Hastings Groundsman Scoops Award

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Hastings Groundsman Scoops Award: Hastings United’s surface- and its architect- recognised in FA Groundsman of the Year Awards.

Grass. It’s often something we take rather for granted, isn’t it? But creating a fine surface for football doesn’t happen by chance; it involves a great deal of back-breaking work and an incredible amount of skill, which is why the FA honour those who have proved incredibly good at it. So stand up and be honoured Simon Rudkins of Hastings United- and a number of your BetVictor Isthmian colleagues!

Yesterday at St George’s Park, Simon- who recently left his role at Pilot Field after many years of incredible service- was honoured as Isthmian League Groundman of the Year. He was also the runner up in the national competition for Step Three and Four, which is why he’s holding two trophies in our image (borrowed from Simon himself, thank you).

Much credit also goes to Andrew Facey of Maldon & Tiptree, who was the Isthmian runner up, and Derrick Matthews of Hayes & Yeading United, who came third. Both Brian Quinnel of Bognor Regis Town and Andrew Ward of Wingate & Finchley were highly commended in in the Isthmian League category and the Step Three and Four awards.

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New App For Groundsmen

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New App For Groundsmen: The Premier League, The FA and Government’s Football Foundation are ramping up efforts to improve the quality of grass pitches in England with the launch of the Football Foundation Groundskeeping Community app.

The new platform provides a resource of expert advice for grounds staff, enabling them to connect with peers, discover new tips and tricks and share advice on best industry practice. Users can seek guidance from the IOG’s Regional Pitch Advisors, who are available to answer questions and update members on changes to industry standards.

New App For Groundsmen

The system is entirely free to use and will feature regular new content, with videos from high-profile groundskeepers, such as Wembley Stadium’s Karl Standley, case studies and the latest in groundskeeping techniques.

Developed in partnership with the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) and run through Hive Learning, Europe’s leading peer learning platform, the site represents the latest step of the Football Foundation’s Grass Pitch Programme, which aims to ensure every affiliated football fixture in England is played on a quality football pitch.

Karl Standley, Wembley Stadium Head Groundsman said: “Whether it’s Wembley or your local community football pitch, groundkeepers all face the same challenges.

“I think it’s great that we can now all come together on this new platform to share these challenges and help each other find solutions. We are all aware of the importance of improving the state of pitches in this country and this is a great step to making a long-lasting difference.”

Geoff Webb, IOG CEO said: “This is the culmination of over five years of work within our partnership with both the Football Foundation and The FA via the Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme and will complement the invaluable pitch-maintenance service that the Regional Pitch Advisors provide for volunteers at grassroots football clubs.

Dean Potter, Director of Grant Management at the Football Foundation, said: “The majority of community football is played on grass pitches and it’s a priority for us that we are able to sustain this.”

“We know how important football facilities are in transforming lives and bringing communities together and this platform will enable us to build a new groundskeeper community that will provide huge benefits for people across the country.”

For more information, go to http://thefa.hivelearning.com/groundskeeping.

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Trophy For Alfreton Groundsman

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Trophy For Alfreton Groundsman: Alfreton Town’s Rob Brooks picked up the third place trophy in the National League category at the FA Groundsman of the Year Awards.

Boreham Wood claimed first place with Chesterfield in second.

The Impact Arena is widely recognised up and down the country for its stunning surface and being one of the best non league surfaces outside the football league.

With the likes of Nottingham Forest, Mansfield Town and Burton Albion using the surface for their youth teams, the Impact surface was recently selected to host the England U18s as they face Korea Republic in September.

We send our huge congratulations to Rob for his amazing hard work throughout the season and during the close seasons. His commitment and dedication to his work has been recognised with a fantastic award as our pitch surface gains even more recognition!

The Groundsman of the Year awards is a nationwide competition for non-league football groundsmen.

The awards recognise the contribution of these unsung heroes, who work in all weather, often as volunteers, all year round, to make sure that thousands of matches can take place on a high standard of playing surface and with a very limited budget.

