helps both players and gardeners grow, thrive, and make a lasting impact.

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