Tag Archive for: Shrewsbury

MM The Best For Shrewsbury School

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MM The Best For Shrewsbury School: Shrewsbury School Grounds manager Andy Richards claims that Limagrain UK’s MM brand of grass seed has proved time and time again, to be the best mixtures for the school’s sports pitches.

Set on the banks of the River Severn, Shrewsbury School is one of the country’s leading co-educational independent schools for 13-18-year-olds and attracts boys and girls from all over the country.

MM The Best For Shrewsbury School

Academic excellence aside, the school prides itself on a strong sporting ethos and boasts some of the finest teams in UK education. The main sport in the Michaelmas (autumn) term is football, in the Lent term fives and rugby, and in summer cricket. During term times, pitch usage is seven days a week and with over 800 pupils, many of whom participate in sports, it is safe to say that the pitches encounter a lot of wear.

It is for this reason that Andy is very particular in choosing a grass seed that stands up to such high usage.

“Three years ago we made the decision to change to Limagrain’s MM60 on our football pitches,” he said. “We were experiencing a lot of disease, especially on our first team pitch, and I think we sprayed four times to tackle fusarium. With this in mind I thought it was worth trying something different to see if we could find a seed that was better for our site.

“We trialled MM60 on one pitch against the seed that we were previously using over the course of a season – to see which one was the best. Results showed that there was a lot less disease from using MM60 and it stood up a lot better to the really high usage that we have. The pitch that we trialled it on had 112 uses during a twelve week period and it felt like the MM60 provided a much more upright leaf which seemed to protect the pitch more than our previous seed.

“It was an easy decision to change to the MM60 and we implemented it across all of the football pitches – we didn’t even need to spray it for any disease in that first year.”

Limagrain’s MM60 grass seed is renowned for producing an excellent playing surface. It is a 100% Ryegrass formula which is perfect for renovation and divot repair, has a high disease resistance, fantastic aesthetic qualities and offers extremely fast germination – which is boosted by the inclusion of Headstart GOLD®.

Developed using the latest scientific findings and field experience, Headstart GOLD® is a natural revolutionary grass seed treatment that ensures rapid germination and is perfect for enhancing performance on grass seed coatings for sports fields, golf courses, lawns and amenity turf.

For 2019, MM60 now includes Limagrain’s new Ryegrass cultivar Annecy which has outstanding disease resistance particularly against Leaf Spot. This along with excellent wear tolerance, density and recovery makes it a very valuable addition to the mixture at a time when plant health and disease management has never been so important.

MM The Best For Shrewsbury School

After ‘Koro-ing off’ the pitches during the annual August renovations, Andy has just 28 days to ensure the pitches are playable for the opening fixtures. Therefore, when Andy sows the seed he needs absolute confidence that it will perform.

“We know that by the fourth or the fifth day MM60 is going to be showing; within seven days it is going to be green, and then between ten and fourteen days we will even look at putting a growth regulator down and encourage it to start tillering and get as deep rooted as possible. MM60 responds excellently – it’s hungry, it’s vigorous, it comes through well and it colours well. The Headstart can also take out the need for pre-seed fertiliser.”

In a similar move, Andy also decided to change to Limagrain’s MM50 for the school’s cricket pitches after his previous seed was not meeting his expectations.

“We were using a different seed on the squares but our recovery was so poor and the pitches were almost dead at the end of two or three games of cricket. We didn’t even trial the MM50 – we just went straight in on a whole square and the difference was incredible. The speed that it came through and the quality of the sward was really impressive. We had no disease through the winter and when we prepared our first wickets with MM50 the following spring – the denseness, the texture of the leaf and the way it cut down to the 6mm we aim for was amazing. The wickets looked good and they coloured up well but the most important thing was that we could water them after four or five days of play and within a couple of days they were almost green again.”

As Andy says, MM50 is ideal for cricket squares and outfields. This hard-wearing mix has rapid germination, very fine leaved appearance, high shoot density and is tolerant to very close mowing, along with high disease resistance. All these attributes together produce a fantastic sward that has great colour all year round. It is also widely praised for its rapid recovery – something which is incredibly important to Andy.

