Martin Stephenson, 27, from Seaham, has been nominated for the Bowling Green Groundsman of the Year award at the 2015 Institute of Groundsmanship awards for his work at Ashbrooke Sports Club in Sunderland. 

This is the third year in the row that Martin, who studied on a horticulture apprenticeship course at East Durham College, has been nominated for an award at the IOG awards.

He previously won the Most Promising Groundscare Student of the Year award in 2013 and returned last year to win the Young Groundsman of the Year Award in 2014.

This year’s ceremony will be held on Wednesday 4^th November at Birmingham’s Metropole Hotel, with Martin going up against the other nominee from St. Ives Bowls Club, Cambridge. 

Martin is hoping to add another trophy to his two previous wins but is happy just to be acknowledged for his work at Ashbrooke.

Martin said: “It’s a really proud moment for me to be nominated for another IOG award and for the third year running. It’s a great honour to be invited to the awards again and I can’t wait for the event, I’m sure it will be another fantastic occasion.

“The judges from the IOG have been out to inspect my work over the year and they have been impressed with what they have seen, but I am once again up against another nominee of high standard, so we will just have to see what their final decision is on the night.”

For information on apprenticeships and courses in horticulture at East Durham College contact the student services team on 0191 375 4710 or visit www.eastdurham.ac.uk