7 minute read
GMA update
POSITIVE PROGRESS
Geoff Webb Chief executive of Grounds Management Association
Geoff says the overwhelming industrywide positive response to the organisation’s rebranding is set to underpin a modern and progressive i ndustry-focused membership organisation
Join us in this exciting journey. Become a member today: www.thegma.org.uk/membership
Grounds Management Association sows new seeds to inspire future workforce
THE MAIN THRUST of the Grounds Management Association (GMA) in these unprecedented times is to continue to provide appropriate guidance to help keep our members, their families and the wider industry safe during the Covid-19 pandemic, particularly while all playing surfaces are ‘on hold’ until Government begins to relax social distancing restrictions and until sport can resume again.
We have created a dedicated section on our website (www.thegma.org.uk/ covid-19-0) that not only acts as a reminder of the Government’s safe working practices and provides useful sources of advice for members’ wellbeing, but also highlights how grounds managers – both professional and volunteer – can keep their playing surfaces ‘ticking over’ with minimal maintenance during these difficult times.
At the same time, GMA is working hard to ensure that our usual services remain ‘business as usual’ – including our annual trade show, SALTEX. We also continue building our ambitions for the Pitch Grading Framework and have just announced the launch of new online learning. The training, suitable for professionals and volunteers, covers the maintenance of sport surfaces and facilities at grassroots level to enhance practical skills. We are determined to plough on with our ambitions in professionalising the grounds sector, and also inspiring the next generation of talent to help raise the status and future of the profession.
The facts are: our industry is not attracting enough new recruits; it has an ageing demographic; and there is a lack of diversity. Our new identity is contemporary, fresh and bold, better positioning GMA to address this, and we will be working hard to reach new audiences in 2020 and beyond. This includes developing a platform with modern services – and messages – to attract more people into the industry.
This embraces our ‘Grounds for Sport’ campaign, which seeks to highlight how vital grounds management is to sport nationwide. Through extensive research during the rebrand process, we believe GMA is now ideally placed to promote the profession to wider audiences, while continuing to raise awareness of the vital work of grounds managers and staff –both professional and volunteer, elite and grassroots – to attract a new generation.
The restrictions placed on everyone by Covid-19 are a challenge across the industry, but I’m confident that we will emerge from this as an even stronger notfor-profit association that has the industry and its workforce – the people who make sport possible – at its heart. www.thegma.org.uk
KEEPING THINGS TICKING OVER
Playing surfaces of every type are being kept ‘ticking over’ during the coronavirus pandemic. We asked grounds people up and down the country how they are managing while adhering to Government advice on safe working practices
“WITH OUR USUAL five full-time staff now down to three due to furloughing, and a daily shift for everyone of 4.5 hours (no breaks so no lunchtime ‘contact’), we are continuing to maintain our 97-acre site and, in terms of the sports surfaces, keeping them up to standard as best we can.
“We started with a basic cutting regime of 1.5 cuts a week but are now undertaking three cuts a week – with no fertilising, topdressing or vertidraining – keeping the three cricket pitches and the eight rugby surfaces at 25mm using rotary and gang mowers.
“The heavy rainfall earlier this year has been followed by a dry April, with only 2mm of rain, and the morning dew is currently [at the end of April] ensuring there is still enough moisture in the top profile.
“Social distancing isn’t a problem on our expansive site but, in addition to the ‘no contact’ shifts, the team is also encouraged to bring their own flasks of drinks. We use anti-bacterial spray on all contact surfaces and items such as padlocks, gates and steering wheels, and there is a good supply of rubber gloves.”
Colin Hoskins
1MICHAEL YAN HIP Head groundsperson, Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh
Editor
2MARK WOODWARD Head groundsman Grasshoppers RFC, Osterley, West London
“I AM ONE OF the lucky few in that I am able to carry on working during the lockdown. I am maintaining the grass pitches as usual with regular cuts and watering as well as other landscape maintenance work, including over 200 young trees plus regular strimming of banking. With our two newly-constructed grass pitches, we are experiencing some teething problems so regular maintenance is crucial in keeping these going. Other works include aeration and local repairs to the playing surface as well as general weeding.
