The winners of the Grounds Management Association (GMA) Industry Awards 2022 were announced last night during a packed-out gala ceremony at the Vox, Birmingham NEC, hosted by BBC broadcaster Mark Clemmit.
The prestigious awards ceremony recognised talent from across the grounds care industry, by acknowledging the people who are making a huge difference in local communities, sports clubs, and educational establishments across the country.
The sell-out event made its long-awaited return, after a two-year pandemic-enforced hiatus, with more than 500 of the industry’s leading grounds care experts from both the professional and volunteer sector, industry suppliers and dignitaries from the governing bodies of sport and influential sports administrators in attendance to honour the expertise, the dedication, and the passion by exceptional grounds personnel.
In total, eighteen awards were presented – celebrating a range of achievements, including Young Grounds Person of the Year, Best Environmental and Sustainability Impact, and International Impact Award, plus the esteemed Alex R Millar award as well as two new entries into the GMA Hall of Fame.
“I am delighted to see the return of the GMA Industry Awards after a two-year break,” said Geoff Webb, CEO of Grounds Management Association.
“It was great to catch up with some familiar faces and to see some new names popping up, expanding the list of people who make sport possible.
I would like to thank all our sponsors for supporting this year’s awards, and thank our presenter, Mark Clemmit, who understands our industry and, as a broadcaster, is helping to raise our profile.” Geoff added.
The winners of the GMA Industry Awards 2022 are:
Young Grounds Person of the Year (Sponsored by Origin Amenity Solutions)
Dylan Thompson - Doncaster Rovers Football Club
Newcomer of the Year (Sponsored by Reesink)
Thomas Hall - Leicester City Football Club
Volunteer Sports Grounds Team / Individual of the Year (Sponsored by Kubota UK & Redexim)
Broughton Recreation Field
Community Sports Club Grounds Team / Individual of the Year (Sponsored by National Governing Bodies˚)
Milton Colts Football Club
Bowls/Croquet Grounds Team/Individual of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
Wantage Bowling Club
Best Managed Artificial Surface of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
Yeovil Recreational Centre
Best Environmental and Sustainability Impact (Sponsored by Sports&Turf)
Yeovil Recreational Centre
Professional Cricket Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Professional Tennis Courts Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by Infinicut)
The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club
Professional Horse Racing Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
Goodwood Racecourse
Professional Rugby Football League Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
Wigan Warriors
Professional Rugby Football Union Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
Harlequins RUFC
Professional Football Grounds Team of the Year (A)* (Sponsored by AMS Robotics)
Newport County Association Football Club
Professional Football Grounds Team (B)** (Sponsored by SGL)
Leicester City Football Club
University / College Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by Net World Sports)
University of Warwick
Independent School Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
Whitgift School
International Impact Award (Sponsored by the GMA)
Oliver Grice-Hewitt - Udinese Calcio Football Club
Alex R Millar Award
John Ledwidge - Leicester City Football Club
The winners
Dylan Thompson, Doncaster Rovers Football Club
Young Grounds Person of the Year (Sponsored by Origin Amenity Solutions)
Dylan is the Head Grounds person at the Eco Power Stadium in Doncaster. The facility hosts football and rugby league matches, along with other community events. Educated to Level 3 in Sports Turf Management, Dylan prides himself on promoting continual staff development.
Thomas Hall, Leicester City Football Club
Newcomer of the Year (Sponsored by Reesink)
Thomas Hall is new to the industry after deciding to change his career at 30 years of age. Thomas undertook a work placement working on the Women’s Euros tournament at MK Dons stadium and has since gained his Sports Turf Operative Leve 2 Award with distinction. He has consistently scored highly on all training he has undertaken since taking up the role and has completed several leadership courses.
Broughton Recreation Field
Volunteer Sports Grounds Team / Individual of the Year (Sponsored by Kubota UK & Redexim)
Located in Lincolnshire, the Broughton Recreation Field, overseen by Sean Clixby, has seen great improvements over the last few years – thanks to expert GMA advice and funding from the Football Foundation’s PitchPower programme.
Volunteers at Broughton Rovers JFC, Broughton Cricket Club, Broughton Working Men’s Club FC, Broughton Town Council, and North Lincolnshire Council all work together to achieve vital pitch improvement.
Milton Colts Football Club
Community Sports Club Grounds Team / Individual of the Year (Sponsored by National Governing Bodies˚)
Located in Cambridgeshire, Milton Colts Football Club consists of 17 grassroots teams that use five football pitches across two grounds. Owned by the local parish council and operated by the local community centre, the pitches have seen a significant improvement thanks to Paul Yaxley and his dedicated volunteering colleague.
Wantage Bowling Club
Bowls/Croquet Grounds Team/Individual of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
Dean Gibbons and his volunteering colleague at Wantage Bowling Club, in Oxfordshire, undertake the day-to-day bowling green operations, which includes cutting and surface preparation, as well as the management of the rink settings and direction of play to help maintain top greens’ condition.
They are also responsible for maintaining equipment and have created a short, medium, and long-term improvement strategy, including investment opportunities to ensure the bowling surface continues to be the club’s biggest asset.
Yeovil Recreation Centre
Best Managed Artificial Surface of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
The team at Yeovil Recreation Centre pride themselves on being able to provide quality surfaces for multi-sport use and utilise a wide range of machinery and equipment to achieve excellent results.
The site covers 37 acres and includes an artificial grass football pitch, an artificial grass nine-hole mini golf course, an artificial turf hockey pitch with a training area, and an international A grade 400 meter athletics running track.
