Winter Sports - Rugby League C
astleford Rugby League club was formed in 1926, adopting the name ‘Tigers’ in 1992 when rugby league sought to improve its image to a nation of sport
hungry viewers. With the sport’s traditional heartland being the north of England, most notably Lancashire and Yorkshire, Castleford are firmly ‘white rose’. Castleford Tigers were founding members of the Super League in 1996, but the 21st century has seen their fortunes fluctuate, with two relegations taking them some distance away from the top flight. Now back in the Super League, 2014 saw them finish fourth and also reach the Challenge Cup final at Wembley, watched by a crowd of close to 80,000. Sadly, for them, they lost to rivals Leeds 23-10. The Wheldon Road ‘Mend-A-Hose Jungle’
has been their home since their inception, but plans are afoot for a new stadium in the Glasshoughton area of the town. The current stadium has a capacity of 11,743, standing and seating, and regularly attracts
crowds in excess of 8,000 - 18% of Castleford’s population. The club’s Head Groundsman is Stuart
Vause, who worked at the ground for four years part time and on match days, whilst working full time for the local authority. “I always had an interest in turf and
gardening whilst at school, so I got careers advice and was placed on a YTS scheme with Wakefield Council at the time. My dad was a massive inspiration to me, not just in encouraging me to pursue this career, but also teaching me how to work hard to get what I want.” “I worked as a team leader for the local authority for thirty years, covering cricket, bowling greens and golf, and ran a grounds maintenance team looking after two main parks; this was Monday to Friday. Then I worked at the ground after work and weekends. If I needed more time to prepare the pitch, I booked annual leave from work! Through work, I got a passion for the turf side and wanted to pursue a career in it. Now self-employed, when the opportunity
came up for me to be involved with the club more heavily, I jumped at the chance,” Stuart confirms. During his career, Stuart has earned
qualifications in City & Guilds in Horticulture 1, 2 and 3, an NVQ Diploma in Greenkeeping, NEBS Business Management, PA1, PA6a knapsack sprayer, NPOR tractor training, CS30 chainsaw and IOSH Health & Safety training. In addition, he was runner- up at the IOG awards in the Rugby League Groundsman category. Stuart explains that the pitch is soil based
heavy clay. “It holds water in certain areas after heavy rainfall, which cuts up badly from January to April. This requires lots of serious divoting and also leaves discolouration on the surface. From May onwards, it firms up, helping to cut down on the divoting. It plays heavy in the first few months of the season but, after that, is more of a delight to work on and can easily accommodate training and game days. The first few months of the year, I have to switch some under 19 games to protect the
There’s a groundsman in this picture ... you’d best read on PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015 I 41
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148