The FA has a panel of judges – professional groundsmen themselves – who look at the quality of the pitch while also taking into consideration the skills and knowledge of the groundsman, their ambitions for the pitch, the resources available, how often the pitch is used, and the amount of time they are able to work on the pitch.

Chairman Wayne Bradley on Rob’s award:

“Congratulations go out to our groundsman, who continues to provide the impact arena with a playing surface to grace the game at a testing range of both local and international levels. We are all at Alfreton Town football club, quite rightly very proud of Rob Brooks ( the groundsman) who continues to set the bar to the highest standard in playing surface presentation.”

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Tributes Paid To Gary Lewis

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Tributes Paid To Gary Lewis: Tributes have been paid to former Blackpool FC groundsman Gary Lewis, who has tragically passed away.

His son Mark has taken to Twitter to reveal the sad news, saying he and his family are “in shock”.

Lewis joined Blackpool as groundsman in May of last year, having previously spent three years with Macclesfield Town.

He left Bloomfield Road in April.

His son Mark posted on social media: “It’s with the heaviest broken heart that I have to tweet that my hero and best friend and father Gary Lewis has passed away.

“He worked for Utd, Swinton, Salford, Accy, Macclesfield and Blackpool to name a few.

“My family is in shock but so proud of our amazing man. Sleep tight Dad.”

Several Twitter users replied to the post sharing their condolences.

“We are very sad to hear this news,” the club said.

“Our thoughts and condolences go out to you and your family, Mark.

“Rest in peace, Gary.”

Robert Heys, head of partnerships at Blackpool, tweeted: “Gutted to hear the news that Gary Lewis has sadly passed away.

“It was a genuine privilege to have known and worked with him at Accrington, Macclesfield and Blackpool.

“A lovely kind-hearted man who always had a smile to share. Hope you can watch tonight. Will miss you mate.”

Paul Grimshaw replied: “Only knew him for a few months but a really top bloke.”

Simon Muggleton said: “Gary seemed a decent bloke and was always offering people to go and have a chat with him while at Blackpool. All the best to the family.”

Tom Kirk added: “Thoughts go out to you and the family he will be missed.”

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Register For Turf Maintenance Live

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Register For Turf Maintenance Live: Registration for this year’s Turf Maintenance Live event is now open. This showcase from the leading manufacturers and distributors of turf maintenance equipment is being held at the Woollam Playing Fields, Harpenden Rd in St. Albans on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 October.

This year two new companies, Agria UK and Price Turfcare (Ventrac), are joining the established group that includes Ernest Doe & Sons, GKB Machines, Husqvarna UK, Iseki UK, Martin Lishman, Rigby Taylor, Wessex International and Wiedenmann UK.

Turf Maintenance Live Registration Open

This is now the largest Turf Maintenance Live event since its inception back in 2015 with 10 companies displaying an eclectic mix of products for the turf professional. Entrance to the event is free but pre-registration is essential.

Aimed at groundsmen, greenkeepers, contractors, local authority personnel, estate managers and schools as well as amateur and professional sports clubs, the event has an emphasis on working demonstrations and up close inspection of new products for the 2020 season.

BIGGA and IOG members able claim CPD points for their attendance.

Visitors interested in attending the event and seeing the latest innovations and equipment in action can register by completing a registration form online at: https://www.turfmaintenancelive.com/ or email register@turfmaintenancelive.com .

Val Graham, spokesperson for Turf Maintenance Live said: “Emphasis will be on live working demonstrations and product situations rather than static displays, so there’s plenty of incentive to make a day of it.

“We’re indebted to the support from the STRI and our two associate sponsors – The IOG and BIGGA – both of whom will be awarding CPD points to attendees. Starting time on both days is 10.00 with free registration and bacon rolls. Lunch is provided at no charge and those who can’t make the morning can come along grab lunch and do the afternoon session. “

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