Yeovil Recreation Centre
Best Environmental and Sustainability Impact (Sponsored by Sports&Turf)
Yeovil Recreation Centre has provided an environmentally sustainable site that has led to reduced carbon emissions. The grounds team also promotes and supports biodiversity, while maintaining high-quality surfaces, by using sustainable management techniques to encourage and manage wildlife – and provide wellbeing opportunities for visitors.
Initiatives include tree planting, a grassland management scheme, sustainable weed suppression, water recycling and irrigation process, the installation of bird, bat and owl boxes and log pile bug hotels.
Warwickshire County Cricket Club
Professional Cricket Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by The GMA
Led by Head of Sports Turf & Grounds Gary Barwell – the team of 10 manage two sites that have 91 pitches and three outfields in total.
The club has held more than 40 fixtures at Edgbaston Stadium including international cricket, first-class cricket, major domestic finals as well as Commonwealth Games events.
The team carry out their own end-of-season renovation work with all staff trained to the relevant and appropriate level.
The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club
Professional Tennis Courts Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by Infinicut)
The All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club employs 17 full-time staff and eight seasonal staff that oversee 42 acres and manage and maintain the Wimbledon Championship courts in addition to a nine-hole golf course, an indoor tennis centre, hard courts, and croquet lawns.
The team has evidenced excellent professionalism, communication and management skills, and pride themselves on continual staff development.
Goodwood Racecourse
Professional Horse Racing Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by Grounds Management Association)
Goodwood Racecourse holds 19 race days per year. The team, consisting of six full-time staff and two part-time staff, has recently completed a major irrigation upgrade project while delivering the hugely successful Qatar Goodwood Festival.
The team use the latest technology to manage and monitor the site, and have ensured that all grounds staff are trained, via the GMA, to a minimum of Level 2. This enables them to provide a world-class racing surface.
Wigan Warriors
Professional Rugby Football League Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
The grounds team at Wigan Warriors have been working towards a five-year strategy and significant investment into resources, which has led to a vast improvement in quality playing surfaces.
The team of five full-time staff and four matchday volunteers have prioritised sustainability, with environment-led decision-making enabling a reduction in the club’s carbon footprint – without compromising on pitch quality.
Harlequins RUFC
Professional Rugby Football Union Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
Harlequins RUFC hosts both men’s and women’s teams in addition to women’s internationals and other events – totalling 240 hours of pitch use per season. Head Groundsman Paul Sykes and his team consistently provide an excellent surface throughout the season and continuously find innovative ways to improve the surface, plus communication with club stakeholders and staff.
Newport County Association Football Club
Professional Football Grounds Team of the Year (A)* (Sponsored by AMS Robotics)
Managing one of the busiest stadiums in the country as well as a training facility, Newport County Association Football Club’s team of three grounds staff – Jon Raymond, James Stuart, and Joseph Bates – work wonders with a very small budget. They have a newly constructed surface that is meeting the challenge of hosting a significant number of games and other activities each season.
Leicester City Football Club
Professional Football Grounds Team (B)** (Sponsored by SGL)
Leicester City Football Club employs 51 full-time staff and 10 matchday staff serving both the stadium and training facility – which includes the world’s first Sports Turf Academy, a golf course, and a research facility.
The team have shown excellent examples of how to manage multiple areas, by utilising technology and communicating with all stakeholders alongside providing exceptional development opportunities for staff at all levels. All facilities have now reached an exceptional standard.
University of Warwick
University / College Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by Net World Sports)
The team of four full-time staff and one apprentice at the University of Warwick maintain more than 118 acres, covering pitches for football, rugby, and American Football. The grounds staff provide excellent pitches for students and despite experiencing staff shortages, the standards achieved by the team have been outstanding.
Whitgift School
Independent School Grounds Team of the Year (Sponsored by the GMA)
A team of 20 grounds staff, gardeners, and estate staff provide excellent housekeeping and maintenance at the school – resulting in outstanding facilities – and its investment in people through staff development initiatives has been a key part of their success.
Whitgift is also the first independent school in the country to install a hybrid pitch which is already proving to be an excellent acquisition.
Oliver Grice-Hewitt, Udinese Calcio Football Club
International Impact Award (Sponsored by the GMA)
As Head Grounds Person for Udinese Calcio Football Club at the Dacia Stadium in Italy's Serie A, Oliver Grice-Hewitt has had to deal with extreme conditions while overseeing the reconstruction of two new pitches which have both received excellent feedback from players and coaches.
Significant investment into resource prompted Udinese Calcio to win the ‘Serie A - Most Valuable Pitch of The Season Award’. This meant a promotion to Grounds Manager for Oliver, where he now oversees both the stadium and training facilities.
John Ledwidge, Leicester City Football Club
Alex R Millar Award
John Ledwidge manages all grounds staff at Leicester City Football Club as Head of Sports Turf and Grounds. Having previously been Chair of the GMA Young Board, John has always been highly motivated in encouraging young people and newcomers into the industry and has overseen the construction and development of Leicester City's training facility which includes the world’s first Sports Turf Academy.
He is a passionate innovator and a true inspiration to many within the industry.
˚ National Governing Bodies = FA, RFU, ECB, Sport England, RFL & Premier League
*For English Leagues 1 & 2, National League, National League North/South, Scottish Championship & Leagues 1 & 2, Ireland & Wales Professional Leagues
**For Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premier League