Tag Archive for: Awards

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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Dan Walker To Host IOG Awards

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Dan Walker To Host IOG Awards: Tickets are now available for this year’s Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) Industry Awards, so book now to secure your place at the industry’s biggest celebratory event –  hosted by the BBC’s 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 awards – now in their 11th year – have continually grown in status for acknowledging the achievements of volunteer and professional grounds teams, as well as community clubs and national stadia. They recognise the passion, dedication and challenges faced by grounds staff at clubs of every size and from all corners of the UK.

Dan Walker To Host IOG Awards

BBC sports presenter and BBC Breakfast anchor Dan Walker will bring a new dimension to this year’s event as the 20 award categories are presented.

He currently hosts BBC One’s Award-winning Football Focus and regularly presents Match of the Day. He has also covered Wimbledon, The Grand National, Royal Ascot, The Derby and the Six Nations, as well as continuing to work on domestic, European and international football. He has also co-hosted Open golf coverage for the last 10 years and was an integral part of the BBC’s Olympic broadcasting team for both London 2012 and Rio 2016.

To secure your seat – which cost £95 each for IOG members and £190 each for non-members – please contact the IOG by email (awards@iog.org) or call 01908 312 511 where you can also gain details of how to become an IOG member.

It’s not too late to nominate an individual or team for a 2019 Award. Visit: www.iog.org/awards and click the nominate button. This year’s categories include:

  • IOG Toro Most Promising Sports Turf Student 
  • IOG Rigby Taylor/Top Green Young Grounds Person
  • IOG Volunteer Sports Grounds Team/Individual
  • IOG NGB Community/Grassroots Sports Club Grounds Team/Individual 
  • IOG AMS Robotics Public Sector Sports Grounds Team 
  • IOG Bowling Grounds Team/Individual
  • IOG SCH Supplies Best Managed Artificial Surface 
  • IOG Ransomes Environmental and Ecology Strategy 
  • IOG Headland Amenity Professional Cricket Grounds Team

  • IOG Cub Cadet Infinicut Professional Tennis Courts Grounds Team
  • IOG John Deere Professional Horse Racing Grounds Team
  • IOG Professional Rugby Football League Grounds Team
  • IOG Compo Expert Professional Rugby Football Union Grounds Team
  • 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.
  • IOG SGL Professional Football Grounds Team 

For Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premier League.

  • IOG Redexim Charterhouse/Kubota University/College Grounds Team 
  • IOG Growth Products Independent School Grounds Team
  • IOG SISGrass International Award
  • IOG Grassmaster Outstanding Achievement Award.

There is one additional award for which nominations are not sought: the IOG Ransomes/DLF Alex R Millar Award – to the person chosen as the outstanding winner across all award categories.

The NGB Awards are 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)

For information on how to sponsor an award, please contact Karen Maxwell on 07866 736 597 or email: kmaxwell@iog.org

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John Deere Awards Apprentices

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John Deere Awards Apprentices: A total of 31 young service technicians have formally graduated from the latest John Deere Ag Tech and Turf Tech advanced apprenticeship programmes, which are run in partnership with national training provider ProVQ at the purpose-built John Deere Apprentice Training Centre in Radcliffe-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire.

Apprentice of the Year for 2018 was Henry Smith of Cornthwaite Agricultural Ltd in Ormskirk, who received a crystal plaque, winner’s certificate and a John Deere tool kit worth £500. The runners-up were Martyn Burnett of HRN Tractors Ltd, Insch and William Storr of Rea Valley Tractors, Sudbury, who each received a certificate and high street vouchers worth £250.

John Deere Awards Apprentices

The annual apprentice graduation ceremony was held at the East Midlands Conference Centre on the University of Nottingham campus for the first time, with the students’ parents and dealer representatives also invited to celebrate the occasion. John Deere Limited managing director Jonathan Henry presented the apprentices with their graduation certificates, while after-dinner guest speaker and TV presenter Guy Martin, together with ProVQ chairman Julian Lloyd, handed over the three apprentice of the year awards.

These awards are based on the trainees’ consistently high standards of work, both at their dealerships and at the training centre, over the three years of the apprenticeship. In addition, all central government approved apprenticeships in England now require an end-point assessment, over and above the log of work progress that was kept for each apprentice before last year. The majority of the 2018 graduates were therefore the first John Deere technicians to qualify under the new EPA rules.

“With the new EPA tests, which were held at Langar in April, both John Deere and our dealers are now able to quantify more effectively the skills of the apprentices we are training,” says John Deere Limited training centre manager Allan Cochran. “An EPA pass mark of above 90 per cent was required to earn a distinction and well over half the apprentices we tested achieved this, which was well above our initial expectations, so we have got off to a great start with these new assessments.”