“With the amount of games we have here, recovery is a massive thing and we have to get them back quickly. MM50 has just proved time and time again to be the best cricket mix in the country.

“Limagrain is a great company to work with. They will come in a few times a year, have a look around and we will discuss things like overseeding pitches or seed mixtures. The service has been very good and I don’t think they could actually do anymore if they tried.”

For further information, please contact Limagrain UK on 01472 371471 or visit the company’s website www.lgseeds.co.uk/mm You can also follow the company on Twitter: @MM_Seed

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ICL Relied Upon At Shrewsbury School

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ICL Relied Upon At Shrewsbury School: With a short window of opportunity to transform his Summer sports pitches into Winter sports pitches, Andy Richards, Grounds Manager at Shrewsbury School, can’t afford to take any risks with the products he uses.

It is for this reason that he relies upon ICL products– all of which he says will guarantee him the results expected at the prestigious school.

ICL Relied Upon At Shrewsbury School

2018 marks eight successful years at Shrewsbury School for Andy Richards. His groundsmanship journey all began at Birmingham City Council where he stayed for seven years before moving to King Edwards Grammar School. Three years later Andy accepted the position of Head Groundsman at Birmingham City FC but his passion for a multi-sports environment was always evident. Further spells at British Airways Clubs and Christ College in Brecon reignited his passion before being named as the Grounds Manager at Shrewsbury School.

Now Andy finds himself at arguably one of the most used sports facilities in the UK’s education system. If it was a challenge Andy was looking for, then it is safe to say he has found one.

“I don’t think I’m far off having the most amount of football, cricket and rugby matches in the whole of the UK,” he says. “Last year we played host to just over 1,900 winter sports games – which is a lot especially when you have to cater for that amount in such a short renovation period.”

Last year, Andy’s final cricket game was played on the 6th August, leaving him an incredibly short window to prepare football pitches for the first game which was played on the 7th September. After ‘Koro-ing off’ eight of the pitches Andy had just 28 days to ensure the pitches were playable for the opening fixtures.

“Last year was hard,” he says. “Fortunately, I have 100% confidence in the ICL products I use and even though the weather went against us we still did it.”

After “Koro-ing off” the pitches, Andy applies Qualibra wetting agent at 10 L/ha (half rate) to aid the seeding process. He then top dresses before applying a base feed of SierrablenPlus Renovator 20-20-8 at a rate of 35g/m² in which the micro mini-granules ensure even distribution for young seedlings while its high Phosphate levels encourage strong root growth.

Once the seed has germinated and Andy reaches the second leaf stage, he applies Primo Maxx II at 0.8 L/ha which he tank-mixes with humic and fulvic acids to help with the uptake of iron and to avoid any yellowing of the leaf. Based on his assessment of the plant Andy will, more often than not, go with another granular feed in the form of Greenmaster Pro-Lite NK 12-0-12 at 35 g/m² which gives the turf an added boost complimenting SierrablenPlus which is consistently offering a controlled release of Nitrogen.

Seven to ten days after the first application of Primo Maxx II, he reapplies it at a slightly higher rate of 1 L/ha, before another application of Qualibra at 10 L/ha just to help hold water in the profile.

“These particular products just seem to work for us,” he says. “Take Qualibra for example, it gives us a huge advantage in the seeding process. If you happen to have a hot spell, sometimes you only need as little as three hours of it being too hot and then your seed dies but Qualibra gives you that protection because it is extremely effective in holding moisture in the rootzone.

“The products I use guarantee results at each stage of our renovation programme and that makes this renovation window so much easier. I can’t risk anything not working. I have a tried and tested method with these products now – I have done it for the last five years and it works perfectly.

“I trust in ICL and in my opinion the products just seem to be getting better and better all of the time. They are creating new technologies which turf and sports pitches need. There are no gimmicks – it is all fact and they have trials and research to prove it.

“I also receive great support from Emma Kilby (ICL Technical Area Sales Manager) who helps me put together the programme.  We speak a lot on the phone and she is always there if I need her. It’s nice to be able to bounce ideas off one another and we are always looking at any improvements we could make.”

