Course for groundsmen get started

By Morissa Lindsay

The National Sports Council and the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) have officially launched a five weeks course for aspiring groundsmen across the island.

During today’s official launch held at the Blenheim facility in My Lords Hill, St. Michael, Minister of Sports Charles Griffith welcomed the initiative and thanked the participants for attending. He encouraged them to stick with it as it could create job opportunities for many of them.

The course officially commenced on June 13 and is scheduled to conclude on July 12 with over 50 registered participants. President of the BCA Conde Riley and the Chief Executive Officer of the BCA Dr Roland Toppin were in attendance with both expressing the importance of this course. Riley as head of the local association spoke about the benefits of this program to Barbados.

“There is a competition called the Herman Griffith competition which involves the primary schools and we used to have (16 to 70) primary schools and for various reasons, it has dwindled. Not because we don’t have grounds but we don’t have the personnel, the people that prepare the pitches. So, we welcome this initiative by the National Sports Council in collaboration with the Barbados Cricket Association,” Riley said.

He added: “The minister also mentioned exchange visits and so on. We have an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with Lanchester in England and sincerely hope that at the end of all this we have people who can go for experience and have some of them come to Barbados.”

He also noted that both the Barbados High Commissioners to Ghana and Kenya have sent requests to the BCA for assistance with their cricket and therefore explained that this could be a great opportunity for the groundsmen to apply their trade outside of the country.

Head instructor for the course Nigel Newton told those gathered that he started just like them years ago and over the years he enjoyed what he does which brought him recognition. He encouraged the participants to be diligent and through hard work, they will be successful in preparing a pitch from start to finish.

“Gentlemen just like you I would have started where you are many years back. It was a job that I did not necessarily look forward to but it sort of found me and over the years I attained some skills, got some recognition and you would see I reach the top of my profession.

“You too can reach the top of your profession but you need to be diligent in what you do, it is an honourable profession,” Newton said. morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb