Winners of the
2017 BALI National Landscape Awards, recently enjoyed an exclusive
behind-the-scenes look at the All England Lawn Tennis Club Wimbledon, which was
hosted and organised by ICL and awards headline sponsor Green-tech.
The event began
with an introduction from Mark Pyrah, ICL’s Landscape & Industrial Manager
for UK & Ireland and Tom Parker, Purchasing and Commercial Director of
Green-tech, before handing over to Head of Courts and Horticulture Neil
Stubley.
Neil described
in great detail the meticulous planning and hard work that is required to
successfully deliver the greatest tennis championships in the world – which is
watched by an audience of over 1 billion people worldwide. He then proceeded to
present a captivating overview of the site and its facilities which includes 44
grass courts, 5 indoor courts, 8 American Clay courts, 8 Plexipave Acrylic
courts and 3 croquet lawns.
As well as
highlighting the progress of trial work which is currently being conducted in
partnership with the STRI, Neil revealed just how much tennis is played on the
courts at Wimbledon. Last year, 658 matches were played totalling a staggering
amount of 3,177 hours. This was across 38 grass courts during the
championships, which was in addition to a further 25 tournaments as well as
regular usage from the club’s 375 private members who are free to play on the
courts until they close in September.
After lunch, the
award winners received an access-all-areas tour by Neil which included a visit
to the legendary Centre Court, a tour of the media centre, and a look at the
current construction works of the No.1 Court. Work on the extensive
reconstruction, which will see a retractable roof and wider, more comfortable
spectator seating, began after last year's Championships and is set to be
completed in time for 2019 Championships.
Reflecting on
the successful day, Mark Pyrah from ICL, who organised the event, said: “We
were delighted to welcome the 2017 BALI award winners and show them the world
class facilities at Wimbledon. They were hugely impressed by Neil and his
team’s attention to detail. It was a very successful event and I’d like to
thank Neil for his time and expertise in offering us an insight into
groundsmanship practices at the highest level.”
Tom Parker from
Green-tech added: “We feel privileged to have been able to visit such a world
class venue to celebrate the success of the Bali Award winners. The level of
quality, technical development and ambition of Wimbledon is extraordinary and
it was amazing to have such an exclusive experience.”
