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EDITOR'S BLOG

SAD DECLINE OF GRASSROOTS SPORTS
Community clubs disappearing
by TurfPro Editor, Laurence Gale MSC, MBPR

Reading a recent article about a Yorkshire cricket club on the brink of closure prompted me to reflect on how quietly and steadily grassroots sport is disappearing across the country.

I recently read a thought-provoking article in The Telegraph regarding the latest update on the plight of the Glasshouse Cricket Club in Yorkshire, that’s facing closure due to lack of players.

I found it especially fascinating to hear the concerns of its longest serving member, its groundsman Ken Hainsworth, who has been a part of Glasshouses Cricket Club in Yorkshire for decades, but does not see a long-term future for the team.

The article quotes him as saying, “I couldn’t imagine how many hours I’ve spent out there. It’s every day. It’s been my life.”

I originally came across this story in October, and wrote a few of my own thoughts on the subject.

It is not just happening in cricket though. Other grassroots sports are suffering from a decline in player participation. As an ex-rugby union player and coach, I have also witnessed the demise of player numbers. Many of the teams I played against in the 1980s often fielded several senior teams - these days most clubs struggle to run two senior teams.

How times have changed. Long gone are the days when you spent the whole weekend playing sport. It seems more people have less time on their hands and undertake many other hobbies and pastimes. Also, modern family life has changed.

The Telegraph points out how Glasshouse is not just now lacking the pub, shop and train line that it once had but its cricket team (19 times the winners of the Nidderdale and District League) no longer have enough players. One of six founding clubs in 1894, and after staying afloat through two world wars and a global pandemic, Glasshouses did not play a single fixture this summer. There are modest hopes of assembling a team in an evening league next year but Ken does not sound optimistic.

It is a story that can be heard across the country not just in men’s cricket but 11-a-side football and 15-a-side rugby as costs soar, work patterns evolve, volunteering declines, and decades of community tradition breaks down.

According to Sport England, since 2015 there has been a decline numbering 244,000 of men regularly playing football, cricket or rugby even at a time when the official UK population has risen by around four million.

For me personally, there are several reasons why we are seeing this continuing decline in sports participation. Firstly for the last fifty years we have seen a demise and closure of many sports facilities. This reduction in sports clubs in the UK has been shaped by a combination of social, economic, cultural and policy-related factors.

Gone are nearly all the sports and social clubs that were associated to large businesses. Nearly every major town or city had a plethora of these facilities, offering a range of sports that included football, rugby, cricket, tennis and bowls.
Also, local authorities provided a range of sports facilities that sadly have declined due to recent austerity measures. As for schools, especially state schools, the sporting curriculum has virtually disappeared with many not playing competitive matches against one another anymore. Also, the amount of time allocated for sport in our educational establishments has also declined. Decreased PE time leads to reduced pathways into local community clubs.

We have also seen the loss of many playing fields since 1980s, with many schools and local authorities selling off land to developers.

The rising running costs for community sports clubs has risen dramatically coupled with many clubs having to pay for coaches and players these days.

We are also seeing a decline in volunteers, with many getting too old to perform their valuable tasks. The costs of maintaining the playing surfaces has also gone up dramatically, coupled with the fact that club members are not paying anywhere enough for their annual subs.

Busier working lives, longer commuting, and less free time reduce people’s ability to commit. Recruitment and retention of coaches, referees, and organisers have become more difficult.

Lifestyle changes and competition from other activities has also seen a shift toward screen-based entertainment, gaming, and digital leisure.

Increased bureaucracy, safeguarding, data protection (GDPR), licensing, and governance requirements -while important – have added administrative burdens that small clubs struggle to meet.

Add in to this, the growth and commercialisation of elite sport and televised competitions that has pushed attention toward spectatorship rather than participation.

So I feel it’s fair to say that the decline of UK sports clubs isn’t due to one factor, but a long-term accumulation of reduced funding, changing lifestyles, rising costs, loss of facilities, and volunteer shortages.

I believe that we as a nation cannot afford to continue to lose these valuable community sports facilities. Once lost, they are hard to be replaced. Ideally, we need all the different sports’ governing bodies to come together and get more people engaged in participation.

We need to get the government to increase sports participation in the school curriculum and get back to inter-school competitions. Increased physical activity is essential for child development and health. This will then hopefully encourage them to join clubs and continue their development and participation in sport.

