FA honours league's groundsmen!

After being unveiled in front of his peers as the top groundsmen in the EVO-STIK League Southern for his work at The Jelf Stadium, the Bluebells volunteer also scooped the top national award at the FA's 15th annual awards ceremony, beating off green-fingered rivals from the EVO-STIK Northern Premier League and Isthmian League to be named 2016 Steps 3 and 4 Groundsmen of the Year.

Staged once again at the FA's state-of-the-art national football centre at St George's Park, the accolades are awarded annually to recognise the outstanding contribution made by the unsung heroes of the game in front of their peers and encourage the further development of groundsmanship.

Hawkins wasn't the only groundsman flying the flag for the EVO-STIK League Southern at August's event as national and individual league honours and commendations were handed out by members of the FA’s Pitches & Facilities Committee.

In the national category, Biggleswade Town's Jim Woodward was highly commended by the competition's judges before going on to be named as runner-up to Hawkins in the EVO-STIK League Southern category for the pristine surface he tends at The Carlsberg Stadium. Dave Smith at Dunstable Town took third place for his work at the EVO-STIK League Southern Division One Central club's Creasey Park.

A number of other groundsman were also rewarded by judges in the EVO-STIK League Southern category - Taunton Town's Kevin Sturmey, St Neots Town's Gary Wilson and the Uxbridge double act of Geoffrey Hinde and Kevin Waghorne all being highly commended.

After seeing their man named as the nation's number one, EVO-STIK League Division One South & West Yate Town said: “Yate Town Football Club are delighted and also very proud to advise that our head groundsman Roger Hawkins, and his team, especially John Lewis, Pete Kirby and Barry Neale, have been formally recognised by the FA.

“As we are fully aware, the playing surface at The Jelf Stadium is one of the best, if not the best, in the league and county and that is down to Roger and his team who put in hours of work week after week to ensure the pitch is always in pristine condition. Both of these awards are a fantastic achievement and are a testament for the hard work, effort and skill that Roger and his team put in to prepare the pitch.”

The league's groundsmen were honoured after a series of on-site assessments at nominated grounds last season by the FA's expert panel of judges, made up of groundsmen from a number of Premier League and Football League clubs.

They not only looked at the quality of the pitches but also took into consideration a finalist's skills and knowledge, their ambitions for the pitch, the resources available, how often the pitch is used and the amount of time they are able to work on the surface.

Groundsmen, the vast majority of whom are volunteers, play a huge role in ensuring pitches are in the best possible condition, working week in, week out, in all weathers and all year round, to make sure that thousands of matches can take place on high standard playing surfaces.

Follow the EVO-STIK League Southern on Twitter at @SouthernLeague1