STRI & IFA Announce Groundsman Of The Year Winners
STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute), in conjunction with The Irish Football Association has revealed the winners of the 2012 Groundsman of the Year Awards.
The coveted awards, in its seventh year, recognise sports turf excellence and reward Groundsmen from IFA Premiership, Championship One and Championship Two teams.
Mervyn Nixon of Championship One outfit Ballinamallard FC was crowned the overall winner with Roy Stretton of IFA premiership side Dungannon Swifts FC and Keith Berry from PSNI FC in Championship Two also highly commended.
The award winners, unveiled at the Irish Cup Final, were selected following submission of a season long set of weekly reports from referees who scored each of the grounds across the three divisions based on a pre-determined set of criteria.
On behalf of the IFA, Paul Wallace and Gary Thompson assisted STRI in completing the judging panel assessment process for the competition.
A shortlist of two pitches from each of the three divisions were identified, and following a grounds inspection the overall winner was then selected.
Commenting on the this year’s awards winners, Gordon McKillop, Chief Executive of STRI, said: “The awards acknowledge the commitment and dedication of the many groundsmen at grassroots level who work tirelessly to produce surfaces for the local teams in Northern Ireland.
“The judges were impressed with the winners approach in striving for a first class playing surface. The winners across the three divisions have demonstrated unrivalled expertise and endeavour and the judging panel acknowledge the impressive work carried out behind the scenes at their respective clubs.”
The 2012 awards were sponsored by Clive Richardson Limited and Everris, in association with John Lindsay Professional Sports Turf based in Portadown.