Printer Friendly Version

EDITOR'S BLOG

CONSEQUENCES OF THE CONDITIONS
Plenty of postponements
by TurfPro Editor, Laurence Gale MSC, MBPR

The loss of income for many grassroots clubs due to the effects of the wet weather could have dire consequences in the long term.

I read with interest recently, several concerned cricket club grounds staff are asking if the cricket leagues can recognise the difficulties they are facing trying to get their grounds ready for the start of this year’s cricket season – principally due to the to the relentless rain fall we have been having this season.

We have experienced well over 800mm of rain since November in most parts of the country, with February being one of the wettest months ever recorded.

The saturated ground conditions during the last eight weeks has meant that turf professionals are struggling to get on their squares to prepare pitches for the forthcoming schedules.

There has been little or no preseason rolling carried out to date and with many fixtures due to start, there will be plenty of games postponed this month.

It will be interesting to see how this effects clubs at all levels of the game and what support, if any, the clubs will receive. The loss of income for many grassroots clubs could have dire consequences in the long term.

Not only that, the issue of finding time to reschedule fixtures during an ever-increasing fixture list will put extra pressure on the grounds staff and resources as well as incurring further costs for the club. I believe one of the county clubs have already cancelled some of their early fixtures to give the grounds staff more time to prepare the pitches, knowing that they need to wait for the weather to improve to help prepare safe and consistent playing surfaces.

Worcestershire, are already scheduled to play their first two games away from home because of their ongoing flood threat and are now forced to stage their opening two home matches at Kidderminster.

There may be calls to extend the playing season, which now often creeps well into October, again bringing another set of problems – namely, contractors and grounds staff cannot get on with the end of season renovation in the ideal weather window of September. Once you get into the depths of October, ground and air temperatures will have decreased into to single figures thus slowing down germination rates.

Also, this current bout of wet weather will have affected both football and rugby pitches. Playing on saturated pitches will inevitably cause damage and in some cases, fixtures will be postponed and need to be replayed - meaning schedules may extend well into May / June, which will then impinge on any planned and programmed end of season renovations.

Many sport turf contractors may find themselves having to cope with trying to rearrange work and may even find themselves not able to complete the work until much later than planned. Which again may have a knock-on effect on the growing in time and preparations for the new playing season that generally starts in August.

Funding

While on the subject of cricket, I also read in The Telegraph that the ECB have announced that the government has pledged £35 million of investment over the next five years into grass roots and state school cricket.

The article says that funding will see 16 state-of-the-art all-weather cricket domes built outdoors within cities across England that will host games at two T20 World Cups held in England: a women’s edition in 2026 and men’s edition in 2030.

The domes will be built within culturally diverse communities where “figures have indicated low levels of physical activity”. This follows the launch last year of the first of these domes, in Bradford.

Three cricket charities - Chance to Shine, the Lord’s Taverners, and the ACE (Afro-Caribbean Engagement) Programme - will share a £14 million funding boost in a bid to help the game reach more state schools, where the game has withered in recent years.

Let’s hope this money delivers the outcomes the ECB want to see achieved in getting more players into the game. However, for me, we also need to see greater investment for the maintenance and management of these community clubs. There needs to be good incentives for people to take up the responsibility of maintaining these grounds. This can only be achieved by providing the essential equipment, machinery and training for those people willing and interested in taking on the role of maintaining the ground.

Like other sports’ grassroots community sports clubs, having a grounds team or person who look after these facilities is an essential asset. Without these dedicated people we would have no sport.

It is important that club committees start recognising the work of these valuable club members and ensure they have the appropriate budgets and resources to deliver the expectations of the club.

For many clubs the equipment in the shed is often old and not fit for purpose. We now have a plethora of specialist turf management equipment that is more efficient and safer to use. There are currently several grants and loans available to tap into to get this essential equipment.

The GMA working with the national sporting bodies now have a set of pitch advisors covering cricket, rugby union, rugby league and football who can advise and point you into the right direction to improve your facilities.

NEWS

WET WEATHER DOMINATES THE CONVERSATION
At machinery demo day
by Laurence Gale, TurfPro editor

In our first WEB ONLY story, editor Laurence Gale attended a machinery demo day last week that saw over 100 people attend and 20-plus companies exhibiting - with one subject dominating the conversation!

PEER-REVIEWED RESEARCH PUBLISHED
Affirming a "proven water saving of over 35%"

In our next WEB ONLY story company says study verifies initial research to quantify a reduction in irrigation water use and irrigation frequency with turfgrass treated with patented soil surfactant technology.

HAMPSHIRE FA EXTENDS TO FULL PARTNERSHIP DEAL
With local supplier

HFA facility operations manager, Pete Hussey

What began as one tractor at one football complex is blossoming into a prolific partnership between Hampshire FA (HFA) and their local dealership.

What began as one Kubota tractor at one football complex in Eastleigh is blossoming into a prolific partnership between dealers Rod Gaskin Ltd and Hampshire FA (HFA).

In his day job as HFA facility operations manager, Pete Hussey (pictured above) puts their L2501 to task maintaining the five natural pitches at the Stoneham Lane Complex. This positive first-hand experience puts Pete in good stead when in his other guise - conducting Pitch Power surveys to provide valuable advice and machinery recommendations to benefit hundreds of grassroots facilities in the county.

“Hampshire FA acquired the Stoneham Lane facility in 2020, and while I already had two other venues under my remit, this was the first with natural turf pitches to look after,” explains Pete. “I started from square one, understanding what equipment we needed and working with local dealers to find the best fit for our site and our requirements. The first priority was finding the right tractor that would give us versatility, reliability and become the heart of our maintenance programme. For this, we opted for Kubota.”