Please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

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SISIS Praised At Shrewsbury School

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SISIS Praised At Shrewsbury School: Andy Richards, grounds manager at Shrewsbury School, has reported excellent results from using a range of SISIS turf maintenance equipment to look after the School’s widely praised sports pitches.

Shrewsbury School is one of the country’s leading co-educational independent schools for 13-18-year-olds and attracts boys and girls from all over the country. It is one of the original seven public schools as defined by the Public Schools Act 1868, and its impressive list of previous pupils boasts a certain Mr Charles Darwin. In line with the work of its most famous “Old Salopian”, the school continues to evolve in a dynamic way, achieving both outstanding academic and sporting results.

SISIS Praised At Shrewsbury School

“We have a good blend of academics and sports at Shrewsbury School,” says Andy. “Sport is a massive part of the School and there is a very strong house sport system – in fact the students are willing to run through a brick wall for their school and their house in sporting competitions!”

It is for this reason that Andy and his team leave absolutely no stone un-turned when it comes to preparing and maintaining sports pitches of the highest standard. In fact, cricket-writer Sir Neville Cardus once famously described them as “the most beautiful playing fields in the world, spreading and imperceptibly mingling with the pasture land of Shropshire”. However, these truly wonderful facilities don’t come easily.

Andy and his team work tirelessly throughout the year to provide sports pitches of the highest quality, and when it comes to his cricket wickets he puts his faith in the SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5

“We use the Auto Rotorake specifically for cricket because it does such a good job,” says Andy. “The amount of material you can take out of a wicket with the brush reel and the verticutting reel sometimes needs to be seen to be believed. We use it all the way through the cricket season. In summer we do 30 match wickets a week and it will be part of the preparation for every one of those. From the middle of April through to the last cricket match in August we play host to approximately 250 matches and the Auto Rotorake is used on every one of those.”

The SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5 is a powerful self-propelled heavy duty scarifier designed for the removal and control of thatch on fine turf. It features a contra-rotating reel with specially designed tipped blades for clean, consistent cut and maximum thatch removal. As Andy says, a variety of maintenance tasks can be carried out due to a selection of seven different interchangeable reels.

In further discussing his maintenance procedures, Andy pin-pointed aeration as one of the most vital.

“We have one of the highest pitch usages in the country. On each pitch we average 10-15 hours per week and we’ve got limited drainage. Therefore, one of the most important things we do is aeration and we aerate pitches all of the time. Grass lives and needs air like anyone else,” he says.

Breathing life into Andy’s grass is his newly purchased SISIS Javelin Aer-Aid tractor mounted aerator, and he had no problem in running it past the School’s bursars – as he explains.

“It was the machine I wanted because I had previously trialled it and had good results. For example I Clegg hammered the pitches before and after using the Aer-Aid and had noticed a massive reduction in hardness. I know that the Aer-Aid had recently undergone extensive Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) trials and it came out with excellent results – which always gives you confidence and makes it easier to explain to the bursars why you want to purchase it.”

The Javelin Aer-Aid recently gained rave reviews from the STRI following a three month period in which extensive trials led by Dr Christian Spring were carried out. Described by Christian as “a very useful tool in a greenkeeper’s or groundsman’s arsenal,” the Javelin Aer-Aid is indeed becoming the number one choice for many turf managers looking for the best aeration results.

With 10mm diameter ‘tipped’ tines working at 75mm (3ins) spacing, air is introduced from the Aer-Aid at a rate of 88 litres (3cu.ft.) per minute. These air injection tines are specially designed to use the maximum air available from the compressor and produces clean, fresh air, while also ensuring that surface disturbance is kept to a minimum. The cam trigger mechanism ensures that the air is always expelled at the bottom of the tine penetration, enabling treatment to be targeted precisely and consistently.

“It’s a really good machine,” says Andy. “It’s easy to use and we can see significant improvements since using the Aer-Aid.

“For me, SISIS signals simplicity and reliability. It may be a cliché but the equipment does what it says on the tin and that’s what I expect. The machines are built to last and I’ve never had any problems with SISIS equipment.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

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Auto Rotorake Amazes Shrewsbury School

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Auto Rotorake Amazes Shrewsbury School: Andy Richards, Grounds Manager at Shrewsbury School, has claimed that he is amazed at the amount of material the SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5 removes from the School’s cricket wickets.

