Having been with the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) for 19 years, Will was promoted to Senior Groundsperson in 2012, and to Lead Groundsperson in 2024 and within this time has led the team on preparations, maintenance and renovation of the 18 Championships courts as well as the clay courts and the new Indoor Tennis Centre.  

He has been involved in 20 Wimbledon Championships, 2 Davis Cup ties and the Olympics in 2012. Most recently Will completed his FdSc Sportsturf Management (Online) through Myerscough College.   

Ruth is Head of Integrated Crop Technologies at Agrii. Ruth has 30 years’ experience managing research trials globally to drive forward integrated solutions in the Agricultural and Amenity sectors. This research includes optimising integrated management programmes to manage pests, weeds and diseases; testing machinery and application technology and evaluating varietal performance under differing input programmes.

Ruth also leads Envirofield, an expert independent field trials company specialising in agricultural, amenity and environmental research and RHIZA, the only fully integrated digital agronomy and precision farming service for arable, grassland and high value crop businesses. Ruth transfers this knowledge to growers through technical bulletins, seminars and industry training courses. Ruth has been a member of the Expert Committee on Pesticides since 2017 and joined the BASIS Board as an Elected Member in 2025. 

Daniel is Grounds and Estate Manager at Whitgift School in South Croydon, London. He oversees a team of 16 maintaining the Grounds and Gardens of the prestigious independent school, inclusive of hybrid, artificial and natural turf surfaces.

He is also chairperson of the employer group responsible for working with Skills England in the development of sports turf apprenticeships, a position he has held since 2018. Daniel’s own educational journey began as a 16-year-old apprentice on the old NVQ 2 pathway and has progressed via NVQ 3, FdSc and BSc (Hons.) to graduate from an MSc in Sustainable Sports Turf Management in July 2025.  

Chris Hunter is the Regional Pitch Advisor (Football) for the North East, with extensive experience across sports turf and grounds management. He began his career in landscaping in 2007 before moving into sports turf, holding senior operational roles including Deputy Head Greenkeeper at Pike Hills Golf Club.

Chris has completed continuous professional development from Level 2 through to Level 6, achieving a first-class honours BSc (Hons) in Sports Turf from Myerscough College. He was awarded the Ransomes Jacobsen Cup in recognition of the highest academic achievement across all sports turf programmes.

Previously, Chris worked at Askham Bryan College as an Assessor and Course Manager, supporting the development of future industry professionals. He now works with clubs and stakeholders across the region, providing technical advice to improve pitch quality, sustainability, and standards within grassroots and community football. 

Agronomist
AELTC (Wimbledon)

Mark has worked in the sports and amenity turf/landscaping industry for over 25 years – primarily with STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute) as a groundsman, trials officer, research manager and latterly general manager of the research dept. 

He has worked with organisations including The R&A, ECB, Wembley Stadium, Croke Park, Royal Ascot, Glasgow Rangers FC, British Society of Plant Breeders as well as industry suppliers such as ICL, Syngenta, Bayer and BASF. 

Specialising in grass court tennis, his work with the AELTC began in 2006 – and in 2023 Mark was appointed as the AELTC Agronomist. He also works with the LTA, supporting all UK regional grass court venues used for events.  

Mark also supports European grass court venues in Spain and Germany and is currently working with venues in Australia testing new varieties of warm season grasses on grass courts.  

Mike began refereeing at the age of 15 in 1983, progressing to EFL Assistant Referee in 1993.

After four years as an assistant, he was promoted to the EFL Referees List in 1997 and, eleven years later in 2008, to the Premier League Referees List. He officiated over 200 Premier League matches and more than 750 professional games in total.

In January 2018, he became the first VAR in England to overturn an on-field decision during the match between Leicester City and Fleetwood Town.

He retired from refereeing in 2018 after 25 years in the professional game and was part of the project team responsible for implementing VAR in the Premier League.

In December 2018, he took up the role of National Group Director, with responsibility for the training, development, appointments, and welfare of EFL match officials, working closely with the EFL on all refereeing matters and contributing to the PGMOL strategic leadership team. 

Sam started his football journey at Leeds United Academy. He had a 16-year professional career playing for Doncaster Rovers, Chesterfield, Barrow and Grimsby town, making 480 appearances, achieving three career promotions. 

Sam is a UEFA A licensed qualified coach, after completing all his badges with the PFA. He was previously first team coach at Bolton Wanderers before joining the Player Services department.