Tiernan Crawford Wins Student Greenkeeper of the Year

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Tiernan Crawford has been announced as the ICL and Syngenta Irish Student Greenkeeper of the Year Award 2017 winner.

The young greenkeeper, who works at Beech Park Golf Club in Dublin, was crowned Student Greenkeeper of the Year after participating in the Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board(KWETB) Greenkeeping Training Course which is run at Naas Golf Club in Kerdiffstown, County Kildare.

The course leads to a QQI Level 4 Horticulture Award specialising in Greenkeeping and the students embark on key modules such as Establishing Turfgrass, Horticultural Science, Plant Identification Care and Maintenance, Safe Horticultural Practice and Establishing Trees and Shrubs.

Over a period of 48 weeks, and under the watchful eyes of Aisling Mahon, Course Coordinator and David Perdisatt, Assistant Course Coordinator, student greenkeepers from all over Ireland participate in the theory modules while at the same time gaining hands on practical greenkeeping experience at a number of golf courses.

At the end of the challenging course, just one participant is selected as the overall Student of the Year. Tiernan, whose mentor at Beech Park is David Callanan – Certified Golf Course Superintendent (CGCS), performed excellently throughout the course demonstrating a high standard of both academic abilities and practical skills.

Since its establishment eleven years ago, the course has gone from strength to strength and is now widely recognised as opening a number of doors for aspiring greenkeepers such as employment, further education and even oversees internships. In fact, many participants have gone to gain valuable experience at prestigious golf courses such as Bay Hill and Pebble Beach in Ohio, USA.

ICL and Syngenta have been proud sponsors of the course for a number of years now and the event is just one of many they support as they continue to demonstrate their commitment to education within the turf care sector.
Colman Warde, ICL’s Country Manager for Ireland, who presented Tiernan with his award said: “We are absolutely delighted to be supporting this fantastic course. It has run for a number of years now and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

“Both ICL and Syngenta are absolutely committed to nurturing the future of greenkeeping where we can and will continue to play our part in enhancing education at every opportunity. These hard-working young greenkeepers are the future and are highly important to not only us but the industry as a whole.”

For further information, please contact ICL on 01473 237100. Visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

To make any enquiries about the Greenkeeping Training Course please emailgreenkeepingcourse@gmail.com

Rostov banned from playing at home until state of pitch improves

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The Russian Football Premier League (RFPL) has banned Rostov from playing on the pitch at their Olimp-2 stadium until the state of the surface improves.

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho complained about the playing surface ahead of his side’s 1-1 Europa League draw at Rostov last week.

Mourinho said UEFA had dismissed his complaints that the pitch was dangerous, but the RFPL committee that oversees pitches in the league has since deemed the surface to be unacceptable.

The RFPL said in a statement that Rostov will not be able to play at their Olimp-2 stadium until the pitch meets its playing surface standards.

Fellow Russian side Rubin Kazan have also been handed down the same punishment.

Mourinho said of Rostov’s pitch last week: “It’s still hard for me to believe that we are going to play [there]. I know that we have to, but it is hard for me to believe we are going to play on that field — if you can call it a field.”

Rostov manager Ivan Daniliants also said before last week’s Europa League round-of-16 first leg that the pitch would pose United a “problem.”

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Charlton Athletic’s Training Ground On Course For Revamp

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Charlton Athletic’s legendary Sparrows Lane training complex is well on course for its multi-million pound upgrade.

MP for Eltham Clive Efford and leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich Cllr Denise Hyland were among the attendees recently as building work began on Phase II of the four-phased re-vamp.

The site’s face-lift began in 2015 and once completed, the training ground will provide facilities that benefit Charlton Athletic, Charlton Athletic Community Trust, Charlton Athletic Women’s team, Footscray Rugby Club and the local community.

The redevelopment is being fully funded by the club and Phase II consists of the construction of a new synthetic community pitch and enhancement of the CACT area, including changing rooms, classrooms, consultation area, construction of a new 3G rugby pitch, increased parking and an access road.

The club initially secured planning permission for Phase II last October, but legal delays meant construction was only able to begin last week. The work is set to be complete by September.

Phase III of the development will begin following the end of the season and involves the renovation of the first team’s natural turf training pitches.

Phase IV will begin following the completion of Phase II and Phase III and will involve the construction of a new ground building.

