Fillace Park

Devon Groundsman of the Year

Rob Mitchelmore

Horrabridge Rangers Sports Association

The FA's Groundsmen of the Year is now in its fourth year. The Award was set up to recognise the contribution of these unsung heroes of the grass roots game and encourage the development of groundmanship.

The Judges are not only looking at the quality of the pitch, but also take in to consideration the Groundsman knowledge, the resources available to him, how often the pitch is used and whether he is full or part time.
The winners of the County FA's awards then go through to the Regional Finals which are judged by members of the Institute of Groundsmanship during March. Horrabridge had a visit from Dave Roberts of Southampton Football Club and Adrian Smith of Sudbury United travelling from Hampshire and Suffolk respectively.
The winners of the Region's are announced at ceremonies during April. Rob was invited up to Gloucester to be presented his award by The FA. All Regional winners then go forward to compete for the National Awards and are invited to attend the National Ceremony at Windsor Racecourse.

The FA has honoured groundsmen who keep grass roots football pitches in prime condition. The national scheme, acknowledges the vital contribution that ground staff make to grass roots football in England.

A delighted Rob Mitchelmore said: "The awards are a great idea as they recognise people like me who have dedicated years to perfecting grounds across the country. The quality of our ground inspires all the clubs teams to play to the best of their abilities and we can see that they are doing so by their results."
Expressing his support for the awards, Sir Trevor Brooking, The FA's Director of Football Development, said: "All the ground staff nominated for an award contribute immeasurably to the improved quality and quantity of football played at grass roots level. The FA now re-invests 50 per cent of its operating profits into developing grass roots football and recognises the contributions that volunteers and ground staff make to the game. These awards demonstrate The FA's recognition of people who are wonderful servants to our national game."

Horrabridge Rangers are so pleased for Rob he has worked tirelessly on the pitches and is known locally in football circles as Mr Horrabridge.

Well deserved Rob.