The National Sports Council (NSC) and the Barbados Cricket Association (BCA) have teamed up to launch a groundsman course commencing Monday, June 13 and running until Tuesday, July 12 at the Blenheim facility at My Lords Hill, St. Michael.
Acting assistant director of the NSC Adrian Donovan said that this course is a much-welcomed initiative given the lack of groundsmen available leading up to the 2022 cricket season. He explained that the club officials reached out to the NSC for assistance and they answered the call.
The launch of this five-week programme will take place at 9:30 a.m. on Monday at the Blenheim facility and according to Donovan, all participants are expected to attend.
“This course was particularly put on due to the lack of groundsmen in the country and numerous clubs for the past couple of years have been under pressure to find qualified persons in this particular field. To this end, the NSC and the BCA after discussions decided to assist these clubs which also include government entities and schools to answer the call when they came.
“In addition, the NSC has also assisted many of these clubs in preparation for this year’s season by assisting them with the preparation with their pitches where NSC groundsmen were assigned to particular venues where clubs were experiencing difficulties in getting out the pitches. For one reason or another due to the lack of finances by clubs to hire groundsmen or a shortage which had to be identified, the NSC and the BCA stepped up to the plate,” he told Barbados TODAY.
The course will be taught by highly respected groundsman Nigel Newton who works at Kensington Oval, as well as Nigel Maynard who is a former professional cricketer now working at the Christ Church Foundation School.
According to Donovan, a total of 50 participants have so far registered for the course which would be conducted on Mondays and Tuesdays. The veteran administrator believes that this is an avenue for employment for those who participate. Donovan explained that at the end of this course those who are successful, their names will be passed on to all the clubs around the island with a view of gaining some kind of employment, whether temporary or permanent.
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
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