Summer Sports - Commonwealth Games
Rangers Football Club’s Ibrox Park will host the Commonwealth Games Rugby Sevens competition. Head Groundsman, Dave Roxburgh talks us through his preparations for the event and what will be required to get the pitch back into play for the start of season 2014-1
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Ibrox will be Sevens heaven
“ 72 I PC JUNE/JULY 2014
and upkeep of our Murray Park training facility, with exception of the buildings.
Many people are surprised to learn that all six of the bowling greens are in play by the public on a daily basis, even now before the Games have started
Dave Roxburgh
Games Legacy is very important to Glasgow Life, the leisure arm of the City Council, so we know that they will want to attract new trialists to the sport of bowls and build on the summer momentum. The venue is set up in a way where the public greens are playable seven days a week April to September from 10.00am until early evening. All play is entirely free and includes the hire of bowls. After the recovery week, there will be about seven weeks of the season left. Glasgow Life staff monitors the public when they access the facility and is geared up to be especially busy until the close.
Many people are surprised to learn that all six of the bowling greens are in play by the public on a daily basis, even now before the Games have started. Potentially, there can be 144 members of the public playing, as there are four players to a rink and six rinks to a green. However, this assumes that many of them bring their own bowls as we don't have that number of full sets of bowls on site!
Craig Collins rotates the rinks from north to south and from east to west, careful to alternate the direction of play. Everything is supervised by Glasgow Life staff who actively check that flat shoes are worn at all times.
Already there are some international fixtures in the 2015 calendar with Kelvingrove as venue, so there is a requirement to keep the greens in pristine condition.
Brief background on yourself and your current role at the club?
I was appointed Head Groundsman at Rangers Football Club in April 1987 from Kilmarnock Football Club where I had spent my previous twelve years as Groundsman/Head Groundsman.
As the Ibrox Head Groundsman, I am responsible for all areas under my remit and job description. When I first came to Rangers, I reported directly to the Team Manager as the playing surface was the area of responsibility directly linked to the playing structure, and still is to this day, despite now reporting directly to the Finance Director.
The remit is to provide the highest quality playing surface at Ibrox and to ensure it remains within the criteria of the SFL, SFA and UEFA for the purpose of playing professional football fixtures, ensuring that the surface is consistent throughout, and to provide suitable training surfaces for our professional footballers and developing youth players within the Murray Park training complex.
What facilities do you manage and what are your current staffing arrangements?
I am responsible for the maintenance and development of the playing surface at Ibrox stadium together with the maintenance
Below me I have two deputies, one is responsible for the day to day running of Ibrox [this position is vacant] and Alan Carlin, who is responsible for the day to day running at Murray Park. Both my deputies come with different skill sets and knowledge required to implement the pitch maintenance programmes developed within the team at both sites. Below them we have seven groundstaff who work between Ibrox and Murray Park, depending on fixtures and work programmes being carried out at the time.
All groundstaff are highly skilled and have attended college and attained relevant trade certificates in groundsmanship, greenkeeping and landscaping. They were employed to bring their level of experience to the club to enhance and develop the department given the level of technology within the pitch constructions.
We have also run a successful apprenticeship scheme that has enabled two of my staff to develop their skill level to the benefit of the club, so much so that Alan Carlin is a prodigy of this apprentice scheme.
How and when did the opportunity first come about for the club to host the Commonwealth rugby sevens event?
With the Commonwealth village being built in the east end of the city, the opening ceremony is being held at Celtic Park and, with Hampden being used for track and field events, it fell to Ibrox to host the rugby, given the capacity and atmosphere that is generated within our stadium environment.
How long have you had to prepare for this event?
It has been in the planning for over a year to ensure that the pitch fits in with the commonwealth criteria for hosting the Rugby Sevens tournament. Pitch preparation had to be planned in and around all the other needs require within the stadium facilities.
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