Set over 120 acres with approximately 800 pupils, Shrewsbury School is one of the most prestigious independent schools in the land. Boasting academic excellence, the School also has some of the finest sporting facilities in the UK. In fact over three quarters of the School’s land is occupied by sports pitches. There is wide variety of sports on offer at Shrewsbury School and in summer all eyes turn to cricket.

Auto Rotorake Amazes Shrewsbury School

Cricket-writer Sir Neville Cardus once described the School’s cricket facilities as “the most beautiful playing fields in the world, spreading and imperceptibly mingling with the pasture land of Shropshire”. However, these facilities don’t come easily.

Andy and his team work tirelessly throughout the year to provide sports pitches of the highest quality, and when it comes to his cricket wickets he puts his faith in the SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5

“We use the Auto Rotorake specifically for cricket because it does such a good job,” says Andy. “Previously, we had an older Rotorake in our armoury and because we were so impressed with it there was absolutely no reason to try something else. I had a demonstration of the new Auto Rotorake last year, decided to purchase one and it is a definite upgrade. The amount of material you can take out of a wicket with the brush reel and the verticutting reel sometimes needs to be seen to be believed.”

The SISIS Auto Rotorake MK5 is a powerful self-propelled heavy duty scarifier designed for the removal and control of thatch on fine turf.

Key features include:

  • Contra-rotating reel with specially designed tipped blades for clean, consistent cut and maximum thatch removal
  • A selection of 7 different interchangeable reels enables the machine to carry out a variety of maintenance tasks
  • Depth of cut adjustment control is mounted on the handle to enable depth to be set whilst moving forwards
  • User-friendly, operator presence controls designed for maximum operator safety
  • Easy-fit collector box
  • 6.5hp petrol engine with independent drive to wheels and reel
  • Careful weight distribution, slick tyres and full differential ensure ease of turning and minimal surface marking

“We use it all the way through the cricket season,” continues Andy. “In Summer we do 30 match wickets a week and it will be part of the preparation for every one of those match wickets. From the middle of April through to the last cricket match in August we play host to approximately 250 matches and the Auto Rotorake is used on every one of those.

“For me, SISIS signals simplicity and reliability. It may be a cliché but it does what it says on the tin and that’s what I expect. The machines are built to last and I’ve never had any problems with SISIS equipment.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

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Former Shrewsbury Town groundsman passes away

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Former Shrewsbury Town groundsman and Shropshire cricketer Brian Perry passes away: Former Shrewsbury Town groundsman and Shropshire cricketer Brian Perry has died at the age of 74.

Perry was the groundsman at Gay Meadow for 26 years before the club moved to their new stadium at Oteley Road.

Former Shrewsbury Town groundsman passes away

But before that he enjoyed great success with the county’s cricket side and was part of Shropshire’s Minor Counties title-winning squad in 1973.

The fast-medium bowler claimed the wicket of Ian Botham in a Natwest Trophy match against Somerset at Wellington in 1983.

And he claimed another prized scalp 12 months later as he dismissed Geoff Boycott in Shropshire’s victory over Yorkshire at St Georges in the same competition.

But many will remember him from his time at Shrewsbury, where he often battled the elements brought on by the Gay Meadow’s proximity to the River Severn.

Town chairman Roland Wycherley led the tributes, saying: “Our thoughts and condolences go out to Brian’s family and friends at this sad time.

“Brian was a big part of Shrewsbury Town’s history and a familiar face at the Gay Meadow for many years.

“The conditions at the Gay Meadow meant the pitch was a challenge, but Brian’s hard work and dedication meant that games would go ahead despite those challenges.

 “He continued to work on match day at the new stadium and he will be greatly missed.”

Perry played his club cricket at Wem for many years and clubs around the county have expressed their sympathy.

Bridgnorth CC tweeted: “Such sad news to hear of Brian’s passing. A great character & fantastic cricketer. #Legend.”

Whitchurch CC tweeted: “Such sad news hearing that legend Brian Perry passing away. Our thoughts are with his family & friends @WemCricketClub. Such a top man.”

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