Life can be tough when budgets are tight, but even tougher when premium playing surfaces are demanded across the board. Tom James meets a man who walks a fine line to satisfy differing sporting priorities
Demain man!
“I’M a great believer in the power of nature to regenerate, and in turf ’s ability to come back to life.” Head groundsman Vic Demain voiced these sentiments whilst gazing out over a baked, brown expanse at Uxbridge Cricket Club, currently Middlesex County Cricket Club’s number one outground. Vic has witnessed such sights before - when the playing surface turns ‘white’ - and he knew that the four days of rain forecasted following my visit to him in July would prove the remedy for the parched playing surface. Vic’s sanguine approach reflects his generally more relaxed stance towards his daily task of managing the sometimes conflicting demands of, what is, a multi- sport venue. Passion for his job and a quest for
excellence under trying circumstances had conspired to create an inner tension, he reveals, but insists he is “far calmer about things now. I don’t let the job get to me as much as it once might have done.”
He then expands on his earlier
reflection. “I never cease to be amazed by the power of grass to compensate. It’s
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an amazing species. When times are tough, it shuts itself down and just ticks over until conditions improve.” One reason, perhaps, why grass, in one form or another, has populated virtually every square metre possible on the planet. Vic is now in his fifth season at Uxbridge, having joined in 2006. Before coming into the post, he had enjoyed a multifaceted career, coming into turfcare with “passion but little experience”, he confesses. “I’d worked as a painter and decorator for many years but, once the housing industry slumped, I decided to apply for jobs in groundsmanship. I had little hands-on knowledge or experience but had enthusiasm in droves.” He was lucky enough to land a position at Ascott Park in Buckinghamshire, a job he secured thanks to the coaching qualifications he had gained whilst still in the decorating trade.
Joining there in 1996, he spent eight seasons on, what is, the country estate of financier Sir Evelyn de Rothschild. As joyous as his arrival had been was the
shock and disappointment at the news that his “over-zealous” estates manager wanted to move towards a contractor- based operation. “They wanted to save money, so felt that not employing a full-time groundsman would help them do this - a move I have always felt was a mistake on their part,” he explains. Despite efforts to save the position, the deed was done and Vic moved on to work for Richard Bryce (Sports Ground Services) Milton Keynes for two seasons where he looked after Campbell Park, a Northants outground. Vic moved to the position of Head
Groundsman at Uxbridge Cricket Club in 2006, and can now claim to be one of the club’s longest-serving groundsmen. That fact, in itself, conceals the reality that a high staff turnover has characterised the club over the years. “It’s a challenging club to work at,”
says Vic candidly, “given the scope of provision here, which includes not only cricket but also tennis, bowls and rugby.” A major issue in that legacy has been a lack of continuity in club chairmen, Vic contests. “That’s made decision-making
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