Nominations are being sought from the Institute of Groundsmanship for the 2012 Rugby League Groundsman of the Year Award.

The Award is open to Groundsmen from both professional and community Rugby League clubs and nominations can be made online: http://www.iogawards.com/about_us.html

The 4th Annual Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG) 2012 Industry Awards have been enhanced to recognise and promote the skill of groundsmanship across all main professional sports, as well as in the volunteer sector and at many different venues.

There are many excellent examples of high quality groundsmanship across all sectors so, if you think someone or somewhere deserves recognition, now is the time to nominate.

Carol Doran, RFL Facilities Trust Manager, said: “The RFL’s Pitch Improvement Programme has been running for just over a year now and the RFL has invested very significant funding into improving the quality and performance of community Rugby League pitches.

“Pitch improvement work has taken place at over 40 clubs and has already shown some quite remarkable results. However the biggest influence on the quality of community club pitches is the volunteer Groundsman.

“Sometimes the work of the Groundsman can go unnoticed and this is something we need to change.The pitch is often the greatest asset at a clubs disposal and it is really important that the person who looks after this asset is recognised for the essential role they play in the success of their club.”

The RFL launched the pitch remediation programme 18 months ago to improve community club pitches as part of its continuing commitment to develop Rugby League facilities across the sport. Last year the RFL paid for and conducted site assessments for a large number of community Rugby League clubs which were provided with a comprehensive report detailing the level and type of work needed to improve their pitches.

Following the site assessments around 60 community Rugby League clubs were invited to participate in the autumn pitch remediation programme where clubs received work on their pitch of a total value of almost £5,000 for a £1,500 club contribution.

IOG Chief Executive Geoff Webb comments: “Following three successful years of sell-out Award presentation evenings, this year’s event has been further enhanced to acknowledge the expertise of groundsmanship in a broad cross-section of sports - including rugby league - and the high standards found in facilities today at both grassroots and professional level.

“Coupled with the ongoing and extensive coverage of the Awards - and the Award winners themselves – on Sky Sports News and talkSPORT radio, in addition to the extensive publicity attracted each year throughout the turf and sports press as well as in local/regional media, we are confident that this year’s event will again be a fantastic evening.”

The winners of all the individual awards will also be shortlisted for the Alex R Millar IOG Groundsman of the Year Award, as Geoff Webb adds: “This key award recognises both individually relevant to sector and collectively the breadth of talent we have across the industry today.”

A packed Oscar-style ceremony at York Racecourse on December 6 will recognise leadership, innovation and outstanding achievement across every aspect of grounds care from grassroots pitches to professional stadia.

To nominate someone for this award please visit: http://www.iogawards.com/about_us.html