5 minute read
What’s in a name?
What’s in a name? EVERYTHING!
The IOG is calling an EGM to vote on its proposed name change to the Grounds Management Association. Chief executive Geoff Webb explains more...
By Colin Hoskins Features editor W e are at a critical juncture of our existence. Extensive research shows that we need to change in order to survive. The proposed new name, the Grounds Management Association, is fresh and modern while remaining true to our rich heritage and history. It’s vital that we attract a new pipeline of recruits to the profession and an army of volunteers. We are confident that the new name will: Appeal to a younger generation. We urgently need to attract more young people to the industry as only one in five working in groundscare are below the age of 30, and 40 per cent of our current workforce are aged over 50. One in five grounds managers will be leaving their jobs within the next five years Show to governing bodies and the general public that they need to value the vital work that grounds staff do, which should lead to more investment and recruitment Remove gender from our title – one in five respondents to a recent survey said
‘groundsmanship’ is a barrier to attracting new talent.
The industry’s demographic is compounded by the fact that some employers are choosing not to recruit new, replacement staff when an existing member leaves or retires.
So, it is clear: we have a crisis looming – and that time bomb doesn’t just apply to professionals: more than two-thirds of community grounds volunteers are aged over 60, and almost all are over 50. We need to address these issues now. NEW OBJECTIVES It is imperative to the continued success of the industry that we attract new recruits, including women (only 2% of grounds professionals and volunteers are female) and BAME groups (only 1%), while promoting the great work and the innovative and highly technical pitch care regimes that are performed daily by individuals and teams up and down the country. We will also continue to shine a light on the companies that provide the world-leading products and services that help make the UK the turf sector’s world leader.
The suggested new name (and the clarity it brings) will also enable us to assume the best possible, strongest position to promote our ‘Grounds for Sport’ campaign to the public through, for example, national media. The campaign seeks to underline how the improvement and maintenance of natural and artificial turf surfaces are vital to sport nationwide. In addition to promoting the status of the profession, the campaign – in terms of natural turf provision alone – is designed to ‘re-boot’ the benefits of grass pitches by working to create: Better pitches More investment More and higher qualified grounds staff And to raise the status of the profession.
The IOG Board – which includes practising grounds managers representing all sectors of the industry – has voted unanimously for the name change. Members firmly believe that the suggested new title will not only enable us to appeal to a wider and more diverse audience, but that this more ‘current’ name will also attract greater inward investment and support, as
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HAVE YOUR SAY
The Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) will be held on Thursday 2 April 2020 at Edgbaston County Cricket Ground at 12pm prompt. The address is: Room 1882, Edgbaston Road, Birmingham B5 7QU. All eligible voting members are welcome; please arrive in good time for coffee and networking.
If you are unable to attend the EGM, you can vote by post. Download your voting form at www.iog.org. All forms must be received at the IOG Head Office by no later than 3pm on Tuesday 31 March 2020. Send your completed form to The Institute of Groundsmanship, 28 Stratford Office Village, Walker Avenue, Milton Keynes MK12 5TW.
For further details see page 4 or call 01908 312511.
some stakeholders have suggested. Importantly, it does mean that our membership offering will alter for the better; and it will be the name, the visual identity and the way we communicate with you and the wider public that will be changing.
RESEARCH RESULTS The industry ‘shortcomings’ that have spurred this change to a new identity were revealed by our industry-wide research in 2019. The ‘Groundsmanship – Sport’s Vital Profession’ study revealed all these aspects as direct challenges to the future of our industry. What also came out of that research was the view that our current name was holding us back as an organisation, holding little relevance for groups, such as the younger generation, women, sports bodies and government decision-makers. So, effectively, we are responding to the industry’s views and needs, and are aiming to keep the sector alive and thriving.
We also embarked on further research into the perception of the title of the Institute of Groundsmanship and the attitudes towards that name. We created focus groups and spoke with a wide range of stakeholders as well as members (across all membership categories), grounds volunteers at sports clubs and people from a diverse range of backgrounds who had not heard about the profession or our organisation. We also studied what was being said about the IOG in the media and on social media. Indeed, one respondent said: “The word ‘institute’ sounds pompous and old-fashioned; that word is never going to appeal to anyone under the age of 30.”
We left no stone unturned trying to find the best way forward to help lift the profile of the industry and
to attract more professionals and volunteers. The new title of the Grounds Management Association came about after several other permutations were considered and, taking into account market research, debated by working groups and the IOG Board.
Indeed, the IOG Board feels that the new name is unambiguous – it does ‘what it says on the tin’. It also stays true to our rich heritage and history (some may remember that the IOG was, until 1969, called the National Association of Groundsmen). In addition, the inclusion of ‘Association’ creates a sense of community, and we want to go forward and build on that spirit. Another key point is that the new name is equally applicable to everyone involved in managing sports pitches at every level – all pitches, and therefore the outcome of the sports played on them – have to be managed, whether by professionals or volunteers.
We all know that the dedication of UK grounds staff, both professional and volunteer, is unquestionable and critical to ‘making sport possible’. The time has come for us to not only tell the wider world how vital we are, but also to communicate and attract a new, younger and diverse generation of grounds professionals.
iDownload your voting form at
