Educational Establishments
What would you consider to be the state of our industry?
I would say it is going from strength to strength. When I first started work, people would just see you as a man who mows grass, but now I think they have started to appreciate what the industry does. With the addition of social media, I think that they see the lengths we have to go in order to achieve our goals across the industry.
Are we undervalued? Not as much as we use to be, but there is still a breakdown between the groundsman and the hierarchy. A lot of it boils down to knowledge of groundsmanship. Because someone has a nice back garden, it doesn’t make them an expert on pitches. If you look out the window and the sun is out, it doesn’t mean the ground isn’t wet.
I don’t think we are appreciated enough for what we produce with the financial restrictions and weather variables we have to contend with. A lot of places have minimum budgets and the work they are producing is unreal in retrospect. I don’t think a lot of people see the stress that people in the industry are under to hit deadlines and the time they spend away from their families; a lot of groundsmen are married to the job!
We need to keep plugging away on social media; it’s the way for everyone to see and be able to appreciate just what we do.
Do you and your staff attend industry shows, seminars, demo days, road shows?
Yes, and I do try and go to as many demo day as possible. It’s very important as it can increase your knowledge. At times it feels like a carrot being dangled in front of a donkey’s nose, but it does mean that, if there was an
input of money, we would always know what equipment we want.
You seem to be very content in your work. Is that a fair comment?
The past year has been the hardest of my career so far. In April last year, I had a member of the ground staff leave to take up another job, and the university had a post freeze on at the time. It meant we couldn’t replace him until mid- July. This was a very trying period. There were just two full time members - myself and Chris - and part-timer Thomas to look after fifty acres. Winter sports end of season renovations had to be done and the cricket pitches made ready for the start of the season, but we battled through. It meant a few areas got neglected for a few months but, by the time the students were back in October, and with Tom now on board, we were back to producing our best work.
I do believe there are some great times ahead for the university, especially with the appointment of a new President - Professor Paul Boyle - who is a keen sportsman.
The sports department now comes under the ‘Student Experience’ division under a new leader, Bob Athwal. I see a bright future in sport and, subsequently, for the sports grounds.
I love working at the University at Leicester; it’s been a massive learning curve for me these last six years. Having the opportunity to run budgets, sit in on managers meetings and have a say on the sport has stood me in good stead for the future. In 2013, I was runner up in the School, College and University Groundsman of the Year.
Am I content? I reckon so.
The Finest Finish you will ever see!
Lloyds range of high quality mowers offer robust design
They are engineered to give outstanding performance with years of trouble free service
LLOYDS & CO LETCHWORTH LTD Birds Hill, Letchworth, Herts SG6 1JE UK T: 01462 683031
Building of the new pitches was contracted out
E:
sales@lloydsandco.com W:
www.lloydsandco.com
PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015 I 75
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