Finalists For IOG Awards Confirmed

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Finalists For IOG Awards Confirmed: The finalists have been announced for this year’s prestigious Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Industry Awards which acknowledge the passion, dedication and challenges faced by grounds staff, volunteers and professionals across all levels of sport.

This year’s finalists, including some international entries, for the awards are:

Finalists For IOG Awards Confirmed

IOG Toro Most Promising Sports Turf Student 

Callum Allsop, Leicester City FC;

Daniel Hill, Harlequin FC;

Lee Morgan, Arnold House School, London.

IOG Rigby Taylor/Top Green Young Grounds Person

Pierre Bagot, Stade Rennais, France;

Ollie Deeming, Northampton Saints;

Nick Pepper, Gloucestershire CCC.

IOG Volunteer Sports Grounds Team/Individual

Andy Cambridge, Foxton FC, Cambridgeshire;

Trubshaw Cross Ladsandads, Newcastle, Staffordshire.

IOG NGB Community/Grassroots Sports Club Grounds Team/Individual 

Harborough Town FC, Leicestershire;

Norton Sports Charity, Stockton-on-Tees.

The NGB award is sponsored by the AELTC (All England Lawn Tennis Club), ECB (the England and Wales Cricket Board), The FA (Football Association), the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association), the Premier League,  the RFU (Rugby Football Union) and the RFL (Rugby Football League).

IOG AMS Robotics Public Sector Sports Grounds Team 

Prestige Grounds Ltd, Wiltshire;

Yeovil Recreation Centre, Somerset.

IOG Bowling Grounds Team/Individual

Polly Bowls Club, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire;

North Mymms Bowls Club, Hertfordshire.

IOG SCH Supplies Best Managed Artificial Surface

Ipswich Town FC;

University of Warwick.

IOG Ransomes Environmental and Ecology Strategy 

Cardiff University;

City Football Academy, Manchester.

IOG Headland Amenity Professional Cricket Grounds Team 

Essex CCC;

Sussex CCC.

IOG Cub Cadet Infinicut Professional Tennis Courts Grounds Team

All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon;

Devonshire Park, Eastbourne.

IOG John Deere Professional Horse Racing Grounds Team
Huntingdon Racecourse;

Redcar Racecourse;

Warwick Racecourse.

IOG Professional Rugby Football League Grounds Team

Castleford Tigers, West Yorkshire;

Leigh Sports Village, Greater Manchester.

IOG Compo Expert Professional Rugby Football Union Grounds Team
Gloucester Rugby;

Northampton Saints.

IOG Professional Football Grounds Team
For English Leagues 1 & 2, National League, National League North/South, Scottish Championship & Leagues 1 & 2, Ireland & Wales Professional Leagues.

Charlton Athletic FC, London;

Colchester United, Essex;

Swindon Town FC.

IOG SGL Professional Football Grounds Team 

For Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premier League.

Croke Park, Dublin;

Leicester City FC;

Tottenham Hotspur FC.

IOG Redexim Charterhouse/Kubota University/College Grounds Team 

Cardiff University;

Nottingham University.

IOG Growth Products Independent School Grounds Team
Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh;

Rydal Penrhos School, Colwyn Bay, Wales.

IOG SISGrass International Award

Andy Cole, iTurf Management

Alan Ferguson, FIFA;

Dean Gilasbey, ProPitch Management.

Independent judging at each venue will now take place.

Two awards will be presented on the night – at the IOG Industry Awards dinner hosted by BBC TV presenter Dan Walker on Wednesday October 30 at The Vox, located in Resorts World at the Birmingham NEC, on the evening of the first day of the SALTEX exhibition:

The IOG Grassmaster Outstanding Achievement Award, and the IOG Ransomes/DLF Alex R Millar Award – to the person chosen as the outstanding winner across all award categories.

Commenting, IOG chief executive Geoff Webb says: “With so many memorable sporting events to celebrate this year, the IOG Industry Awards’ shortlist rightly includes the grounds teams that have created the playing surfaces across all sports for such sporting drama. In addition, of course, this year’s awards also recognise the efforts of grounds people at all levels and at sporting venues of all sizes.

“This is the 11th consecutive year that the awards have uniquely provided a national stage for the achievements of everyone involved in groundscare and we should applaud everyone who took the time to enter as well as those who have reached the shortlist.”

Visit www.iog.org/awards for more details. The IOG reserves the right to enter/shortlist any application into the most relevant category(ies) based on sport(s), size and resources.

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Loughborough’s New Sports Pitches

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Loughborough’s New Sports Pitches: Loughborough University has unveiled its new state-of-the-art sport pitches, installed by world-leading sports surface provider and pitch partner, SIS Pitches.

Installed in summer 2019, the new elite level water-based hockey surface is the first of its kind in the UK and has been designed specifically to encourage speed of play. The full-size pitch harnesses the latest innovations and was manufactured at the company’s state-of-the-art £1.8m headquarters in Cumbria.

Loughborough's New Sports Pitches

The SISTurf Xcel Ultra surface is the product of SIS Pitches’ continuous pursuit of high-quality and innovative surfaces. The combination of a high-grade, polyethylene polymer, 10-ended texturised yarn and optimised turf construction provides a truly elite-level system, with exceptional ball speed and uniformity, as well as outstanding durability.

SIS Pitches has also recently installed SISGrass hybrid technology into the newly built pitch at the Loughborough University Stadium. The pitch consists of 95 per cent natural grass supported with 5 per cent synthetic fibres and is the same style of pitch as used at the 2018 World Cup.

