Hundreds brave heat as Lakeside 5 raises thousands

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Hundreds brave heat as Lakeside 5 raises thousands: Almost 450 runners braved soaring temperatures to compete in the annual JCB Lakeside 5 and Fun Run – raising £4,300 for charity.

The competitors laced up their running shoes to take on either a five-mile course or two-mile fun run around the picturesque JCB World HQ at Rocester. While most dressed to keep cool as temperatures nudged 28˚C, some runners donned colourful fancy dress outfits based on the Wizard of Oz. Charles Bevan, 78, of Abbots Bromley, dressed as the Tin Man, while his son Jason and fellow JCB Lakeside Running Club members Liz Carrington, Helena Fisher and Ben Ord, came as the Lion, Wicked Witch, Dorothy, and Scarecrow. The event raised £4,300 towards JCB’s £2 million appeal for the NSPCC.

Hundreds brave heat as Lakeside 5 raises thousands

Hundreds brave heat as Lakeside 5 raises thousands

Former JCB employees Charles Bevan and Mick Grindey, 63, of Uttoxeter, have the unique distinction of having run in every single JCB Lakeside 5 since the first was held in 1983 – a total of 40 races, three having been cancelled due to Foot and Mouth and Covid. They were presented with mounted scale models of JCB backhoe loaders to honour 40 years of helping organise the JCB Lakeside 5.

Charles said: “This year is full of mixed emotions as it is likely to be my last race. I am 79 next month and I have run every year dressed as everything from Popeye to Fred Flintstone and even a pantomime horse. I have loved every minute, and I am so proud of what we have achieved raising thousands of pounds for good causes. The support we receive every year is amazing and it was great to see so many people here again this year as we mark our 40th race here at JCB.”

Race Director Mick Grindey, who joined Charles at the starting line, said: “It was 28 degrees on the starting line, so we have been touched by all the support this year. It was definitely one of the busiest we have had and to have run beside Charles on each one over the past 40 events has been an honour.”

Ben Marshall, from Werrington, was the first JCB man to cross the line. Based at JCB’s World HQ, it is the 3rd time he has taken part. Joined by a team of runners from the Backhoe Loader assembly line, he completed the course in 29 minutes and 53 seconds.

Dental hygienist Angela Kiwomya came in at 49 minutes and 50 seconds to claim the place as  first JCB woman over the finish line. She said: “It is the first time I have taken part and was great to be part of the event. The atmosphere is amazing, and it was rewarding to do something for such a good cause.”

Chris Gidlow, of City of Stoke Runners, was the overall winner securing first place for the second time in a row. Beating his last time by just over 10 seconds he made it across the line in 26 minutes and 44 seconds. First female was Joanne Bentley, from Stone, who also claimed the title for the second time crossing the line in 35minutes 1 second.

Uttoxeter Road Runners had a team of 25 runners with Andrew Butterworth, of Uttoxeter, dressed as a dinosaur for his 10th JCB Lakeside 5. He said: “I normally just wear a wig and tutu so it was definitely a lot warmer with the full dinosaur outfit in this heat. The crowd were brilliant though and it was a great atmosphere.”

JCB’s Paula Woods, who works in finance at World HQ, took to the track for the first time with colleague Mark Jeffs. The 54-year-old said she was keen to take on the challenge: “I figured if I didn’t do it now, I never would, and I have found the whole experience really inspiring. It was a lot harder than expected with the hills.”

Among the other competitors were a 15-strong team of JCB India colleagues and their families. They are part of a group of design engineers in the UK on secondment from JCB India’s factory in Pune they wanted to join colleagues in racing. Badjarang Jadhav said: “It was a great experience to share with our families, and we have all enjoyed being part of such a fun event here at JCB.”

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Dunstall Park Teams Up With STRI Group

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Dunstall Park Teams Up With STRI Group: The team that supports the Wimbledon Championships’ world-famous lawn tennis courts has been appointed to oversee the development of the UK’s first greyhound racing track in a decade.

Based in Yorkshire but operating internationally, STRI Group specialises in the design construction and management of natural turf and artificial sports surfaces with more than 96 years’ experience.

Dunstall Park Teams Up With STRI Group

Dunstall Park Teams Up With STRI Group

Its team still contributes to the management of Wimbledon’s grass courts, with other projects including the most recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2012 London Olympics.

Now, the group will help construct the UK’s newest greyhound racing track at Dunstall Park in Wolverhampton in partnership with Arena Racing Company.

The new track is being developed using the latest welfare driven evidence and sustainability practices ahead of a planned autumn launch. It will feature 75-metre straights, with a bend radius of 47-metres and width of 5.6 metres and sit inside the venue’s horse racing track in full view of its 25,000 capacity grandstand.

