U P D AT E
CAFRE STUDENTS’ CUPS OVERFLOW
Sports turf students from SALTEX College Cup winner CAFRE College joined the Wembley grounds team for a once-in-a-lifetime groundscare experience at the FA Cup Final
T By Chris Bennett SALTEX press officer
Karen Maxwell Managing editor
he opportunity to stand on arguably the world’s most famous stadium pitch on the day of The Emirates FA Cup Final is a dream for many. But for four sports turf students from Northern Ireland, that dream became reality when Gavin White, Jon Crawford, Michael Dundee and John Kennedy from CAFRE College in Antrim, Northern Ireland joined the Wembley grounds team last month. This once-ina-lifetime opportunity was part of their reward for leading CAFRE to glory in the 2016 SALTEX College Cup, the Institute of Groundsmanship’s (IOG) national, student-led sports turf challenge. Sponsored by Ransomes, the competition made its debut at last year’s SALTEX, where the CAFRE students competed against teams from four other UK-based horticultural colleges in their knowledge of horticulture and grounds management know-how. “When we heard we’d beaten all the other teams and got our hands on the trophy, it felt like we’d just won the FA Cup,” said first year sports turf student Michael Dundee. The team met with Wembley Stadium head groundsman Karl Standley on the morning of the big game between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC, and were briefed on the day’s pre-match proceedings.
S A LT E X
Enjoying Wembley, from left: Karen Maxwell (IOG), CAFRE students Michael Dundee and Jon Crawford, Wembley’s Karl Standley, students John Kennedy and Gavin White, and the IOG’s Geo� Webb
“Karl Standley and the rest of his team were very welcoming from the start,” said Level 3 sports turf student John Kennedy. “To assist in the preparation of the ground on the morning of match day was a great opportunity; the meticulous preparation and attention to detail was staggering, from brushing the red carpet to scissor-trimming the edges of the goal uprights and ensuring the goals were secure and spirit-level straight.”
CUP FINAL FEVER
As the CAFRE students spent the morning learning and working with one of the most finely tuned grounds team in the industry, it wasn’t long before Cup Final fever starting creeping into the stadium – an excitement which was certainly contagious for Level 3 greenkeeping student, Jon Crawford. “Being a massive Chelsea fan, it was an additional bonus to be part of the event,” Jon said. “We got to walk all around the stadium, we sat in the dug outs and even had our picture taken with the FA Cup – it was an experience that I will remember forever.” Even though Jon’s team didn’t get the result he was hoping for, once the pre-match preparation had finished, he and the CAFRE team had arguably some of the best seats in the stadium as they sat www.iog.org THE GROUNDSMAN 15