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GMA Awards relaunch for 2022

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GMA Awards relaunch for 2022: Following the launch of the Grounds Management Association’s Hall of Fame, the association relaunches the GMA Awards (previously IOG Awards) with the ceremony taking place this November at The Vox, Birmingham.

Last year, the awards were on hold due to the Coronavirus pandemic, which gave GMA members and the industry the opportunity to focus on challenging maintenance diaries. In 2022, the GMA Awards hosts 19 categories to cover the broad spectrum of its members, including the Volunteer Sports Grounds Team/Individual of the Year Award, the Best Environmental and Sustainability Impact Award and the renowned Alex R Millar Award.

GMA Awards relaunch for 2022

GMA Awards relaunch for 2022

With turf care quickly growing its media presence and public interest, the GMA has also looked at ways to make the awards more accessible to those at all levels of grounds care or turf management, from grassroots to professional stadiums. This includes, for the first time, applicants having the option to submit a short video to the set questions and criteria, instead of completing a written form.

The full list of categories for this year’s GMA Awards is as follows:

  1. Young Grounds Person of the year
  2. Newcomer of the Year
  3. Volunteer Sports Grounds Team/Individual of the Year
  4. Community Sports Grounds Team/Individual of the Year
  5. Bowls / Croquet Grounds Team/Individual of the Year
  6. Best Managed Artificial Surface of the Year
  7. Best Environmental and Sustainability Impact
  8. Professional Cricket Grounds Team of the Year
  9. Professional Tennis Courts Grounds Team of the Year
  10. Professional Horse Racing Grounds Team of the Year
  11. Professional Rugby Football League Grounds Team of the Year
  12. Professional Rugby Football Union Grounds Team of the Year
  13. Professional Football Grounds Team of the Year (A)
  14. Professional Football Grounds Team of the Year (B)
  15. University/College Grounds Team of the Year
  16. Independent School Grounds Team of the Year
  17. International Impact Award
  18. Alex R Millar Award
  19. Induction to Hall of Fame

Commenting on the return of the GMA Awards, GMA CEO Geoff Webb says:

“Last year, we recognised that entering the GMA Awards was not a priority for many grounds staff and volunteers, but with growing post-COVID-19 optimism we warmly welcome everyone back to celebrate their achievements in 2022. Both paid grounds staff and volunteers are the backbone of sport and physical activity, and our new award categories aim to make the applications more inclusive and easier to enter for all.”

Nominations for the GMA Awards 2022 open from midday Tuesday 3 May. Judges will be announced later this year with tickets on sale for the ceremony from summer.

Award nominations will open on Tuesday 3 May. Nominees will receive an award application, which they can complete in written or video format. These will then be judged by an independent panel of experts which will be announced later this year.

Deadline for nominations is Friday 29 July 2022, and the deadline for applications is Monday 8 August.

For more information, please visit https://thegma.org.uk/awards where you can sign-up for further updates.

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Dennis G34D brilliant for the Baggies

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Dennis G34D brilliant for the Baggies: Rob Lane, Head Groundsman at The Hawthorns stadium, recently decided that a Dennis G34D cylinder was the mower that would help him achieve that all important pitch-perfect-presentation.

Back in the seventies when Rob was stood in the stands watching his beloved West Bromwich Albion FC, little did he know that he would one day be responsible for looking after the pitch. Fast forward a decade and he was about to do exactly that.

Dennis G34D brilliant for the Baggies

Dennis G34D brilliant for the Baggies

“I wasn’t good enough to play the game, but I knew I wanted to be involved in football,” he said. “That was when I first thought about becoming a groundsman. So, I contacted all the football clubs in the area closest to me, and the only vacancy available was at my childhood club. I jumped at the chance. My whole family are West Brom fans, so it was a proud moment.”

Rob embarked on a Youth Training Scheme (YTS) which included a day release where he studied Sports Turf at college. That was in 1988 and he has been at the club ever since.

The one-club man is committed to preparing the best pitch possible for the players, the staff, the fans, and of course his family, so Rob never cuts any corners. Therefore, when it came to finding a new mower to give the pitch that all important matchday cut, it was a decision he was not going to rush into.

“Our previous mower we had for presenting the pitch needed replacing and I looked long and hard at what was available,” he said. “I just couldn’t look past the Dennis G34D and that was based on our experience with the Dennis G860 cylinder mower – which is a machine we use a lot here. It is the same height; the same weight and we liked the thought of having two Dennis mowers for the pitch. It would be nice and uniformed.”

