I feel the recent SALTEX show reignited our industry by allowing people to meet up face-to-face again after the long delay caused by the pandemic. The opportunity to meet suppliers and manufacturers was welcomed by many grounds professionals.

On show was a plethora of new machinery that included many battery and robotic products that are being introduced to replace traditional fuel driven vehicles and machines - which will no doubt be phased out in the coming years. 

We are beginning to see a dramatic shift to new technologies that are aimed at reducing carbon emissions and safer ways of working. However, the cost of development and delivery of these new machines is coming at a premium, with many battery replacement products costing up to double that of conventional fuel driven products.

For me, it will be interesting to see how many grassroots sports clubs will be able to afford these new products, especially when many of them are struggling already to maintain their current batch of machinery in their sheds.

I believe if we are going to retain the current level of community sport participation, we will need a substantial aid grant from government, or the sporting bodies, to ensure sports clubs are fit for purpose and able to deliver a decent playing surface in the coming years. 

Some key issues facing many clubs is the fact that they are finding it difficult to raise enough money for appropriate funding of equipment to maintain their pitches - along with finding willing volunteers to undertake this work. 

The aftermath of Covid has left many clubs in financial trouble and more importantly it may have deterred some members from returning to their clubs.
The next few years will be a critical time for clubs to adapt and get back to what they do best in providing the next generation the chance to participate in sport. 

Raising the required funds

Clubs will have to be more proactive in securing funds and, crucially, in finding future volunteers or paid professionals to undertake the work of maintaining their surfaces.

I read with interest that the ECB has set up a funding opportunity to help clubs get over the pandemic.

Also interesting is the news that Middlesex Cricket is partnering with the Grounds Management Association (GMA) and Capel Manor College with a view to running apprenticeships for those wishing to work in cricket groundsmanship in 2022 and beyond.

Apprenticeships are expected to commence full-time in March 2022 and run for a minimum of 18 months, providing all aspects of training and experience in cricket grounds maintenance. Course costs are 95% funded by the government. 

This in my opinion is a very good initiative and hopefully it will translate into a bigger scheme. I could easily see other cricket counties taking on apprentices and sharing them with local clubs to gain relevant hands-on, practical experience - along with other sporting governing bodies following suit. If the government is keen to embrace and promote this apprenticeship scheme, then the opportunity to bring new people into the industry must be complemented. 

I know the GMA are currently working on opportunities to develop industry related apprenticeship schemes and there’s no doubt scope for further dialog to encourage even more people to have the opportunity to work in our diverse turf industry. 

Personally, I like to think that between the government, sports governing bodies and private companies we could have the opportunity to develop and finance a national apprenticeship scheme that could see over 1000 apprentices a year coming into the industry over the next five years.

However, having said all that, the clubs themselves need to be more mindful of the costs of running their clubs and more importantly invest an appropriate amount of money to ensure their pitches are fit for purpose.

There are no short cuts. In the main many clubs rely heavily on the good will of the volunteer members to maintain their pitches, sometimes having to use poor or unsafe machinery.

It is now time clubs realise the true cost of maintaining their facilities. I recently wrote an article named Identifying True Values highlighting the costs of maintaining a grassroots sports facility.  

In essence these costs are only a guide, but the article shows that there is a substantial cost to providing machinery and getting the annual maintenance achieved on a grass roots sports facility.