“We had been planning to Koro them off, reseed then topdress but, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, we have decided to delay this work. Instead, we are going to do a basic fertiliser and a sports field ‘renovation’ mix grass seed.
Once we are operating again, we will review and decide what work needs doing to get the pitches ready for the new season. The club is fortunate to have our first team 3G pitch to fulfil some of our commitments until the grass pitches are available.”
3KARL MCDERMOTT Head groundsman, Lord’s
LIVING ON-SITE, Karl McDermott says he is carrying on cutting and rolling to ensure that the ‘Home of Cricket’ will be ready whenever the sport resumes. Speaking to BBC Sport, Karl said: “Being at work on your own and not greeting the lads is a bit strange. My deputy comes in a couple of days a week, to look after the Nursery Ground, but we’re working in isolation from each other. I would have liked to use this downtime to complete some more reseeding and top-dressing of the wickets, but I have to prioritise the big jobs.”
He offers a few pointers for volunteer cricket staff: • Prioritise – now isn’t the time to do all those little jobs around the ground; you just won’t have the time • F ocus on cutting and rolling the square – the outfield can wait for a few weeks • Mak e sure your square is ready to go so, when we get the go-ahead, you don’t have to waste time before your first game.
Visit www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/52182319 to read the full story.
5DANNY NEGUS Head groundsman, Devonshire Park
“IT WAS AGREED at the beginning of March that, when required, I would split teams into two groups across all my sites with an on/off rotation. One task is allocated to one operator who is responsible for the cleaning of any equipment used. Double gloves are worn at all times.
“All staff are supplied with hand sanitisers and the last member of the team to leave applies disinfectant on any facility used. Limiting contact by removing all breaks, for example, has been welcomed by the team.
“All ‘playing surfaces’ now take priority (the greens being the priority on the golf course) and all other surfaces are being maintained at a level to limit any impact on budgets. Plant nutrition has been my focus; we try to ensure we still have plant health yet control its lateral growth. This limits our frequency of application and therefore the mechanical processes that would naturally follow.
“The desire is to still be an operational venue for both major tennis and golf this season. However, my team’s wellbeing will always trump all of the above.”
“WE WERE WELL through our racing season when the lockdown came into effect. The abrupt end to the season meant we lost our busy April and May period, but with 12 fixtures already staged, we had plenty of winter damage to repair.
“Fortunately, a change in the weather towards the end of March led to great conditions for the necessary levelling and vertidraining work. We have since overseeded and applied fertiliser and, given the prevailing dry weather through April, it has proved necessary to irrigate. This work, alongside cutting twice a week, is plenty to keep myself and groundsman Luke Randall busy (the other three members of our team are on furlough).
“Warwick remains a busy site, nevertheless. With the central area open to the public and some key working events still being held, there is always something to be attended to.”
6ANDY CAMBRIDGE Volunteer groundsman, Foxton FC, Cambridge
“I’VE ALWAYS WORKED solo at the five acres of sports surfaces on two sites in Foxton so the Covid-19 situation hasn’t affected me much. “With the football season finishing early, I managed to scarify, vertidrain and overseed the pitches before the restrictions were in place. Since then, I have focused on watering the new seed – cutting will resume when the seed has established – moving the sprinkler to concentrate on the central area of the main pitch, for example, that receives most wear. Also, I have been hand watering to encourage growth on the pitch areas that encounter heavy wear (goalmouths, centre circles, dug-outs and spectator areas). I recently applied a controlled-release fertiliser to the pitches.
“My work on the adjoining school field continues, where I had previously overseeded the goalmouths and now undertake an amount of raking, brushing and cutting to keep the site ‘ticking over’.”
Andy is also ‘deputising’ for the now vulnerable person who traditionally maintains the recreation ground’s cricket pitch.