As Rob says, the Dennis G34D has been designed and built following the same concept as the popular Dennis G860 cylinder mower. Available in three different cutting sizes – 26”, 30” and 34” – the mowers incorporate a large-diameter eight bladed cutting cylinder to cater for a wide range of uses to leave a precision cut. The handlebar design makes manoeuvring easy and the wide adjustment makes it comfortable for all cutting heights.

Rob now uses the two mowers in conjunction with one another to prepare the pitch. While using cassettes such as the verticutter and the brush on the G860, he will save the G34D for matchdays.

“On a Friday before a game we will use the G34D to cut widthways and then on a Saturday morning we will cut lengthways,” he said.

“It provides a fantastic finish every time. We also like the fact that if it is a bit dewy or a bit wet then it doesn’t drop the grass clippings like our old machine used to. It also has a much bigger grass box to get more in and you don’t have to keep stopping to empty it.

“I’m very pleased – it is a superbly engineered mower.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow Dennis on Twitter and Instagram @DennisMowers and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/DennisMowersUK You can also view the latest Dennis videos by visiting www.youtube.com/DennisMowers

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GKB has machines for all seasons

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GKB has machines for all seasons: Stand 406 in the purple zone promises to be a showcase of equipment for all seasons as GKB Machines get set to return to BTME in 2022.

Whether its aeration, scarification or overseeding on the agenda, solutions will be on show in the form of the Deep Tine Aerator (DTA), Sandfiller and Combiseeder – with the GKB Technical Team on hand to discuss these products and many more from their innovative golf and sports turf portfolio.

GKB has machines for all seasons

GKB has machines for all seasons

The name speaks for itself with the GKB Deep Tine Aerator – efficiently and effectively aerating the ground down to depths of up to 400mm (16”) for optimal air and moisture movement. Four working widths are available between 1.2m and 2.6m, meaning there’s a model to suit most applications in and around the golf course and beyond. Quickly building a reputation for its build quality, the unique tine mounting system on the DTA allows for more tines per head and improves both the speed and efficiency when changing between sets.

As the seasons change and thoughts move from moisture management to spring renovations, the Sandfiller will prove its worth as the true multi-tasker! The Sandfiller scarifies the surface down to depths of up to 40mm, removing organic matter and creating channels which are simultaneously filled with sand or a combination of sand and seed – maximising efficiency and improving drainage and ground firmness in one single pass.

If a dedicated unit is required that is capable of both seeding and overseeding, then the Combiseeder provides an accurate solution. The tried and trusted combination of two spiked rollers and two brushes create the optimal number of holes in the ground, allowing for precise seed distribution and maximised conditions for germination. With smaller models in the range ideal for work on golf greens, the Combiseeder is available in four working widths up to 2.4m making it a machine suited for greenkeepers, grounds managers and contractors alike.

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Finalists for BIGGA Awards revealed

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Finalists for BIGGA Awards revealed: From Loch Lomond in Scotland to England’s south coast, the finalists of the BIGGA Awards 2022 showcase ingenuity, innovation and determination in the face of global turmoil and the British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) is proud to reveal the incredible greenkeeping teams who have been shortlisted for an award, to be presented at BTME 2022 later this month.

The BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME) will be taking place this March for the first time in its history, with a two-month delay caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Thousands of turf managers, greenkeepers, golf club owners and key industry decision makers are expected to take part in the industry’s premier exhibition and educational programme.

Finalists for BIGGA Awards revealed

Finalists for BIGGA Awards revealed

One of the highlights of BTME each year is the BIGGA Welcome Celebration, sponsored for the first time in 2022 by AMS Robotics. Taking place on the opening night of BTME and hosted by television broadcaster and golf enthusiast Naga Munchetty, the BIGGA Welcome Celebration feature the presentation of the prestigious BIGGA Awards 2022.

With incredible prizes up for grabs, the BIGGA Awards recognise that high standards of quality and dedication are vital to the success of any golf course or championship. They reward the innovation of BIGGA members who are at the cutting edge of their profession and any BIGGA member within the UK, regards of their golf facility’s size, age or reputation, can enter. The BIGGA Awards provide golf clubs with an opportunity to showcase a greenkeeping team’s success and celebrate their achievements.