The football pitch was the first in the UK to be installed using a new-to-market, 100% electric machine from SISGrass. This innovation can stitch a full-size football pitch in just seven days, a huge step forward in reducing the environmental footprint of each pitch installation.

SIS Pitches has been named as the official partner for all Loughborough University’s Stadium pitches. As part of this remit, it will also sponsor the Women’s Hockey first-team in a multi-year deal, following last season’s promotion to the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division.

Brett Holland, Women’s Hockey Performance Head Coach, said:

“We are thrilled with the installation of a new elite level playing surface here at Loughborough. The pitch is designed to the highest possible standard, ensuring matches are fast-paced and exciting to both play in and for spectators to watch.

“The squad achieved fantastic things last season which culminated in promotion to the Premier Division and winning British Universities College Sport (BUCS) gold. It’s brilliant news for everyone involved that we have the surface to continue with this momentum for the new campaign.”

Richard Allen, Director of Football, Loughborough University, added:

“The new pitch will take our football offer to the next level and help showcase the excellent facilities we already have on offer. The durability of the surface will give more opportunities for our students to experience playing at the stadium, which will undoubtedly help their personal development as footballers.”

Joe Shaw, Sales Manager at SIS Pitches, added:

“Loughborough University are the leading sports University in the UK and one of the leading institutions worldwide in relation to research, technology and performance in sport.

“This partnership represents a unique opportunity for us to work together with Loughborough University’s elite staff and athletes to maximise our product quality, delivery, service and to conduct key research into athlete performance and interaction with natural, hybrid and synthetic surfaces in a variety of sports.”

SIS Pitches made headlines in 2018, when SISGrass hybrid pitches were used at six of the stadiums for the World Cup in Russia. Following this, the company has provided pitches for all major sporting tournaments across the globe, including the 2019 Rugby World Cup, 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, and the 2018 UEFA Champions League.

The company has also recently installed the playing surfaces at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou, alongside the La Liga side’s first-team training pitch.

Loughborough Hockey’s first game to be held on the new surface will be in the Investec Women’s Hockey League’s Premier Division on Saturday September 14th against reigning champions, Surbiton.

The first game on the new Loughborough University Stadium pitch will also take place in September 2019.

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GKB To Attend SALTEX 2019

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GKB To Attend SALTEX 2019: GKB are delighted to confirm that they will be attending Saltex Turf Management Show 2019. This year’s show takes place at the NEC Birmingham from the 30th to 31st October 2019.

With an impressive line-up of turf machinery on display, from brushing and cleaning artificial turf to tackling surface drainage, infill removal and sand spreading, Saltex 2019 is a show not to miss. Aspiring to develop machines that consistently meet the exact expectations and demands of the customer, GKB is proud to be showcasing a range of our durable and reliable turf maintenance machines at this year’s show.

GKB To Attend SALTEX 2019

Tom Shinkins, Operations Manager, said “It’s great to be at Saltex again. It’s a real opportunity to speak to Turf professionals and showcase our products for the 4th year in a row.”  Tom adds, “The show has gone from strength to strength. It delivers a good mix of distributors and end users.” Visit us on stand H051 to book your demonstrations.

For more on GKB Machines and their impressive range of machinery for natural, hybrid and synthetic turf, visit www.gkbmachines.com or contact us on 01778 348864.

GKB To Attend SALTEX 2019

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Earning Their Stripes!

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Earning Their Stripes!: There is nothing better than a well tended lawn and it goes without saying that a well tended lawn boasts stripes. For most of us arrow straight is the ambition – easier said that done – but for some a more intricate pattern is what is aimed for.

This is particularly the case for those entering the Allett Creative Stripes competition which this year saw entries from over ten different countries – showing that a determination to produce a lawn to be admired is not just the preserve of the United Kingdom.

Earning Their Stripes!

This year’s winner came from Hungary with a wonderfully symmetrical series of precision swirls, just pipping a superb straight line pattern from a Swedish garden in second place and a stunning series of symbols from an English country garden in third.

The short list had been narrowed down by the Allett team with the winner decided by last year’s champion Keith Smith.

The new champion won an Allett Liberty 43 complete with all its cartridges and two cartridge stands while all entrants have also been invited to a factory tour at the end of the season.

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John May Elected By Deere & Company

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John May Elected By Deere & Company: The Deere & Company board of directors has elected John C May as a member of the board, effective immediately, and to the position of chief executive officer, effective November 4, 2019. May has served as Deere’s president and chief operating officer since April 2019.

“John’s record of success and proven leadership skills make him highly qualified to lead Deere and guide its success in the years ahead,” said Samuel R Allen, chairman and chief executive officer. “His experience in precision agriculture, information technology and overseas operations will be instrumental in driving the company’s digitalisation journey and extending its success in agricultural and construction equipment.”

John May Elected By Deere & Company

Allen will continue as chairman of the board of directors after he steps down from the CEO position. May becomes the 10th chief executive in the company’s 182-year history.

The 50-year-old May joined Deere in 1997 and became part of the senior management team in 2012 as president, agricultural solutions and chief information officer. Last year he was named president, worldwide agriculture & turf division, with responsibility for the Americas and Australia, the global harvesting, turf & utility and crop care platforms, and the intelligent solutions group.

Earlier in his career, May headed the company’s China operations, served as factory manager at the Dubuque (Iowa) Works, and was vice-president of the turf and utility platform.

A native of Maine, May holds a bachelor’s degree in health information management from the University of New Hampshire and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Maine.

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