FREE TRAINING SESSIONS OFFERED

Organisers of GroundsFest have announced that free practical training sessions will be available at the event, which takes place at Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire on 20-21 September 2023. 

The training will be carried out by Grounds Training - a provider of independently accredited education within the sports turf and grounds maintenance sectors. The sessions will be delivered by a team of Lantra approved instructors which includes Keith Kent, Martin Sampson, Chris Parry, and Steve Potter.

Throughout the two-day event, organisers say the Grounds Training programme will include hands-on training sessions on a range of topics including line marking for winter sports and athletics, pedestrian mowers, ride-on mowers, hand held machinery, and the calibration and use of knapsack sprayers and boom sprayers. There will also be a specific management session designed for grounds managers, bursars, club managers and committee chairs.

From management to apprentice, the free training programme is said to be suitable for all those working in sports turf management, grounds maintenance, greenkeeping, horticulture, landscaping, the maintenance of commercial estates, and local authority parks and green spaces.

Commenting on the training programme at GroundsFest, Martin Sampson, managing director of Grounds Training, said, “We’re really excited to be running these hands-on sessions. It’s a great opportunity for visitors to receive an introduction to some of the most popular courses we deliver. 

“The Lantra instructors we’ll have at the event have more than 160 years of industry experience between us; we’re all passionate about delivering high-quality education, and sharing our knowledge to inform, encourage and inspire the next generation of grounds professionals."

Event director Christopher Bassett said, “This is an incredible feature which has never been seen at a UK groundscare event and we’re over the moon to have such a superb line-up of instructors delivering the sessions."