The shortlist for Allett’s Pitch To Play competition has been announced.

Three teams have fought off stiff competition from many other clubs all vying to win a brand new Allett lawnmower and expert advice from the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) to help them maintain their pitch and improve their club’s prospects for the future.

Hambledon FC

The three clubs are Hambledon FC in Surrey, Young Elites FC in Sheffield and St Day Youth and Sports Association in Cornwall.

Teams entered across a variety of sports including cricket, football, hockey rugby, bowls, croquet, tennis, lacrosse, rounders, golf and even, the lesser known, stoolball! Allett was overwhelmed by the amount of entries it received in the competition and the number of amateur groundsmen who are working away with incredibly limited resources.

Leigh Bowers, sales director at Allett, said, “We were shocked to see some of the pitches that some teams are having to work with; it really reiterated to us just what a great job amateur groundsteams and volunteers do. It was a tough decision, but these three teams really stood out to us.”

Pitch to Play was launched by Allett in co-operation with the IOG to find the amateur pitch that is most in need of a makeover and will award the chosen club with some top of the range groundskeeping equipment as used at higher level Stadiums.

The winning team will receive £3,000 to be used on the purchase of a new Allett lawnmower to help maintain the pitch to a more professional higher level. The runner up will win £500 towards the club kitty and third place will win £250. All prize winners will also receive a tailor-made maintenance programme from the IOG to help maintain the pitch for the future, along with a new kit and pitch side sponsorship.

The winner and final results will be announced later in the year.