AELTC celebrates GroundsWeek
23 – 29 March 2026 marks GroundsWeek, the Grounds Management Association’s annual awareness campaign focused on celebrating those responsible for maintaining playing surfaces and green spaces across the UK. With a combination of grass courts, hard courts and pitches situated across the AELTC sites in Wimbledon, Roehampton and Raynes Park, the Groundstaff play a crucial role in the staging of The Championships and year-round operation of our venues..
As part of GroundsWeek and industry-wide efforts to inspire the next generation of Grounds professionals, the AELTC hosted a Grounds Careers Day, aiming to highlight the pathways into and opportunities available within the Grounds management sector. Developed with Wimbledon’s Learning Programme to promote careers in sport, students from Southfields Academy and Harris Academy Wimbledon were welcomed onsite to spend the day learning about what the work of the Grounds team consists of.
The day involved getting hands-on with the line-markers and observing demonstrations of the electric mowers, as well as learning how to test the surface hardness, a crucial indicator measured to ensure consistency across the courts.
“It was great to see so many of the students asking questions and showing a real interest in the career opportunities. The students’ enthusiasm was sparked by both the practical elements - mowing, marking and data collection – as well as the presentations from my colleagues, Matt Gibson and Rachel Wood, on their journeys into the industry. We saw tangible results from 2025’s Schools Into Stadia event with four students even applying for seasonal positions, and we hope to achieve a similar outcome from this year’s careers day.”
“The event offered a fantastic opportunity for students to discover unique jobs in sport with great career development prospects and [in some cases] international travel. If a student wants to be involved with sports, Groundstaff roles are a great way to stay close to their passion.”