Blog Elements - Turf Matters

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Beccles Town win FA award

February 27, 2020/in Awards, News, Press Release/by Jack Rayner

Beccles Town win FA award: Beccles Town Football Club has won the Ransomes Jacobsen sponsored Suffolk FA Groundsman of the Year competition for the second consecutive season. The competition, which is open to clubs who play in Step 7 and below in Suffolk, has been sponsored by Ransomes Jacobsen for many years and has played […]

Adam Cooper joins GaNTIP

February 27, 2020/in News, People, Press Release/by Colin Hoskins

Adam Cooper joins GaNTIP: The Institute of Groundsmanship-led Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme (GaNTIP) has announced the appointment of Adam Cooper, a practising groundsman with more than 31 years’ experience, as regional pitch advisor (RPA) for the North West. His appointment comes at a time when sports clubs up and down the country are […]

Beccles Town win FA award

February 27, 2020/in Awards, News, Press Release/by Jack Rayner

Adam Cooper joins GaNTIP

February 27, 2020/in News, People, Press Release/by Colin Hoskins

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Beccles Town win FA award

February 27, 2020/in Awards, News, Press Release/by Jack Rayner

Beccles Town win FA award: Beccles Town Football Club has won the Ransomes Jacobsen sponsored Suffolk FA Groundsman of the Year competition for the second consecutive season.

The competition, which is open to clubs who play in Step 7 and below in Suffolk, has been sponsored by Ransomes Jacobsen for many years and has played an important role in raising the quality of football pitches in the county.

Beccles Town win FA award

After entering for the first time last year and being placed first, Beccles’ joint groundsmen Chris Brown and Shaun Soloman were again judged as this year’s winners. They just beat Adrian Waters of Halesworth Town, who entered for the first time, to this year’s title with Tony Adams of Claydon FC finishing third.

Beccles Town joint groundsman Shaun Soloman said: “This just makes it all worthwhile. We don’t do it to get recognition but for the town and the people of the town and especially the kids to be able to play on a decent pitch that we never had the chance to do as it used to be a mud bath.”

The judging panel was led by Ipswich Town Football Club head groundsman, Ben Connell, and he was accompanied by Suffolk FA football development manager Jodie Allard, Institute of Groundsmen pitch advisor east, Phil Jeggo, Tim Parker of Suffolk FA Pitch Improvement Programme sponsors Parkers Pitches and Steve Alabaster, regional sales manager for Ransomes Jacobsen.

This year’s competition was one of the hardest to judge with the quality of pitches rising in Suffolk, and lead judge, Ben Connell, has been pleased to see the initiatives from different parties having an impact.

“I’ve been taking part in the judging for seven years, and the standards are getting better and better. I’ve seen the pitches improve over that time and I’d put that down to the dedication of the groundsmen and the support and advice they get from the Suffolk FA and the IOG.

“This competition has been a great initiative, and along with the funding from the FA and IOG, it has really made a difference to grassroots football in Suffolk because the pitches are getting better. Without the sponsorship of the competition from Ransomes Jacobsen and the support from the FA and IOG, we wouldn’t have got to this point, and I’m looking forward to seeing further progress.”

Steve Alabaster from Ransomes Jacobsen added: “I’m quite taken aback and astounded by how much work the volunteers put in, especially when they have to finance a majority of the work themselves. Some of these guys have hardly got anything at all, and they’re producing fantastic surfaces for kids and adults to play on. I was really surprised that every pitch we saw wasn’t waterlogged because of the heavy rain we’ve had, and it is incredible that they’re doing that with such little resources – each pitch we’ve seen is a credit to the groundsmen who maintain them.

“It’s fantastic to be able to big up these guys because they don’t always get much recognition and it’s a wonderful opportunity for us to partner and support the Suffolk FA. It’s something we’ve been doing for a number of years that we’re very proud to be part of.”

In addition to being crowned as Groundsman of the Year, Beccles Town will receive £200 to be spent on groundscare equipment, with Halesworth Town receiving £100 and Claydon £50. All three clubs will be invited to attend the Suffolk FA Awards Ceremony later in the year to receive their prizes.

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Adam Cooper joins GaNTIP

February 27, 2020/in News, People, Press Release/by Colin Hoskins

Adam Cooper joins GaNTIP: The Institute of Groundsmanship-led Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme (GaNTIP) has announced the appointment of Adam Cooper, a practising groundsman with more than 31 years’ experience, as regional pitch advisor (RPA) for the North West.

His appointment comes at a time when sports clubs up and down the country are suffering the devastations of storms Ciara and Dennis, and the skills and advice of GaNTIP’s team of RPAs – now nine, plus two key account managers – will be essential in helping grassroots clubs recover from the devastation.

Adam Cooper joins GaNTIP

GaNTIP is the successful programme that is improving the standard of grassroots football and cricket pitches, as well as the skills of those who look after them, throughout England. It will now be working closely with the England & Wales Cricket Board and Country Cricket Boards, as well as with County FAs, to offer advice and help to clubs when the flood waters subside.

Based in Preston, Lancashire, Adam – who entered the groundscare industry after qualifying as a quantity surveyor – brings to the role extensive experience in maintaining cricket surfaces as well as surfaces for tennis, football, bowls, hockey, croquet and golf. He also spent the past two years in an advisory support role within the GaNTIP programme.

His CV includes work at four Premier League cricket clubs, as well as at AFC Fylde and Accrington Stanley FC plus managing the cricket, hockey, tennis and football surfaces at Lytham Cricket and Tennis Club.

Adam has also been involved in many volunteer grounds roles over the years, particularly at his local cricket club and at the various sporting venues where his children played football, tennis and hockey.

He says he “is looking forward to helping grassroots clubs by applying this understanding of the challenges faced by volunteers, especially now as they face a tumultuous task in reinstating pitches that have been destroyed by the storms.”

Out of work, Adam is a keen sportsman and plays hockey and cricket. He also enjoys salmon fishing and sailing.

GaNTIP is a joint programme between the Institute of Groundsmanship, The Football Association, Football Foundation and the England & Wales Cricket Board, and programme director Jason Booth, says: “Adam’s appointment reinforces how GaNTIP continues to apply the best skills in order to help grassroots sports clubs up and down the country.

“Their experience and advice will be now also be vital in helping grassroots clubs recover from the awful flooding that we’ve experienced in recent months.”

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Beccles Town win FA award

Adam Cooper joins GaNTIP

Beccles Town win FA award

Adam Cooper joins GaNTIP

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Beccles Town win FA award

Beccles Town win FA award: Beccles Town Football Club has won the Ransomes Jacobsen sponsored Suffolk FA Groundsman of the Year competition for the second consecutive season.

Adam Cooper joins GaNTIP

Adam Cooper joins GaNTIP: The Institute of Groundsmanship-led Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme (GaNTIP) has announced the appointment of Adam Cooper, a practising groundsman with more than 31 years’ experience, as regional pitch advisor (RPA) for the North West.

RESOURCES

CONTACT

CONNECT