Winter Sports - Football


“


We have access to consultants, if required, as well as outside contractors to carry out certain tasks like verti- draining


A motorbike rally taking place on the stockcar track that surrounds the main pitch


held in other areas before making the move to the council.


Stephen said: “I started off on a voluntary youth work scheme and then moved on to become a private maintenance contractor.” “After that, I worked for the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Newtownabbey Borough Council and then Ballymena Borough Council, which more recently became the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.”


Thanks to the nature of his jobs, Stephen also took a variety of training courses including a number of grounds maintenance courses.


“I also took PA1, 2 and 6 training, chainsaw user’s course, pitch management courses, Nebosh level 3, IOSH, ANCH in sports turf management from Greenmount College, ILM level 5 in leadership and management and a licentiateship in sports turf management,” he said.


These are real experienced staff and put in a lot of effort maintaining all the pitches in the borough. They certainly know their stuff


” Left to right: Andrew Clarke, Glenn Hoffin and Stephen Galvin 56 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018


And it was during his time at Greenmount College that Stephen met Paul Campbell, who he claims was the one person who really inspired him in the industry. Stephen is in charge of the budgets to maintain the pitches and has additional staff at his disposal when required. “We have access to consultants, if required, as well as outside contractors to carry out certain tasks like verti‐draining,” said Stephen. “I also have two staff working with me including Glenn Hoffin, who has been with us for fourteen years, and Andrew Clarke who has twenty years’ service with the council.”


“These are real experienced staff and put in a lot of effort maintaining all the pitches in the borough. They certainly know their stuff,” he added.


The pitches are mostly composed of sandy soils and require a good fertilisation programme during the season’s


maintenance programme.


“We always strive to ensure we have a good fertiliser programme in place here and use good quality grass seed,” said Stephen. “We are committed to regular maintenance of the facility and ensuring it is at its best for the demands of top level sport.” Being a council run amenity, the pitches are widely used by the local community and professional bodies.


“There are various local leagues, from youth to intermediate level that make good use of the pitches,” Stephen said. “Last summer, we hosted several SuperCup Northern Ireland games, including the finals, and UEFA Women’s Under‐19 championship matches. Both organisers of these competitions praised the standard of the facilities. These incredible tournaments put our borough on the map as a location for top‐level sport and are hugely beneficial to tourism and our economy.”


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