Dr Christian Spring, STRI Group Principal Scientist, joined in 2005 and has been working closely with the greyhound racing industry for seven years.

“Our understanding of greyhound racing tracks and how they can operate to the best of their ability on a consistent level has shifted significantly in recent years,” said Dr Spring.

“We factor in all aspects when striving to deliver the highest quality welfare driven racing surfaces, from weather patterns to bend widths and radius plus camber and the sand we use.

“Dunstall Park will deliver the blueprint for an optimal greyhound racing surface designed to host several weekly fixtures under the widest possible range of conditions.”

Once open, Dunstall Park will host four weekly fixtures and operate as one of five greyhound stadia under the management of Arena Racing Company – the UK’s largest racecourse operator.

As part of ARC’s existing partnership with STRI Group, Dunstall Park’s grounds team will work closely with Dr Spring and his team to ensure year-round best practice is applied using the latest evidence-driven track maintenance guidance.

The new track will also be capable of recycling 700,000 litres of water through a purpose-built attenuation tank which will capture disused water and rainfall to minimise the impact on the environment.

Dr Spring added: “Greyhound racing stadiums were typically built decades ago when weather patterns we experience were very different and more seasonal.

“We’re far more susceptible to prolonged periods of wet and dry weather, as this year has proven. It’s prompted everyone to consider how we source water when preparing tracks for racing so stadiums can be resilient to the weather.

“It might sound basic, but the attenuation tank has been designed using cutting-edge technology so water loss to evaporation and soil absorption is minimised and provides the grounds team with enough water to operate for days, enhancing the tracks water resilience.

“We’re turning a pipe dream into reality, and it’s an exciting project for the team to help deliver.”

An opening date for Dunstall Park Greyhound Stadium will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

The track will host its first major competition on Friday, October 24, with the 93rd renewal of the £20,000 Premier Greyhound Racing Oaks. To celebrate the track’s first Category One final, free admission will be available to all racegoers.

Additional information will be released nearer the time.

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Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

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Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries: The search is on to recognise the UK’s most professional sprayer operators in the sports turf, amenity and landscape management industries.

The Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year (ASOOTY) Awards highlight best practice and experience in the challenging role of ensuring accurate application on all amenity surfaces.

Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

Amenity Sprayer Operator of the Year open for entries

The Amenity Forum competition, supported by ICL and Syngenta, seeks to share guidance and advice that will raise the standards of spray application across the amenity industry.

You could be a lawncare professional in Essex, working on a golf course from Glasgow to Perranporth, treating roadsides or railways in York, or spraying grounds in Cardiff – all are welcome to apply

The Awards’ finalists will be announced at the Amenity Forum Conference in October, with the overall winner presented at the prestigious BIGGA Awards ceremony at BTME in January 2026.

Amenity businesses and sports turf managers are urged to actively encourage their sprayer operators to enter the awards this year.

All ASOOTY applicants will also be entered into a competition to win one of five Syngenta Sprayer Calibration & Application Kits.

Along with assessing operators’ skills of spray application and use of products, the ASOOTY judging panel also now incorporate the importance of an integrated turf management (ITM) approach to any issues involving turf and landscape maintenance.

Announcing the opening of the ASOOTY 2025 Awards, Amenity Forum Chairman, Ian Graham, announced: “This competition seeks to highlight the remarkable talent that exists within our sector, and I encourage as many spray operators as possible to engage with the process.

“Our industry has many highly skilled spray operators working within it, using a diverse range of products accurately applied through a huge range of complex application equipment. Past winners have ably demonstrated the professional approach to meeting  these challenges.”

Syngenta Technical Manager, Sean Loakes, highlighted: “The skills of sprayer operators to make efficient, effective and above all safe applications is essential for the future sustainability of the amenity and turf care industry.

“The ASOOTY awards are a welcome way to recognise and reward the leading individuals and to learn from their experience,” he says.

Last year’s winner, Peter Pattenden, professional spray technician at Carden Park Golf Resort in, Cheshire encourages all sprayer operators to get involved and enter the ASOOTY Awards. Even at a relatively young age, his understanding of the spraying process and exemplary commitment to achieving consistent accuracy was evident.

ICL Landscape & Industrial Business Manager, Lewis Blois, added: “We are delighted to support such an important cross-sector industry initiative, with a continued commitment to raise standards and improve results.

“Importantly it provides a unique and vitally important resource for all involved in spray application across the amenity sector,” he points out.

The entry process aims to test sprayer operators’ broader knowledge of issues and solutions faced across the amenity sector through an initial on-line question form, including questions to assess an individual’s experience and approach to dealing with challenges.

