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Ollie Deeming #GroundsWeek
Wed 2 March 2022
Name: Oliver Deeming
Club: Tottenham Hotspur FC
Role: Stadium Assistant Groundsman
Years in industry: 7 Years
Career Background:
I got into groundsmanship as a volunteer at my local rugby club Bury St Edmunds RUFC helping to improve and maintain the playing surfaces. In June 2015, the club offered me a part time role which I did for 2 years. During this time, I completed my Level 2 qualification through the GMA and my PA1 and PA6 qualifications.
In was also fortunate to get match day experience at Twickenham Stadium with Keith Kent. And in 2017 I was finalist at the GMA awards for Young Groundsman of the Year.
A new chapter arose for me in January 2018 where I joined Northampton Saints as an apprentice groundsman. This opportunity came about after I approached then Head Groundsman Wayne Billing to see if I could come and get some experience, I walked out of Franklins Gardens that day with an apprenticeship! This allowed me to complete my level 3 in sports turf through Moulton College. By August 2019 I was promoted to Deputy Head Groundsman.
In February 2020 I said goodbye to Rugby and started a new job at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as an Assistant Groundsman. This has been a thoroughly enjoyable experience in which I have learnt so much.
What we do in a typical day:
A typical day consists of monitoring our pitch data which we receive from our SGL turf pods. These give us accurate information on our soil moisture, soil and canopy temperature, humidity and the amount of light the turf is getting. This data is inputted via the cloud on a portal and gives us our grow light hours and disease forecasting for the week. This is also used in conjunction with us inputting the quality of the pitch, usages and maintenance.
Once we have assessed our data, we can then optimise our maintenance schedule around it. This usually consists of drag brushing, mowing, divotting, aeration, hand watering, feeding/spraying, moving lighting rigs, irrigating, disease management (UVC Machine) and overseeding.
What are our biggest challenges?
Our biggest challenge is stadium transitions. When the stadium holds external events, such as concerts and NFL fixtures, the grass pitch is moved out of the bowl into the ‘pitch pocket’ underneath the south stand. The length of storage will vary depending on what events are taking place. For NFL events the pitch is in storage for about 14 days. This produces the challenge of artificially creating an ideal microclimate in the pitch pocket to ensure the turf can remain as healthy and as stress free as possible. To do this we have UV lights installed in the pitch pocket and dehumidifiers to reduce the humidity. One of the biggest challenges we face is the lack of space we have to perform maintenance tasks on the pitch. This is due to steels girders that support the stand, being very close to the surface.