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England RFU Head Groundsman to insepct playing surfaces
By Kath
April 27 2009

England Rugby Football Union Head Groundsman Keith Kent is giving playing surfaces throughout the country the Twickenham treatment with a unique series of personal pitch inspections.

This year's programme will see him visit 96 of the RFU's member clubs and meet dozens more at pitch maintenance workshops.

 England RFU Head Groundsman to Inspect playing surfaces

 

HE RFU Head Groundsman Keith Kent is giving playing surfaces throughout the country the Twickenham treatment with a unique series of personal pitch inspections.

 

 

Keith Kent, right, with assistant Ian Ayling at Twickenham  

 

This year's programme will see him visit 96 of the RFU's member clubs and meet dozens more at pitch maintenance workshops.

His latest round of visits starts today in Surrey and Sussex before he heads to Hampshire, the East Midlands and the North East in May.

Kent joined the RFU in 2002 after 15 years with Manchester United and is regarded as one of the country's leading authorities in maintaining and improving playing surfaces.

Since the move from Old Trafford, he has been the driving force in improving pitches at all levels of the game, a process which started when he helped put aeration units in place around the country for grassroots clubs to use. He first came up with the idea of personal visits to clubs in 2005 and has now visited more than 180 clubs.

Now he provides a free consultancy service to clubs with identified needs in the form of a tailor-made pitch assessment programme.

His four Spring workshops take place at Horsham (April 28), Trojans (Southampton, May 7), Percy Park (May 11) and Bedford Athletic (May 13).

The clubs under inspection on his eight-day itinerary include: Alton, Blyth, Bugbrooke, Chobham, Consett, Cranleigh, Dunstablians, Eastbourne, Eastleigh, Ellingham & Ringwood, Fareham Heathens, Guildford, Horden, Northampton BBOB, Northampton MO, Novocastrians, Oundle, Petersfield, Ponteland, Portsmouth, Rosslyn Park, Stockwood Park, Streatham-Croydon, Sunderland, Twickenham and Westoe

"Word soon gets round and the more clubs we visit, the more clubs we find coming forward who are keen to learn and start a long-term process of improvement, so for the first time this year we have a structured programme," said Kent.

"I'll walk the pitches, check the soil structure, the root structure, have a dig and see what the soil composition is and how it drains, ask about the maintenance, fertilising and spiking programmes, make notes and then prepare a report saying what I've found, giving a list of recommendations and a remedial programme. It's a very individual approach and it takes into account their needs and resources and how much can realistically be achieved.

"A lot of clubs have been where they are for decades, a hundred years or more in many cases, and started out just playing once a week. Now the explosion of interest in the game means they might train two or three times a week, play on a Saturday and then have hundreds of kids pitching up on the Sunday. That's a big change for them to cope with.

"The visits add up to some long days - we might start off at 8am, visit three or four clubs, then do a seminar and be talking to people until 11pm at night.

"But I've met some great characters and I never want to stop doing it. Everywhere we go the clubs are fantastic and the feeling of satisfaction you get from being able to help these people who dedicate their lives to their clubs is so fulfilling."

The programme is coordinated by the RFU's Funding and Facilities team, who assist the development of clubs throughout the country working with the RFU's Constituent Bodies (the counties) to agreed strategies.

"This is a unique programme of which we're very proud," said Simon Winman, the RFU's Head of Funding and Facilities.

"As the head groundsman of one of the world's great stadiums, Keith Kent brings an unparalleled level of expertise that is a terrific gain for the clubs involved.

"The sustainable changes he can help them make to playing and training surfaces have far-reaching benefits and are a key part of recruiting and retaining players, and providing a high-quality environment in which to enjoy the game."

KEITH KENT'S ITINERARY

April 28: Twickenham, Eastbourne, Horsham (Workshop at Horsham 7pm)
April 29: Streatham-Croydon, Chobham, Cranleigh, Guildford, Rosslyn Park
May 7: Ellingham & Ringwood, Eastleigh, Trojans (Workshop at Trojans 7pm)
May 8: Fareham Heathens, Portsmouth, Petersfield, Alton
May 10: Blyth, Novocastrians, Percy Park, Ponteland (Workshop at Percy Park 7pm)
May 11: Horden, Sunderland, Westoe, Consett
May 13: Bugbrooke, Northampton BBOB, Northampton MO RFC (Workshop at Bedford Athletic 7pm)
May 14: Dunstablians, Stockwood Park, Oundle

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England RFU Head Groundsman to insepct playing surfaces
Posted by: Unofficial England Rugby Union (IP Logged)
Date: 27/04/2009 18:10

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