Keynote
This first in a new series of interviews with some of the sports turf industry’s leading individuals features someone who is considered by many to be the groundsman’s groundsman.
Eddie Seaward MBE has been the Head Groundsman at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon since 1990; he is due to retire later this year following the staging of the Olympics tennis tournament at the venue.
A groundsman since he left school at the age of 16, Eddie has been an active proponent of groundsmanship and the industry, and is held in the highest esteem by his fellow professionals. His service to sport was recognised in 2008 with the award of an MBE.
It is an unprecedented year ahead for Eddie and the club, but he is facing the change and the challenge in his calm, inimitable way
KEYNOTE interview
Eddie Seaward MBE
Pitchcare - with the Olympics at Wimbledon this year, I don’t suppose you’ll have any time to put your feet up?
Eddie - I wish. We’re all really looking forward to the Championships and the Olympics. What a great honour it is. There’s only a couple of weeks in between the Championships ending and the Olympics starting, so it’s going to be quite a challenge to get the grounds and the grass ready again. However, whilst I say there is a two week gap, in reality there is only two days before we have players practising here, plus we have to keep members going at the same time. It’s going to be quite a juggling act.
Also, we have to deal with all the logistics of the two events, which is what we are going through at the moment - new security fences being erected, changing the marquees, cameras being installed 10 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2012
etc., whilst we are busy working on the courts. That’s a nightmare as well as a challenge. As you can imagine it’s all go. Neil Stubley, our Head Groundsman Designate, is certainly coming in at the deep end, but we work well together.
You can’t knock it, it’s going to be great fun.
Pitchcare - What sports were you involved with in your younger days - were you a tennis player?
Eddie - No, I played football and cricket; I never really got the opportunity to play tennis at school. Some people may consider it ironic that I have ended up at the home of tennis, but you don’t necessarily need to have played the sport, it’s all about understanding what the sport needs. When I first came to Wimbledon, I worked with the referee
Alan Mills and I learned a lot from him. I was very lucky in that respect.
Pitchcare - How did you become a groundsman?
Eddie - I got interested in groundsmanship at school. I used to help out the caretaker at my secondary school, marking out the pitches and whatever else was needed, so I developed an interest and went straight from the school into the industry. We had a sportsmaster who doubled up as the careers master, and he knew me better than I knew me. He recommended that I go for a groundsman’s job to start with, at a local public school, which I did. And so it went from there.
Pitchcare - What would you consider has been the highlight of your career?
Eddie - Going up to the Palace and
THE
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