Last week I was invited by the GMA to attend their 2026 GMA Industry Awards, held at the Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham.
The awards took place alongside the new GMA Conference, that I also attended alongside around 150 delegates. This ran during the day offering workshops and discussions.
Geoff Webb
The first presentation was from Karl McDermott, Lord’s head groundsman, who spoke about the renovation of their nursery ground. This endeavour cost £700,000 that included reconstructing the outfield, installing irrigation systems, and using sterilising techniques to improve pitch performance.
The project faced many challenges like discovering historical artifacts and drainage issues. The nursery ground now supports 120 practice sessions annually, focusing on youth, women's, and disability cricket. Karl also mentioned the introduction of sustainable materials like coconut coir for artificial surfaces. Despite financial challenges, the renovations were aimed to maintain top-class facilities for world-class players.
Karl also spoke about the pressures of the project involving extensive tendering and project management, with a focus on staying within budget and ensuring high-quality work. In the end this resulted in Fine Turf undertaking the project, delivering on time and within budgets.
Karl concluded his talk outlining the club's future plans. This included the construction of two drop-in pitches in the nursery ground to meet the growing demand for practice facilities. The drop-in pitches will be built over the next year and will be moved to the main ground in two years' time. It’s a project that been in the club’s mindset for several years, however with improved logistics the concept of a drop in pitch system would have major benefits and help deal with the constant pressure to facilitate more fixtures at Lord’s.
Next up was Ruth Mann who gave a talk on grass management techniques to prevent pathogen infections and promote healthy growth. Key points included the importance of clean cuts to reduce pathogen entry, proper irrigation to avoid overwatering, and maintaining good airflow and light penetration. Nutrient management was emphasised, with specific attention to nitrogen release patterns and the use of controlled-release fertilisers. Bio solutions like peptides and seaweed extracts were discussed for their effectiveness in enhancing plant defences and improving root health. The conversation also highlighted the need for proactive management, continuous monitoring, and targeted applications to achieve resilient turf surfaces. I thought it was a thought-provoking talk by Ruth.
We then had a presentation by Tony Hanson. His discussion focused on the future of water availability in the UK, highlighting a projected shortfall of 6 billion litres per day by 2050. Key points included the need for demand management, with 65% of golf clubs currently using rainwater and direct spray irrigation. The national framework for water resource development, updated in 2025, emphasises reducing unsustainable abstraction and encouraging reuse. Climate change is increasing droughts and heavy rainfall, affecting irrigation needs.
The conversation also covered the regulatory changes, the importance of sustainable irrigation practices, and the need for collaboration with water companies and local authorities to manage water resources effectively.
The message was Loud and clear in that water usage for sports will come at a cost and clubs must be seen to be more efficient in water auditing and making better use of their water resources.
Lunch was followed by more presentations and a tour of Edgbaston's cricket facilities by Gary Barwell. He took a party of delegates around the stadium and explained the work going on with the building of the new hotel complex and how work will affect the outfield in terms of drainage issues that will be rectified as part of the project. We were also shown his machinery and how the club have gone down the sustainable route with the purchase of a fleet of battery powered mowers and equipment.
The day’s conference was concluded by 3.30pm with the evening’s awards starting at 7PM. With well over 400 attending the awards it was certainly going to be a noisy affair hosted by the renowned broadcaster Kelly Somers.
It always good to see our practitioners recognised for their dedication and efforts to deliver exceptional playing surfaces both at the elite levels, semi pro and and grass roots levels.
You can read about all the winners here.
It was quite the day for Karl McDermott, with the MCC celebrating two prestigious award wins as the grounds team at Lord’s won the Professional Cricket Grounds Team of the Year plus head groundsman Karl was awarded the Grounds Manager of the Year award.
I am personally really pleased for Karl, as I have followed his journey since 2007 when I was a judge for the Cricket World and Pitchcare cricket groundsman of the year awards and had the opportunity to go and meet him at his beloved Clontarf CC in Ireland.
Since then, Karl has chosen a career path that saw him come to England and work at both Worcester CCC and Hampshire CCC before getting the opportunity to take on the prestigious and high-profile role at Lord’s.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the GMA for inviting me and having the opportunity to enjoy a gala evening of awards with so many friends and work acquaintances. Also, congratulations to all the winners on the night.
