The IOG has announced that the 2017 winners of the SALTEX College Cup will be given the opportunity to work as part of the grounds team when Scotland host England as part of the 2018 Six Nations Championships, at BT Murrayfield Stadium.
After making its debut at SALTEX last year, the College Cup will be returning to this year’s exhibition. Last year’s winners from CAFRE College in Antrim, Northern Ireland, experienced an unforgettable day when they were part of the Wembley grounds team at the FA Cup Final.
Sponsored by Ransomes, the national student-led academic test of turf management knowledge, will see teams competing this year to get their hands on the SALTEX College Cup. As well as having its name engraved on the trophy, the winning college will also receive a ‘big’ cheque in addition to a cash prize and gain work experience at the 124th edition of the Six Nations Championships.
Commenting on the opportunity, Alex Latto, assistant head groundsman for Scottish Rugby at BT Murrayfield Stadium, said, “The winners of the SALTEX college cup will be given the unique opportunity to experience the buzz of working at a Six Nations weekend at BT Murrayfield and the sporting rivalry of the Calcutta Cup always provides a special occasion. They will see and be involved in the pre-match day preparations, where both teams are given training time on the pitch and also the match day itself where the pressure is on to set the stage for a sell-out crowd and millions at home watching on television.
“Both days are a lot of work and provide their own set of challenges so it will give the winners a real insight of an event of this nature and the experience that comes with it. I think it’s important that new entrants to the industry are given the chance to experience what it’s like to work in this type of environment, to learn and gain experience - so for us to be given the chance to do so is something all the grounds team are looking forward to.”
SALTEX visitors will have the opportunity to see which team emerges victorious when the SALTEX College Cup winners’ presentations take place on the first day of of the show (1 Nov) in Seminar Theatre 1 at 3:30pm.
