Summer Sports - Tennis
The Grounds Team at the Edgbaston Priory Club, led by Grounds Manager Dave Lawrence and Assistant Grounds Manager, and son, John, this year oversaw the Aegon Classic Birmingham, featuring the strongest player line up in the event’s rich history. With over half of the world’s top thirty women players descending on the Birmingham venue, the eyes of the world were on the grounds team and their manicured venue like never before.
In their latest article, Dave and John talk about managing expectations and pressure, how the courts have evolved to become the best in the history of the club, and how keeping a tight-knit team with a strong morale was, in their eyes, the key to their success
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Three members of the Lawrence family now help to maintain the grass courts at Edgbaston Priory - l-r: Dave, John and Sue
ike most people in our industry, we view our season as starting in the previous autumn when the courts are renovated. It is then that the seeds are sown, literally, for what will hopefully
be a successful summer of tennis the following year. As always, we entered the run up to the Aegon Classic with a lot of apprehension. Whilst we had completed a good autumn renovation, carried out a strong winter maintenance programme and then got the courts looking in good shape through spring, we are always nervous right up until the first ball is hit. No matter how much testing we carry out and how good the data looks (and, in reality, it did this year), there is nothing more reassuring then seeing high quality tennis being played, with as little attention being paid to the surface as possible! That would perhaps explain why the last few weeks in the run up to the tournament are always the most stressful - though having a strong team makes the chaos around us seem a little more organised! Our team has evolved a lot since last year’s
event, with the addition of Steven Whitfield in the autumn. Steven joined us from the Nottingham Tennis Centre and brought with him a depth of tournament knowledge, having worked events there for several years. Steven’s addition has not been the only one since last year, with us also adding another member of the Lawrence family to the fray. Wife of David, and mother of John, Sue Lawrence has also
PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 I 57
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