The Institute of
Groundsmanship (IOG) has announced its new Grounds4Sport programme with an
initial backing of £100,000 over the next three years to improve the quality
and promote the benefits of natural turf sports surfaces.
“The programme will
transform local community facilities by engaging a new generation of volunteers
and career grounds people, and by providing opportunities for everyone who
wants to grow their skills and confidence as well as provide improved sports turf
pitches,” says IOG chief executive Geoff Webb.
“We aim to reverse the
decline in natural turf sports provision by increasing pitch playing capacity,
and creating safer and consistently better playing surfaces for communities
throughout the UK.”
The programme will
also highlight the health and community benefits of sport, he adds.
Grounds4Sport will not
only aim to develop the IOG’s National Framework for Natural Turf – which will
match an innovative Pitch Grading System with appropriate educational standards
for those who maintain playing surfaces, from grassroots to elite professional
level - but it will also set out to re-invigorate a passion for turf by
offering integrated learning platforms using online options as well as
practical help.
Building on the
lessons learned from the ongoing IOG-led Grounds and Natural Turf Improvement
Programme*, which has found widespread pitch compaction problems married with a
lack of knowledge and training in pitch maintenance, Grounds4Sport is
essentially “a movement and force for good natural turf practice”, says Geoff.
“We recognise that
resources are limited, but with a little direction, pride and passion,
Grounds4Sport will show how ‘grass can definitely do more’.”
Geoff adds: “The new
programme is all about changing the mindset and approach to maintaining natural
turf surfaces by creating greater awareness and understanding of natural turf,
and by developing improved maintenance skills.”
“While £100,000 is a
significant investment for an organisation the size of the IOG, I recognise
that this in itself will not be enough to make a big enough impact nationwide,”
Geoff says. “So, the IOG is actively seeking partnerships with other agencies,
authorities and charities, as well as individual investors, to expand the
programme.”
*The Grounds and
Natural Turf Improvement Programme is a joint initiative between the IOG, the
England and Wales Cricket Board, The Football Association and the Football
Foundation to significantly improve the quality of grassroots natural turf
pitches.
