BBC...ITV...Sky Sports
News...talkSPORT radio...regional media...sports and turf press...IOG Industry Award
winners hit the headlines!
Entries are now being
accepted for this year's Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) 2014 Industry Awards
in partnership with BIGGA. The awards recognise the skill of groundsmanship
across all main professional sports, as well as education, volunteer and
grassroots sports at all levels, plus new this year are awards for excellence in
greenkeeping.
Nominations can
easily be made online (www.iogawards.com) for the Awards - the
only industry-wide annual awards that acknowledge the important contribution
made by groundscare and greenkeeping staff to the high standards of playing
surfaces and the sustainability of British sport.
The
results will be announced Oscar-style at the MK Dons Stadium in Milton Keynes on
Thursday 4 December, following the IOG's 2014 Sports Turf
Conference.
The
successful Awards will be the sixth in the annual series. They highlight the
high standards of volunteer and professional grounds staff and facilities, from
grassroots to professional stadia level. Covering categories such as sport,
young people and the environment, the awards are judged by an independent panel
on criteria that include effective use of resources, budgetary control,
presentation and housekeeping standards, as well as environmental
considerations.
In addition to
revised categories that recognise the efforts of professional groundscare teams,
plus additional awards that celebrate excellence at grassroots level, also new
this year are three awards for the golf industry. The IOG has joined forces with
the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) to introduce
three BIGGA Awards that will recognise the achievements of greenkeepers the
length and breadth of the UK, whether they are employed at large multi-course
facilities or smaller venues.
Commenting
on the revision of the professional award categories to recognise team effort in
cricket, rugby union, rugby league, tennis, football and horseracing, IOG chief
executive Geoff Webb says:
"Each year we review
feedback, and groundsmen who have previously won individual awards do point out
how important their groundscare teams are. We hope this change of emphasis will
further encourage employers to nominate and recognise the many great teams that
exist across various sports venues."
He continues: "A new
award is the IOG Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme Volunteer of the
Year. This will recognise outstanding contributions to turf care by volunteers,
a sector that the recently–announced £1.3 million Grounds and Natural Turf
Improvement Programme's new network of regional pitch advisors will be in touch
with on a daily basis."
The categories of
entry to the IOG Industry Awards are:
- IOG Professional
Cricket Grounds Team of the Year
- IOG Professional
Rugby Union Grounds Team of the Year
- IOG Professional
Rugby League Grounds Team of the Year
- IOG
Professional Tennis Grounds Team of the Year.
- IOG
Campey/Imants Professional Football Grounds Team of the
Year
- IOG
John Deere Professional Horse Racing Grounds Team of the
Year
- IOG
Rigby Taylor/Top Green Young Groundsman of the Year.
- IOG
School, College, University Sports Club Grounds Team of the
Year
- IOG
Toro Most Promising Sports Turf Student of the Year
- IOG
Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement Programme Volunteer of the Year
- IOG NGB
Grassroots Sports Team of the Year
(co-sponsored by the
AELTC (All England Lawn Tennis Club), ECB (the England and Wales Cricket Board),
the Football Association (The FA), the Football Foundation, the Lawn Tennis
Association (the LTA), the Premier League, the RFL (Rugby Football League), the
RFU (Rugby Football Union) and Sport England.
- IOG NGB
Spectator Ground of the Year
(co-sponsored by the
AELTC (All England Lawn Tennis Club), ECB (the England and Wales Cricket Board),
the Football Association (The FA), the Football Foundation, the Lawn Tennis
Association (the LTA), the Premier League, the RFL (Rugby Football League), the
RFU (Rugby Football Union) and Sport England.
- IOG
Ransomes Jacobsen Environmental Project/Innovation of the
Year.
- IOG
Kubota/Redexim Charterhouse Best Maintained Artificial Pitch of the
Year
- The IOG
Alex R Millar DLF/Johnsons Groundsman of the Year.
- IOG
Everris & Syngenta Lifetime Achievement Award.
The
three BIGGA Award categories are:
- The
Sherriff Amenity/BASF BIGGA Young Greenkeeper of the Year
- Championship
Greenkeeping Performance of the Year
- BIGGA Greenkeeping Achievement of the Year.
Geoff Webb
again: "There are many excellent examples of high-quality groundsmanship across
all sectors," he adds, "so, if you think you know an individual or groundscare
team, or a venue that deserves recognition, now is the time to nominate them now
using the easy access www.iogawards.com
website.
"Coupled
with the ongoing and extensive coverage of the Awards - and the Award winners
themselves – on BBC, ITV, Sky Sports News and talkSPORT radio, in addition to
the extensive publicity attracted each year throughout the turf and sports press
as well as in local/regional media, we are confident that this year's event will
again be a fantastic evening."
Jim
Croxton, BIGGA chief executive adds: "The IOG Industry Awards is a fantastic
occasion during which we celebrate great achievement in the groundsmanship
industry. I'm delighted that we are partnering with the IOG to introduce
greenkeeping awards. The sponsors and supporters of the event see great value
in the opportunity to bring the entire turf management industry together to
reward the remarkable achievements of its practitioners."
Visit www.iogawards.com to make your
easy-to-enter entries/nominations.