Pete continued, “Most of the jobs we do will take a number of hours to complete so it was very important for us not just to find a tractor powerful and durable enough to use with a wide range of implements, but that would also make for a positive all-round experience for the driver.

“In addition, we have enjoyed outstanding reliability with this tractor which is testament to the Kubota build quality and the regular servicing and maintenance conducted by the team at Rod Gaskin.”

With the successes of this partnership bearing fruit for both parties, the tie-up became official in September 2023 with Rod Gaskin Ltd announced as Hampshire FA’s official supplier of grounds machinery. Pete explains, “This gives hundreds of grassroots football clubs and now schools and local councils as well, access to a fantastic range of quality machinery from brands like Kubota with an abundance of grants and funding available via the Football Foundation. The possibilities of this scheme are very exciting and can be the difference between bringing core, basic pitches up to a good or advanced level to benefit clubs and communities alike.”

Tom Merritt-Smith, groundcare sales specialist at Rod Gaskin Ltd adds, “We have a great relationship with Pete and the team at Hampshire FA and are delighted to be working in partnership with them to support the growth of grassroots football. Being sports orientated, I know the importance of maintaining football pitches to the highest possible standards. We look forward to supporting Pete, Hampshire FA and clubs in the area with quality groundcare equipment and our aftersales facility for many years to come.”

UK PRO MACHINERY SUBSIDIARY GOES LIVE
From last week

New offices and a new warehouse are now geared up to support commercial products across the UK.

After introducing the Cramer brand of professional battery-powered tools to the UK through Handy since 2021, Cramer has now launched its own subsidiary, which went live on Monday last week (8th April 2024).

With new offices and a new warehouse based in the Swindon area (changed from the original plan of Birmingham), Cramer say they are now geared up to support its 82v commercial products across the UK. A new dedicated team of back-office staff, sales team and demonstration teams have been in place for several weeks. Cramer UK say they are now set to demonstrate its 82v range for the commercial market, share its battery knowledge and capabilities, present their charging solutions and demonstrate what they describe as "the cost efficiency for ownership over petrol, for a better world."

Mark Moseley, Handy sales and marketing director, has extended his congratulations to the new UK Cramer team, saying, “With their dedication and expertise, we look forward to their continued success and making significant contributions to the industry”.

Globe Technologies in return has expressed gratitude to Handy's team for their dedicated efforts over the past three years in establishing Cramer as a leading brand in the commercial battery sector within its dealer network.

Jean-Christoph Durot, Vice-President of Cramer division Europe, said, “The UK is one of the key countries to establish our own Cramer organisation to deal directly with dealers, to support them with the transition from petrol to battery for commercial users. Globe Technologies will be making substantial investments in Cramer in the UK to launch innovative products, like battery zero-turn mowers as well as robotics (boundary wire and wireless) for commercial users. The 82V commercial range is already a big part of this product innovation plan”.

UK GENERAL MANAGER PROMOTION
Expanded leadership role

New position will see responsibility for overseeing all aspects of business in the UK, including sales, distribution, and customer service.

AriensCo has announced the promotion of Sam Lewis to the position of general manager of AriensCo UK.

L-R: Jochen Schneider, executive vice president EMEAA, AriensCo; Sam Lewis, general manager, AriensCo UK; Nicholas Ariens, president and COO of Ariens Company

Sam, who previously served as the UK sales manager, has now taken on an expanded leadership role within the organisation, effective from April 1st.

The company says Sam brings a wealth of experience and a strong track record of success to his new role. During his tenure as the UK sales manager, he played a pivotal role in driving sales growth, expanding market share, and building strong relationships with customers and partners across the region.

In his new capacity as general manager, Sam will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of AriensCo's business in the UK, including sales, distribution, and customer service.

Jochen Schneider, executive vice president EMEAA at AriensCo, said, "Sam has demonstrated outstanding leadership, vision, and dedication throughout his tenure with the company. His promotion is a testament to his exceptional contributions and the trust we have in his ability to lead AriensCo UK to new heights of success."

Sam added, "I am honoured and excited to take on the role of general manager at AriensCo UK. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue serving the company and our valued customers in this new capacity. I look forward to leading our talented team as we strive for excellence and drive continued growth in the UK market."

DEALERSHIP EXPANDS TERRITORY
Into three new counties

Development continues the recent expansion of the company’s reach, adding to two other counties taken over during the second half of 2023.

Versatile Equipment Ltd has been appointed by Bobcat as the company’s new authorised dealer for the counties of Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire in the UK.

This continues the recent expansion of the company’s Bobcat dealership in East Anglia and now into the East Midlands region, adding the three new counties to Norfolk and Suffolk that Versatile took over in the second half of 2023.

Lee Chater, managing director, and co-owner of Versatile Equipment, said, “We are delighted to expand our responsibility for the Bobcat brand into Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire. Last year, we opened a brand new depot based at Willow Grove Farm in Lakenheath, when we took on Suffolk and Norfolk for Bobcat. Located only six miles from the Cambridgeshire border, our Lakenheath operation is ideally situated and has the personnel in place to serve the additional areas.”

As well as the new areas in East Anglia and the East Midlands, Versatile Equipment has been the authorised Bobcat dealer for Greater London, Essex, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent and Surrey for the last three years.

John Christofides, regional sales director for Bobcat EMEA, added, “We have been very impressed with the investments in facilities and manpower that Versatile Equipment has made at the new branch in Lakenheath, which offer excellent storage, service and showroom space as well as ample external areas.”

JOBS

ADVERTISE YOUR JOBS HERE
Amazing success rates!

Advertise your jobs on TurfPro Weekly Briefing

Advertise your recruitment needs on TurfPro Weekly Briefing and reach our targeted audience of recipients every week.

Contact Nikki Harrison for details - 01491 837117