Charlton Athletic CEO Katrien Meire said of the joined-up nature of the project: “It is a good example of our approach.

“We’re an inclusive club, we have a massive academy, a women’s team that are doing brilliantly and our Community Trust, which has a great reputation, and this [the facilities] will only help them to expand their community scheme.

“The improvements to the training ground will benefit the club and the local community for many decades to come.”

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CE Marking For Classen Aerator

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Classen’s new TA18 aerator now has CE marking in compliance with EU health and safety requirements. This follows the conformity assessment and issue of the EC Declaration of Conformity, so dealers can be assured each machine will come with CE marking and the necessary supporting documentation. What’s important about this is the CE has been done by an independent company to confirm the vibration figures at only 3.6ms². The assessment complements the innovative features of the new aerator, with its compact, streamlined design and steerable tine bank. The width of the aerator is just 27.2”/69cm allowing it to fit through almost all gates and doors and the small footprint with the handles folded makes it exceptionally easy to store and transport.

For groundsmen, landscapers, hire outlets and homeowners the Classen TA18 is the ideal solution for highly productive treatment of grass areas including hills, slopes and inclines. It’s the most compact aerator in its class and easily negotiates around trees, shrubs and in tight spaces while aerating at speed. There are five banks of tine wheels with tight tine placement to pull more holes for faster results, and yet the width of the aerator is just Power comes from a Honda GX120 engine which drives the aerator at speeds up to 4.2mph/6.7kmh and the easily reached operation controls ensure user comfort and less fatigue. The TA18 can aerate up to 29,500 square feet of lawn per hour, making it the ideal, productive addition to a landscaper’s equipment fleet.

Another key feature of the Classen TA18 is the two ergonomically shaped and removable weights at the front and top of the machine, which ensure even weight distribution. These are easily removed to make it, at just 214lbs/97kg, one of the lightest aerators available and easily lifted for transportation with its integrated lift handles. The foldable handle cuts the transport size by half, and there are built in tie-downs to secure it. The Classen TA 18 Aerator has clearly been designed with productivity and portability in mind and it comes with a two-year commercial warranty to add to it being fully certified, to give the contractor, hire outlet and end user complete peace of mind. Orders are being taken for delivery in mid-April.

NatWest CricketForce

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NatWest CricketForce is a nationwide initiative aimed at cricket clubs. The programme is designed to bring clubs and local communities closer together, and ensure grounds and facilities are ready for the new season.

CricketForce is held over one designated weekend each year as clubs work to prepare for the upcoming season. Projects range from simple paint jobs, sight screen scrubbing and renewed boundary fencing, to brand new changing rooms, function rooms and even a new pavilion.

NatWest CricketForce 2017 will take place on 1 and 2 April – register your club here to get involved.

By registering your club early, you will receive our monthly newsletters filled with helpful tips and tools to plan for a great event, and you will also be among the first to hear about the 2017 Jewson Privilege Account Scheme.

CricketForce offers the perfect opportunity to engage members of your club who don’t usually get involved and also to attract new members. In addition, reaching out to your local community by approaching new people and businesses for support will help to build a sustainable future for your club.

NatWest CricketForce event resources and advice

Here are a number of useful resources and advice to make your NatWest CricketForce event a success:

Step-by-step planner (PDF) – guides you through all of the stages needed to plan and facilitate a great NatWest CricketForce event
Volunteer sign-up sheet (PDF) – use this to collect your volunteers’ contact information to keep them up to date on your club’s CricketForce activity and thank them afterwards for their contributions
Thank you letter template (MS Word) – use to thank and celebrate the efforts of all of your event volunteers
In addition, all NatWest CricketForce-registered clubs have access to an exclusive online toolkit to help promote your event. You can create personalised posters, flyers and digital banners. For more details please email natwestcricketforce@ecb.co.uk.

Health and safety considerations

All clubs taking part in NatWest CricketForce are advised to check their insurance policy for the following:

All clubs must have Employer’s Liability insurance. As well as covering employees, Employer’s Liability insurance is also required for voluntary helpers
Ensure the Public Liability and Employer’s Liability sections extend to cover the projects/maintenance work being carried out and that there are no conditions/warranties which apply
Under the ECB ExtraCover insurance scheme, as long as clubs have Public Liability insurance, Employer’s Liability insurance is automatically included and cover extends to maintenance/alteration work on club premises and playing areas.

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