Tag Archive for: Groundsman’s

Groundsman’s Euro 2020 tribute

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Groundsman’s Euro 2020 tribute: The groundsman at an East Yorkshire school thought he would add to the euphoria surrounding England’s semi-final victory in the Euro 2020 tournament.

Read the full article from Hull Daily Mail here

Groundsman's Euro 2020 tribute

Groundsman’s Euro 2020 tribute

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Groundsman’s sense of normality

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Groundsman’s sense of normality: Amid all the uncertainty brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, it is reassuring to know that some routines have hardly changed.

“The grass doesn’t stop for coronavirus,” Scott Humphries, groundsman at Oxford United’s training ground says.

This is the start of the third week without players working on the pitches at the club’s headquarters near Horspath.

But while the squad are cooped up, Humphries cannot work from home.

Instead, he is isolated in his tractor, trundling up and down the vast expanse of green, keeping it in shape for when the season can restart.

He said: “It’s just about giving the pitches some tender loving care.

“Grass is like a human, it requires food, drink and oxygen.

“People don’t see it like that, but to me it’s my second baby.”

Other than not marking out the pitches, his job has barely changed in the last fortnight.

The lack of wear and tear, coupled with the sudden burst of sunshine, has helped restore the pitches to pristine condition.

But there is a snag to this unscheduled break, which is centred around just how long life will be on hold.

Groundstaff count on the long summer break to give them enough time to undertake essential major pitch renovation works.

But with the current campaign set to be extended, it is likely the gap between seasons will be shorter.

Humphries said: “We all need a holiday now and again because otherwise we burn out – and pitches are no different.

“You would normally rip the surface off and then it’s about six weeks to grow.

“The training pitch is vital, especially with the way our boys want to play.

“The community use the facilities as well and you want them to have a good surface when they’re allowed to come out.

“It’s so frustrating because we can’t plan anything – and it needs to be ready for Championship players next season.”

A lifelong United fan, Humphries has lived the dream since arriving in August 2017.

And although he is working separately to the rest of the club at the moment, the connection is still there.

“Derek Fazackerley (first team coach) rang me up the other night, just to see how things were,” he said.

“That’s brilliant and it just makes you feel part of it.

“Faz is a football legend and he’s taken ten minutes out to give me a ring.

“It’s the club I love and you are always going to go the extra mile in that situation.

“It’s brilliant to see it on the Saturday. At 5pm you can say ‘I’ve played a little part in that’.”

In that context, the current situation – surrounded by pitches, but without any football – is torture.

“I can’t wait for football to be back,” he said.

“I just keep thinking about that first game and how much we’ll all be looking forward to it.

“We took a Tuesday night in Rochdale for granted, but everyone will be buzzing to go now.”

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Groundsman’s near miss

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Groundsman’s near miss: A groundsman was almost struck as he replaced divets halfway through a race during one of Musselburgh Racecourse’s biggest days of the year.

The ‘near-miss’ incident occurred during the Edinburgh Cup in September when groundstaff had been warned to remember the main race of the day would see the runners go round the course twice over the two-mile event.

However, it appeared one of the workers forgot and was still replacing divets on the ground when the horses came round the bend towards him.

It was only when he heard jockeys shouting at him to get out of the way that he managed to duck under the barriers to safety.

Bill Farnsworth, racecourse general manager, said a stewards inquiry was launched after the incident and the British Horseracing Authority investigated ruling that all protocol had been followed by the racecourse itself.

The incident came to light at a meeting of Musselburgh Racing Associated Committee this week.

Mr Farnsworth said: “The Edinburgh Cup is a two-mile race and our head groundsman warned all the groundstaff to remember they go round twice.

“One of the groundsmen went out and obviously forgot it was a two-mile race.

“He was busy knocking in the divets as horses came around the bend and jockeys had to shout at him.

“He ducked off the track, it was a ‘near miss’.”

He added that a similar incident at Ascot in November had seen that course fined nearly £4,000 by the British Horseracing Authority for not following the proper protocol before the race.

Mr Farnsworth said: “The sport needs to decide if it is safe for people to get on track during racing, it is weighing up the benefit of repairing the track with the risk. There is always a risk of human error.”

A spokesman for the British Horseracing Authority confirmed it had carried out an investigation into the incident during the Edinburgh Cup, adding: “No further action was required.”

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Groundsman’s ECB commendation

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Groundsman’s ECB commendation: Radlett Cricket Club head groundsman Nick Searle has received a commendation in this year’s annual ECB Groundsman of the Year Awards.

The Award, in the out-ground venues category, is awarded to groundsmen around the country who have hosted matches across any of the three formats and are judged based on the pitch performance and ratings provided by the ECB’s Cricket Liaison Officers who are present at the matches, having taken feedback from both umpires and both competing captains.

A busy year for Radlett Cricket Club in 2019 saw the club’s Brunton Memorial Ground host Middlesex matches across all three competition formats, holding first-class County Championship and Vitality Blast matches there for the first time ever and hosting its seventh List-A clash for Middlesex.

2020 will see Radlett again being utilised by Middlesex as one of its preferred out-ground venues, with the club being used as the home base for all four of Middlesex’s fifty-over Royal London Cup matches next season.

Speaking of receiving the ECB commendation, Searle, commented: “A huge amount of work goes in to making the quality of the pitches here at Radlett as good as possible, and it’s always nice to have that effort recognised by the officials at the game and by the ECB.

“We are extremely proud to host Middlesex games in Radlett, and the challenges that come with hosting matches for a professional side are something that the ground-staff here rise to and enjoy.

“I’d like to thank my number two, Jez Menzies, and the rest of the team for their efforts and we very much look forward to hosting Middlesex again this summer in the Royal London Cup.”

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‘Bored’ Groundsman’s Grand Design

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‘Bored’ Groundsman’s Grand Design: A “bored” lower league football groundsman went to great lengths to create the perfect pitch – covered in geometric shapes.

Fed-up with ‘drawing’ the same outline on the Brechin City turf, Neil Wood, 54, decided to design something more creative with his lawnmower.

The patient Glebe Park groundsman spent six hours mowing the intricate pattern into the grass.

But despite the huge compliment, Neil, from the Angus town, remains humble about his design at the 4083 capacity stadium – home to the League Two side.

He said: “I usually cut the pitch in squares but we got bored of doing that so I wanted to do something different.

“The players were all taken back by it but they are happy with it. It’s nice to hear that the club think the design is the best in the world.

“It could be possible but I’ll just let them decide that.”

Neil carefully etched out the swirls by starting from the outside and works his way into the middle of the pitch.

He said: “I start from the outside and work my way in but I don’t change the height level of the lawnmower.

“I use the lines on the pitch as a rough guide which is probably why I manage to get it more precise.

“It’s just about changing your direction rather than the height level. Maintaining the pitch is ok in the summer but it’s hard in the winter.”

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