It’s seeking to find operators that can make those important proactive decisions with every application

Entries to the ASOOTY Awards 2025 closes on Friday 12 September. The on-line entry form is available at:  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DB9LCNS

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Minimise emissions and maximise uptime with the ZE range

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Minimise emissions and maximise uptime with the ZE range: The ZE Electric Zero-Turn range from Kubota has proven its credentials with operators looking to reduce their environmental footprint, all without detriment to productivity or cut performance.

Verifying that sustainability does not have to result in a compromise in turfcare standards, the fully-electric ZE-421 and ZE-481 mowers from Kubota’s Zero Turn collection are exceeding expectations too on operator comfort – reducing the noise, odours and vibrations associated with ICE-powered equipment.

Minimise emissions and maximise uptime with the ZE range

Minimise emissions and maximise uptime with the ZE range

With no internal combustion engine, the ZE produces no CO2 or particulates during operation, supporting the UK air quality and net-zero commitments of local authorities and other green space managers. Instead, the ZE range is powered by a durable 48V, 10kWh lithium-ion battery which allows the mower to cover up to 15,000m2 on a single charge. Depending on site conditions, the operator can choose between Eco, Standard or Boost mode deck settings to further optimise battery life whilst choosing between two transport speeds, when exhausted, the battery module can be removed and exchanged in minutes.

The advanced K-Sense auto-adjustment system also actively monitors deck load in real time to automatically balance mowing and travel speed to preserve cut quality on varying grass types and densities.

The ZE-421 and ZE-481 models come with a 42” or 48” side-discharge deck, ideal for professional contractors and landscaping applications, with an optional mulching kit available. Smooth and quiet in operation, additional comfort is provided by the adjustable seat and ergonomic deck controls designed to reduce fatigue and improve operator wellbeing.

In addition, the ongoing maintenance of the ZE range is significantly simplified, making it ideal for busy grounds teams. With no engine oil, spark plugs, fuel filters or exhaust systems to service, the routine upkeep is reduced to essential checks such as blade sharpening, tyre inspection and periodic battery monitoring. The electric drivetrain also results in fewer moving parts and less wear and tear, lowering the risk of breakdowns and maximising uptime.

The ZE range forms part of Kubota’s ongoing declaration to support a carbon neutral environment by 2050. For more details on other sustainable solutions for professional groundcare, visit www.kubota-eu.com

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Reesink Hydro-Scapes make key appointment

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Reesink Hydro-Scapes make key appointment: In a period of sustained expansion, Reesink Hydro-Scapes has created a role to strengthen the sale and technical support provided to its water related customers.

Adam Moss joins the team as the new Sales and Technical Support Representative, covering the south of the UK and Channel Islands.

Reesink Hydro-Scapes make key appointment

Reesink Hydro-Scapes make key appointment

He brings with him the perfect blend of experience. He’s got practical experience from working in a turfcare role: 21 years in total as First Assistant Greenkeeper at Evesham Golf Club, Deputy Head Greenkeeper at Blackwell Golf Club and Course Manager at Henley Golf Club giving him awareness of the realities of the job, a detailed understanding of the industry and a passion for turf management.

In these roles, Adam used Toro irrigation equipment and machinery, so he is familiar with not only the products he will be working and supporting customers with, but also with Reesink as Toro’s UK distributor.

Adam explains: “I can speak from experience when it comes to helping new and existing customers with the irrigation issues they face. I will be able to help problem solve and find solutions. Whether it is the pressures of the weather, budget issues, technical problems, or additional support, the chances are I faced the same, or a similar, situation.”

Adam’s last role before joining Reesink was in a turfcare sales role which will certainly aid him in building strong relationships and identifying new business opportunities for Reesink.

Robert Jackson, Reesink Hydro-Scapes Division Manager, says: “We understand the water business is specialist and the products require specific training to get the best out of them. We were waiting for the right person to demonstrate the qualities required to understand the customer’s requirements on a practical level and provide the necessary help and support, as well as develop and retain relationships with existing and new customers. Adam, with his expertise and industry insight, is that person.”

And if all that wasn’t enough Adam is a keen golfer so knows what constitutes to good playing conditions in real life – he has a handicap of four! So, whether you’re diving into the world of sprinkler systems for the first time or navigating water management software, Adam is available for a chat to help make the right decisions regarding water requirements such as precision control and reliability.

“The time is certainly now for everyone in the golf course industry to be evaluating their water usage and supply against the backdrop of the changes in weather and the strain on older systems,” Adam concludes. “I’m really excited about the prospect of starting customers on their journey towards water sustainability and best practise and being there every step of the way.”

For those wishing to start a conversation about irrigation in the south of the UK and Channel Islands can contact Adam, while Pete Newton can be contacted by those in the north of the UK, by calling Reesink Hydro-Scapes on 01480 226800, emailing info@reesinkturfcare.co.uk or visiting reesinkhydro-scapes.co.uk.

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