UPDATE
UPDATE | NEWS
THE LATEST HEADLINES FROM GMA AND THE INDUSTRY
GMA NEWS
GMA’s rallying call to reinstate grassroots pitches THE GROUNDS MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION (GMA) has gained widespread national media coverage – and encouraging words of support from such sporting greats as Lawrence Dallaglio and Will Greenwood – for its rallying call for more volunteers, increased investment and more resources to improve access to community sport as the Covid-19 lockdown eases. Its ‘Back to Play’ white paper issued last month highlighted how: • With the right care and investment, 1.4 million more children could play football and rugby each week on existing grass pitches in England post lockdown – and four million more matches could be played on existing football pitches each year; • Half a million more children could play cricket each season; and • Planned strategic investment in sports grounds will enhance people’s physical and mental health as well as provide huge benefits both socially and economically.
WE’RE URGING PEOPLE TO GET INVOLVED AND CONTACT THEIR LOCAL TEAMS RIGHT NOW 4 GROUNDS MANAGEMENT | JUNE 2020
The data – gathered through national Playing Pitch Strategies, the GMA-led Grounds and Natural Turf Investment Programme (GaNTIP) data and a national survey of over 4,000 people – not only gained invaluable national media coverage in outlets such as The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian and the Independent, but the resulting social media support from the sporting world also included comments by TV presenter Gabby Logan. ‘Back to Play’ also highlighted the impact if nothing is done. Over the next decade, one in five football and rugby players, and half of cricket players, will be left unable to play weekly or seasonally. This equates to over half a million players a week, and 170,000 players during a cricket season. Geoff Webb, CEO at GMA, said: “Playing and watching sport has been sorely missed. Now is the time to ensure pitches are playable when games resume. We know that if we act now, we can turn the tide and even improve access to local grass pitches. But, without immediate long-term investment and care, the huge benefits of sport for mental and physical health, community cohesion and the economy, will be lost to millions every year.” He added: “We’re urging people to get involved and contact their local teams right now. The whole nation – Government, sports bodies and members of the public who love sport
– must help kick start sport as we are freed from restrictions.” Jason Booth, GMA’s director of technical and learning, commented: “We have around 56,891 rugby union and league, football and cricket grass pitches in England today. That’s one pitch for every 984 people. While pitch improvement programmes such as GaNTIP are making huge strides, more needs to be done to support grassroots sports and increase playability. With the right approach, we can reduce cancellations, increase year-round participation, engage new participants and promote active lifestyles. “We also recently launched Level 1 online courses to help upskill even more volunteers. Priced at just £25, the courses have been really successful so far – we’ve seen grounds staff use it as a refresher, as well as a learning tool for those with little or no experience. It’s a good little boost to help people on their volunteering journey.”
Visit www.thegma.org.uk/backtoplaywhitepaper to read the full ‘Back to Play’ report. Visit www.thegma.org.uk/learning for details of Level 1 online courses.
