7 minute read
EYE ON THE BALL
GMA Groundsperson of the Year 2019 Danny Negus talks tennis court preparation for international tournament and community play at Devonshire Park
BY DR ANDY CARMICHAEL
Centre court at Devonshire Park tennis club in Eastbourne Inset: Tournament grounds team 2019
Danny Negus manages the grounds team at Devonshire Park, a natural grass court tennis venue that hosts the Rothesay International
Eastbourne Tennis Tournament, the town’s annual tennis event that showcases leading international male and female players, including Andy Murray,
Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams and current All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) Grand Slam Holder Ashleigh
Barty. It’s also the venue where Martina
Navratilova has won the tournament trophy no fewer than 11 times.
Alongside the club’s association with elite sport, Devonshire Park is also a members’ club and a ‘pay and play’ venue for community use. Owned by the local borough council and one of a growing hub of tennis facilities in the
East Sussex area, the council’s vision is to give local people the opportunity to play tennis and enhance their lives through regular physical activity in an outdoor environment.
The venue has in fact been open for play before the rules for tennis were even formalised in 1875. As Danny says: “We like to tell people the game was played here fi rst.”
COURT MANAGEMENT
Currently the sport is played across 19 courts at the park, and Danny and his fi ve grounds team members also manage a further seven courts at two other Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) locations.
Three of the onsite courts were newly constructed when Devonshire Park underwent a £60m redevelopment three years ago and were built using 23 per cent clay to a technical specifi cation outlined by the AELTC. The remaining native soil courts are top dressed at 19 per cent on a sward that consists of Limagrain’s MM50 mix of three perennial ryegrass cultivars. A new irrigation system was also installed during the improvements, but unlike the AELTC there are no court roofs to close during play if it rains, making the management of excess water a challenge for the team.
Although the UK may not be known for its glorious summers, fortunately Danny does have the benefi t of Eastbourne’s coastal location. “I know some venues boast a ‘microclimate’, but it really does feel warmer here – people comment on it all the time,” he says. In fact, the town holds England’s record for the most hours of monthly sunshine, which the local tourist board is naturally keen to promote.
The sunlit courts are cut at 8mm six times a week with Toro Triple and Jacobsen Eclipse pedestrian mowers. In tournament time, the frequency of mowing rises to at least twice a day.
Feeding the courts is a bi-weekly task and the team’s choice is entirely liquid.
Speaking regularly to industry colleagues, Danny enjoys hearing what others are doing and what might be worth trialling. Given the way surfaces have developed in recent years, he says: “We are effectively greenkeeping in a groundsperson’s world.” Indeed, listening to his sward management methods does make me think how technology and best practice is bringing the turf world closer together: his maintenance schedule would not look out of place for the greens of a leading golf course.
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Danny aims for high standards whether the team are preparing the courts for elite players, a member of the Devonshire Park tennis club or a casual user, so the schedule can be very demanding. Although the team expands in numbers during tournament season, Danny says: “I want them all to know how valued they are and I’m well aware that televised games can bring additional pressures.”
Danny’s own pressures during tournaments include the time that is devoted to being on site and managing additional members of staff and extra court infrastructure, on top of the playing surfaces – particularly as players of the Rothesay International Eastbourne Tournament feed into the Wimbledon Championships. However, he says that the long hours and back-to- back days are part of the trade-off that comes with a love of the sport and the turf it’s played on. “This is why we do what we do,” he says.
He is, however, always prepared for any questions regarding his decisionmaking, and is keen on record-keeping and justifying his choices. He gives examples of times in meetings when he has had to appeal to different perspectives and articulate the needs of the park in a manner that resonates with people who are not turf experts.
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
These needs are even more apparent when the time comes for court renovations. As a local authorityowned asset, there is a requirement to offset some of the operational costs by allowing community use, particularly post pandemic, as the nation realises the long-term health benefits linked to regular physical exercise. Danny expects community use to increase as the public’s interest in outdoor activities continues to grow. However, he is concerned that an increase in the number of sporting events hosted at the venue will reduce the team’s opportunity to return the environment to its best possible condition.
WATCHING GRASS GROW
“Grass simply needs time to grow,” says Danny, adding that he feels it is important that no matter how many other duties he has, or meetings he needs to attend, he “never takes his eye off the plant”. “It’s essential that I remain connected to the physical environment and any decisions that need to be made, whether they are on court or in a meeting room, to help the environment to thrive.
“I want to increase efficiency without sacrificing standards and if I can make the process more efficient, I will, whether that’s removing the surface, developing the soil profile or speeding up establishment”.
In my opinion, Danny uses the same methodology as a sports coach regarding ideas for marginal gains in an elite athlete’s performance. It would be useful if sport pundits could better understand that the sportsturf manager works on the same principles, using their degree of knowledge and professionalism to ensure the best possible surface outcomes.
Summer grounds team 2021
PRESSURE POINTS
Danny is aware that intense workload and public focus can cause stress and anxiety within the team, and he’s keen to highlight mental wellness issues in turfcare. It is a topic that is increasingly discussed within the turf media and at topical industry discussions, yet he feels the subject still lacks adequate coverage.
He is keen we do not view mental wellness as something to address, declare it dealt with and move on to the next topic. He says it’s a difficult one to fix, but we still need to constantly raise awareness and make mental wellbeing an ongoing conversation – and his stance is one that I know others in the industry echo and support.
He has been conducting surveys with fellow groundstaff and will be presenting his findings over the coming months. Listening to him talk with a personal passion on the subject, it is clear to me that Danny is interested in finding longterm solutions and thinks there may be a close association between mental wellness and the current recruitment problems in the industry. These relate to the pressures that are experienced by new entrants and the welfare concerns that may be causing others to leave.
Danny’s dedication to this subject reminds me of his comment on not taking your eye off the plant to ensure a positive outcome – while celebrating quality turf at venues such as Devonshire Park, we should always remember not to take our eye off the person too.