John Deere’s three-year Ag Tech and Turf Tech and two-year Parts Tech apprenticeships involve students being trained in engineering, electronics, hydraulics, diagnostics, communication skills, computing, sales and marketing. The programmes lead to IMI Level 2 & 3 Diplomas in Landbased Engineering and Vehicle Parts Competence, and registration at LTA Intermediate level in the industry’s Landbased Training Accreditation scheme.

In subsequent years qualified technicians undergo further education and adult training within the John Deere University programme, on a career path that can ultimately lead to the highest possible LTA Master Technician accreditation.

New student intakes are in September each year; apprentices need to be resident in the UK, sponsored by a John Deere dealer and aged 16 or over. The standard programmes include on-the-job training and assessment as well as eight weeks each year at the John Deere Apprentice Training Centre. Further details can be found at http://apprenticeshipfinder.co.uk/john-deere.

Now in its 27th year, Ag Tech was the first such scheme to be introduced in the UK and won a National Training Award at the end of 1997, the only one ever made to an agricultural machinery apprenticeship programme. Since the first programme started in 1992, over 750 apprentices have graduated through the three main schemes and are now working in the company’s nationwide dealer network.

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Turf Matters Scoop TOCA Awards

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Turf Matters Scoop TOCA Awards: Turf Matters won the top award, and a clutch of other prizes, at the prestigious TOCA International Awards ceremony, held in Charlotte, North Carolina, earlier this month.

“A Star in Any Language”, written by Turf Matters Editor Scott MacCallum, on Ryder Cup preparation, picked up the award for Best Writing in a Publication, while it also won the Gardner Award for the “Best of the Best”, selected from all category winners.

Turf Matters Scoop TOCA Awards

Scott also picked up a Merit award in the same category for his article entitled “Demain’s the Name”.

In addition, Turf Matters’ Designer Tim Moat won Best Design in a Publication for a one page design article for “The Beast on the East” and a Merit for “All eyes on Paris” in the same category while he also collected a Merit for Best Design in a Publication for a Full Magazine Layout for his work on “Improving on a Masterpiece”.

“Tim and I are absolutely delighted with our success at the TOCA Awards. It is the first time we have entered and it has given us affirmation that the work we are doing on Turf Matters, and presenting to our readers, is of the highest quality,” said Scott.

“It is particularly pleasing to be the Gardner Award winner for 2019 as it is an international competition. Coming out on top against the rest of the world is very humbling,” added Scott.

Turf Matters Scoop TOCA Awards

It wasn’t just Turf Matters which did the UK proud, also experiencing the sweet taste of success in Charlotte was, Forte Marketing, with Ellie Parry and Helen Willson, collected two Merit Award for their work with Lawn Master and Rain Bird Europe.

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GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards

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GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards: GreenFields, official Pitch Partner of the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League, have launched their second annual Pitch of the Year Awards. The Pitch of the Year Awards recognise individuals and clubs who work tirelessly to ensure that their pitches look and feel the best that they can despite often having limited resources.

The awards were launched via an online survey sent out to all clubs and they will be able to make one vote for their top pitch in the EVO-STIK NPL. Clubs have 21 days to complete the survey, and with nominations from 80% of member clubs for the 2018 awards GreenFields are hoping that 2019 will see even more clubs cast their all-important vote.

GreenFields Launch Pitch Awards

Paul Milton, Commercial Director at GreenFields commented: “We are incredibly proud to be sponsoring and judging the second EVO-STIK NPL Pitch of the Year Awards and hope that even more clubs vote this year. There is so much hard work and dedication that goes into maintaining a pitch and it is of paramount importance to us that both individuals and clubs receive the recognition they so rightly deserve.”

Once the votes are in GreenFields will be shortlisting three clubs per division to carry out pitch inspections at towards the end of March. The shortlisted pitches will be judged on the following criteria: clegg and moisture results, visibility of lines, overall grass coverage, quality of grass in goal mouth areas and overall surface stability. The judges will also take time to interview each Groundsman on aspects such as fertiliser frequency and Summer renovation plans as well as taking into account the staff used for pitch maintenance, the maintenance equipment owned by the club, the weather on the day of the visit, the geographical location and weather implications, the average hours of pitch usage and the level of irrigation in place at the club. GreenFields will document the visits by using a dedicated app and by taking a series of photos.

EVO-STIK Northern Premier League Chairman, Mark Harris commented: “The quality of playing surfaces is an essential part of any thriving Non-League football club and the volunteers who maintain them are cherished. The Pitch of the Year Awards complement the Football Association’s Groundsman of the Year scheme by giving further recognition to those pitches in the Northern Premier League that are already of an exceptional standard. We are delighted to be working with GreenFields on this initiative.”

As with last year’s winners, (Premier- Whitby Town FC, North- Trafford FC and South- Loughborough Dynamo FC) there will be one winner per division. The winners will be announced at the League’s Annual End of Season Awards on 15 June in Blackpool and will be presented with a trophy along with a £500 voucher to redeem against maintenance materials or services from GreenFields.

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