As expected, we now face four more weeks of Covid regulations with a new date of the 19th of July to review the final opening up and getting back to normality. This will no doubt prolong the agony of having to comply with restrictions for a number of businesses especially the wedding industry, pubs and live entertainment venues.
Not an unrealistic ask under the circumstances, we have managed to comply for over eighteen months so being patient for a tad longer will hopefully help ensure we do not go into another lockdown.
To help pass the time and take our minds off it I, like many, are enjoying watching the current Euros football tournament. Can England and Scotland now join Wales in qualifying for the knockout stages?
All the stadium pitches appear excellently well maintained – which has been influenced by a band of UK grounds professionals. The high regard of these professionals was eloquently covered in a well written article in The Guardian published last week – followed up the next day by a similar piece in The Times.
Those of us that work in this profession, are very aware of the dedication, commitment and skills that are required in maintaining a natural grass / hybrid pitch in a stadium environment. Despite there still appears to be a stigma held by some outside of our industry that we only cut grass!
I was pleased to see this coverage in our national newspapers, giving some recognition to the many mentioned who have devoted their lives to the industry. It’s only now after many years they are finally getting the rewards for their hard work, with perhaps a decent salary at last.
Not before time either. However, for the rest of those who work in the grassroots sector of the industry, many are still struggling to be recognised in terms of pay and conditions. I’ve said it many times, we must now come together and promote the services we deliver on a national scale, across all sectors of our diverse industry.
Hopefully with the help of the Amenity Forum we may have a chance to sell and promote the work of thousands of turf professionals and amenity workers with the launch of a national event in September to celebrate the work of these dedicated professionals and volunteers who week in and week out provide a vast array of public amenities and sports pitches for use by thousands of people across the length and breadth of the country.
We were hoping to deliver this event last year, however Covid got in the way. Under the stewardship and support from John Moverley and his team we have now finally got a date in the diary.
The Amenity Forum working with partners is promoting a week of celebration commencing September 20th - you can read more about it here!
Irrigation
Summer has finally arrived, with most parts of the country basking in this fine spell of sunny weather with temperatures exceeding 20 degrees during the hottest part of the day. However, for most grounds professionals this hot weather brings on another set of problems in that to retain turf quality they will need to irrigate.
Irrigation is an important and integral part of the turf grass management industry, especially as the demand for better quality playing surfaces has increased. This demand has been largely due to extensive televised coverage of major sporting events. Seeing immaculate, aesthetically presented golf courses, football, rugby pitches and horse racing courses has increased the expectations of the players and viewers.
Most, if not all, professional sporting facilities have irrigation systems of one sort or another. Without them they would not be able to prepare and maintain their playing surfaces.
Irrigation is essential for a number of reasons:
- for plant survival and growth.
- for soil formation
- for soil strength
- for chemical transport
- for managing playability
- for presentation
Water is influential in all chemical, physiological and biological processes of plant growth. The soil/plant water relationships is critical to the sustainability of any grass plant. Having an understanding of these relationships is critical. All grass plants are a continuum of water movement. Over 90% of the plant's water requirements are transported through the plant from the soil profile, via the roots and stem tissues into the leaves and out into the atmosphere. Knowledge of these relationships is important when designing and operating irrigation systems. The main aim is to achieve a water balance within the soil profile ensuring that the grass plant is able to access available water from the soil.
Irrigation management and the optimisation of watering strategies are important to the proper maintenance of sports facilities. Insufficient moisture when soils reach soil water deficit will result in a declining quality of sward, or even death. Legislation is going to force the industry to control and manage this scarce resource, therefore the understanding and implementation of an irrigation strategy is a must for all clubs and organisations.