Groundstaffs Profile withing Professional Sport

Friday, September 04, 2009Groundstaffs Profile withing Professional Sport

Michael HealGroundstaff Deserve a Much Higher Profile and Greater Influence in the Running of Proffesional Sport

Interest in all forms of sport has never been greater and the media attention it now attracts is insatiable and is no longer confined to the back pages. Yet analyse all that media attention and you will find little mention, let alone credit, attributed to the ground staff that make these events possible – unless, of course, something goes wrong!

We can all recall the furore earlier in the year when England’s Test Match in Antigua at the new Sir Viv Richards Stadium was abandoned minutes after the start because the opening bowlers were sinking into the sand as they ran up to bowl.

More recently the state of the pitch at Wembley has come under a barrage of criticism from all quarters and yet the only public casualty seems to have been the head groundsman.

This example is typical of the “pecking order” at most professional clubs. Groundsmen are generally the last to be informed of initiatives taken by the executives which will impact on the sustained quality of the match pitches - and training ones - for which they bear responsibility.

The IOG have been fighting for years to improve the status afforded to all groundsmen but their requirements are all too often overlooked by executives when it comes to apportioning budget priorities. We were shocked to discover that some groundsmen are expected to regularly produce pitches for high profile televised matches (plus maintain the training pitches) on salaries considerable less than the national average and have access to only the most basic forms of equipment.

Geoff Webb, Chief Executive of the Institute of Groundsmanship, has been campaigning for greater recognition for his members for years

“Groundsmen are treated very much as the poor relations at professional organisations and suffer in terms of the input they are allowed, the salaries they are paid and in the budgets allocated for the equipment they need to do their job”, comments Webb.

Jonathan Smith has been a groundsman at international venues for cricket, rugby and football and his company now supplies a comprehensive range of ground care equipment and materials to clubs, both amateur and professional, with customers from all around the globe. Using his experience he has been able to cleverly modify basic designs to make them much more effective and easier and quicker for groundsmen to deploy.

“The common complaint from groundsmen responsible for pitches at professional clubs is that executives do not seek, or listen to their advice. This can have serious consequences on the state of the playing surfaces and the recovery time required to get it back into shape. It is as though they were an unnecessary drain on the club’s balance sheet! All too often it is an “after the horse has bolted” scenario rather than a pro-active approach”, says Smith.

“There are some notable exceptions. Arsene Wenger made the playing surface at The Emirates a priority when the new stadium was being built and made sure the funds were available and it has certainly paid dividends”, comments Smith.

Other forward thinking organisations include those at the Leeds Carnegie stadium where Head Groundsman Jason Booth is expected to produce top class playing surfaces for both the league and union rugby teams.

“The last thing I need is a real downpour in early autumn because matches played on waterlogged pitches simply destroy the top surface and there is no chance of any real improvement to the surface through grass growth through those winter months.

“We use a pitch protection system made of light but highly durable fabric which enables me to control the amount of moisture in the pitch throughout the year

“Not only does it make my life so much easier and the pitch so much better for the players but it has paid for itself in the first year by being able to stage two extra events already”, concludes Booth”

Losing revenue from postponed matches, especially if TV is involved, should be a strong motivating factor driving chief executives to listen to their groundsmen. The costs to clubs of losing all forms of revenue from a postponed match due to receive national TV exposure are likely to be around the £100,000 mark.

Producing a wicket conducive to good cricket for the five days of an Ashes Test Match given the vagaries of the UK’s climate at an untried Test Match venue is enough to induce nightmares to even the soundest of sleepers! This task fell to Keith Exton, the new Head Groundsman at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.

Both the immediate and long term consequences made investment in ground drainage and adequate covers for the pitch itself, the square and the outfield, plus the ancillary equipment needed to deploy it, a priority.

“The club are well aware of the importance of the opening Ashes Test Match and although I wouldn’t say I have an open cheque book, I have certainly been given all the support and everything that I feel is required to make the event a success”, comments Keith.

This investment will repay itself many times over if Sophia Gardens was awarded more high profile cricket matches in the coming years. Just think of the extra revenue the city of Cardiff will enjoy as a result of this Test Match and others in the future. With the Millennium Stadium and the new Cardiff City Stadium (home of Cardiff City FC and Cardiff Blues RFC) complementing the improvements at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff can position itself as a City capable of attracting and staging a variety of large, high profile events – and not just those confined to sport.

“Adequate pitch and square protection is also vital for grass roots club cricket”, says Jonathan Smith. “Not only does it assist in the preparation of “good cricket wickets” but it also ensures that more games can take place. With so many clubs dependent on bar takings to help fund the costs of running the club, the postponement of games has a sizable adverse financial impact. Good facilities also attract the better players and with success on the field you are more likely to attract local sponsorship. This will provide you with the funds to maintain high standards of cricket ground care and the quality cricket enjoyed by all club members”, he concludes.

However, even at organisations that are “commercial concerns” they could not stage the matches they do without a nucleus of “unpaid volunteers”. This is certainly the case in a number of Premier Rugby Clubs and in the divisions outside the Premiership in soccer. The IOG figures estimate that the sports turf industry has 20,000 in employment and another 20,000 who work in a volunteer capacity.

Their loyalty to their club and the work they put in, especially to combat the effects of adverse weather conditions prior to matches, should not be used to undermine the principle that groundsmen should be adequately rewarded for the role they perform, be provided with the equipment to do their job and their input sought on all matters affecting the playing surface.

Contact information:

IOG: www.iog.org

JMS: www.jmscricket.com

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