The finalists of the BIGGA Awards 2022 are:

Championship Greenkeeping Performance of the Year sponsored by Origin Amenity Solutions

  • Richard Ponsford and the team at Clevedon Golf Club for hosting the PGA EuroPro Tour’s Wright-Morgan Championship
  • Simon Olver and the team at Ganton Golf Club for hosting The R&A Senior Amateur Championship and England Golf’s Brabazon Trophy
  • Stuart Hogg MG and the team at The West Lancashire Golf Club for hosting The Rose Ladies Series and Regional and Final Qualifying for The Open

Greenkeeping Project of the Year sponsored by Baroness

  • Darren Anderson MG and the team at Bromborough Golf Club for the ‘Leverhulme Project’ that saw the reconstruction of the 17th hole and various other course improvements
  • David Cole MG and the team at Loch Lomond Golf Club for the complete reconstruction of the course, often described as the largest course redevelopment in UK golf history
  • Matt Plested and the team at Stoneham Golf Club for the construction of the Stoneham Academy and various other course improvements

The winner of the Outstanding Contribution of the Year sponsored by Bernhard and Company will be revealed on the night.

More information about each of the finalists can be found on the BTME website at https://www.btme.org.uk/attendees/what-s-on/the-bigga-awards.html

BIGGA Chief Executive Officer Jim Croxton said: “Much has happened since we last met in Harrogate at BTME 2020 and revealed the winners of the BIGGA Awards that year. Society has changed and together we have overcome some of the most difficult challenges any of us will face in our lifetime. Yet there have been bright moments along the way and I’m incredibly proud that BIGGA is today able to reveal the finalists of our annual awards, with six outstanding greenkeeping teams in with a shout of taking home the top prizes. It was incredibly difficult to narrow it down to these finalists and everyone who was nominated should be very proud of their efforts.

“When BTME returns this month, we’ll be kicking things off at Tuesday’s BIGGA Welcome Celebration and I can’t wait to unveil the winners of these awards. I look forward to seeing our friends and colleagues from across the industry in Harrogate for what promises to be a wonderful opening to our annual exhibition.”

BTME runs from Tuesday 22 March to Thursday 24 March 2022 with over 120 exhibitors taking part.

You can register online now for BTME or head to www.btme.org.uk for more information.

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North and south for Corvus 4×4

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North and south for Corvus 4×4: The dealer network for Corvus Terrain 4×4 utility vehicles has expanded further with the appointment of B&B Tractors and Kirkland UK. BOSS off-road vehicles, the sole UK distributor for Corvus, made the announcement saying the two dealerships are a natural fit in their drive to establish a seamless network of specialist dealers throughout the UK.

B& B Tractors is a family owned and managed business with four depots covering Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Warwickshire. The business has rapidly expanded since being established in 1991 when Massey Ferguson approached Bowring Transport owners Chris and David Boring about taking on the franchise, originally to cover the Nottingham area and parts of North Derbyshire. Since then, they have grown to represent a wide range of industry leading names, with rapid expansion into the territories they cover today. The Head Office at the Warsop site alone has grown to 30 acres with 150 employees.

North and south for Corvus 4x4

North and south for Corvus 4×4

“We wanted to work with B&B Tractors because of their delivery of the highest levels of customer care to their agricultural, municipal and industrial customers,” says Phil Everett, BOSS ORV’s Managing Director. “Not only can they represent the Corvus Terrain range to those sectors, they can also provide the highest levels of service and support that go hand in hand with being Corvus dealers, as they have shown with the other brands offered by the business.”

The story for Kirkland UK began in the late 1800s when partner Scott Worsley’s great, great, great grandfather set up Worsley Carriage Builders in Kent, building carriages for farming, fruit growing and vineyards. The Kirkland brand began in 2005 as a range of specialist machinery, becoming a company in its own right and growing to become one of the country’s leading suppliers of specialist equipment for vineyard and fruit orchard management. With the appointment as Corvus dealers, Scott is excited to bring the brand to the South-East.

“We found CORVUS UTV’s to be the perfect addition to our range of machinery solutions for our customers. These popular UTV’s are ideal 4×4 vehicles thanks to their powerful, robust design with generous storage and load capacity making them high performers in any weather condition, which is exactly what the South-East needs!”

Phil Everett says, “we had been looking for a partner for Corvus in the South East of England and after talking to Scott for five minutes, it was obvious that Kirkland UK would be a natural fit with us. We share the same passion for success and rapid growth and an impatience to achieve. They are an extremely customer focused organisation and hungry to grow the business and explore diverse opportunities to achieve this. Together with their already very well established customer base in the region it was a very easy decision to partner with them for this area.”

For more information about the Corvus Terrain range, you can call 01597 810188, E-mail: sales@bossorv.co.uk or visit www.bossorv.co.uk

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