We also must be prepared to pay higher club fees and membership charges to keep the clubs functioning. I spent years playing club rugby and I cannot put a price on the value of my enjoyment, friendships and memories made during my playing career at the club.

Our grassroots clubs are the bedrock of British sport and wellbeing. We should be more prepared to support and find ways to ensure they stay operational - and here for the next generation of players.

NEWS

GMA AWARDS SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED
From grassroots volunteers to elite-level grounds teams

In our first WEB ONLY story the Association says the list highlights the depth of talent and expertise that continues to elevate the grounds management industry across the UK and beyond.

BRITISH GREENKEEPERS SELECTED
To support PGA Tour's flagship event

In our next WEB ONLY story five greenkeepers have been revealed who will head to TPC Sawgrass to join the agronomy team for The Players Championship 2026.

PRO MOWING TECH DEMO-ED AT ALLIANZ
Grounds team test machinery

Daniel Hill, Ian Ayling and Sam Fletcher

The manufacturer's visit followed an England v Argentina international fixture, providing a live working environment for the evaluation of the equipment.

STIGA has showcased its latest professional and autonomous mowing equipment at Allianz Stadium, London, as part of its new role as Official Groundskeeping Partner of the Rugby Football Union (RFU).

The stadium's Daniel Hill and Ian Ayling with STIGA's Sam Fletcher

The demonstration gave the stadium’s grounds team the opportunity to trial a range of their machinery, including autonomous robotic mowers, the APX PRO system, battery-powered professional equipment and new electric tractors. The visit followed an England v Argentina international fixture, providing a live working environment for the evaluation of the equipment.

STIGA was recently appointed to a multi-year partnership with the RFU, covering both elite and grassroots rugby. The agreement is intended to support pitch maintenance across the RFU network, from Allianz Stadium and England Rugby training facilities through to community clubs supported by the Pitch Advisory Service.

The RFU’s grounds teams include full-time professionals at major venues, regional pitch advisors and a large number of volunteers working at club level. STIGA says its autonomous and battery-powered solutions are designed to help reduce workload while maintaining consistently high playing standards.

As part of the partnership, the manufacturer will provide access to its wireless robotic mowing technology and professional battery tools to support turf maintenance across the game.

James Gordon, managing director of STIGA UK, said the stadium visit was an important opportunity for the grounds team to assess the equipment first-hand. Jim Buttar, head of grounds and technical operations at the RFU, said the trials would help identify machinery suitable for both elite venues and grassroots clubs.

WINTER PLAYABILITY IMPROVED
With upgraded drainage infrastructure

Course manager Grant Peters, said persistent waterlogging had been affecting some greens and fairways, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall.

Parkstone Golf Club in Dorset has upgraded its drainage infrastructure to improve winter playability, installing the Hydrowick system from Djuke across key greens and fairways.

Course manager Grant Peters, who has overseen the course for nine years, said persistent waterlogging had been affecting some greens and fairways, particularly during periods of heavy rainfall. Following a trial on one problematic green, the club installed Hydrowick on nine greens, significantly reducing downtime after rainfall. Grant reports that an inch of rain now leaves these greens playable within hours.

Encouraged by these results, the club has extended Hydrowick to fairways, saying that the system proved effective even during 60mm of rainfall in November. The drainage solution uses a patented rope system to draw moisture away efficiently and is installed at 2m centres with minimal surface disruption, returning areas to play within 24 hours.

Further installations are planned for three or four additional fairways in late 2026 and early 2027.

HONOUR FOR MACHINERY SECURITY COMPANY
At AgriScot

‘Highly commended’ award presented in the product innovation category was the only security focussed product shortlisted for the awards.

At the recent Agriscot awards that took place as part of the 2025 Agriscot event in Edinburgh, ATVTrac was delighted to be presented with a ‘highly commended’ award in the product innovation category - most notably as the only security focussed product shortlisted for the awards.

Focusing specifically on ATVTrac Lite, the brand’s value-focussed security tracker, the core attributes of the technology were acknowledged as part of the shortlist, with GPS and Radio Frequency technology seen as important innovations for farmers and land owners looking to keep their ATVs, side-by-side and machinery safe.

ATVTrac’s Rupert Archer-Smith, said, “We’re naturally delighted to receive this award and recognition from Agriscot. To be shortlisted in the product innovation category as the only security-based product is great recognition of the support we receive in Scotland. This is particularly important, because rural theft is present everywhere, with tracking playing an ever-important role in machine security.”

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