Council Looks To Rigby Taylor

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Council Looks To Rigby Taylor: A revolutionary vertical drainage system is set to assist with reducing Wandsworth Council’s perennial misery of cancelled football games due to waterlogged playing surfaces on its Wandsworth Common pitches.

The non-obtrusive Groundwater Dynamics’ system – based on the use of vertical plastic pipes (EGRP) which draw in excess water horizontally – is being trialled on three of most troublesome of the council’s seven winter pitches and, depending on their success, the system could be extended across more of the 96 winter pitches that are under the borough’s care.

Council Looks To Rigby Taylor

As Principal Parks Officer – Operations for Enable Leisure and Sport, the operation that delivers Wandsworth Council’s leisure services, Steve Green explains:

“Being on a clay base, these pitches are forever flooding whenever we have excess rain and while the installation of traditional drainage would have been cheaper by up to around 20 per cent, we wouldn’t be allowed by Thames Water to link the new drains to surface water outlets (storm drains and sewers, for example).

“This alternative system not only means the water can be dealt with ‘at source’, but also that current infiltration rates can be increased by at least seven times [in some cases far higher].

“And the installation hardly impacts surface appearance – indeed, looking at the work, I reckon we could easily play on the pitches within hours of installation. In addition, the system will last over 25 years with regular vertidraining and earthquaking (twice per annum for each operation).”

Council Looks To Rigby Taylor

The system – which is suitable for all soil types and is in use on a number of sports surfaces, including at Edgbaston Cricket Club – was installed on the Wandsworth Common pitches by drilling a series of bore holes in a grid pattern across the playing surfaces.

Central rows of 3 m deep holes (of 89 mm diameter) are flanked by 1.5 m deep holes of 62 mm diameter, at 1.5 m spacings. The sequence was repeated at every 5 m along the length of each pitch. There are also adjacent bores to depths of 6 m and 12 m.

Each borehole accommodates an Energy-passive Ground water Recharge Pump (EGRP) pipe, the top of which sits 300 mm below the surface. The hole is then simply ‘plugged’ and top-dressed.

The innovative five-chamber EGRP design with its mild vacuum draws in water horizontally (to the deeper, 89 mm diameter EGRP pipe) and this then drains away into the lower unsaturated strata/water table.

“We have a myriad of users including private schools, academy squads as well as local teams using these pitches which are among the 1,600 acres of open space we maintain,” adds Steve. “The winter pitches are booked for seven days each week, so any cancellations always create headaches – and disappointed players!

“We started to investigate possible solutions and having such a good relationship with Rigby Taylor – from which we source (via idverde) a lot of products, including R14 perennial rye grass seed which we use across all the pitches, as well as selective herbicides, fertilisers, aggregates and topdressings – the Groundwater Dynamics’ system was presented.

Council Looks To Rigby Taylor

“We looked at the system in use at a football training ground (Fulham FC’s) and on a rugby pitch (in Bushy Park, Hampton Court) and spoke to the groundsmen there before going ahead with the trial.”

Steve has been with the council for 38 years and includes cemeteries, litter clearance and buildings maintenance in his remit, which embraces the management of three direct staff and around 100 indirect. He and colleague Andrew Green, who oversees and manages the council’s wide range sports surfaces, both agree that the former methods of earthquaking and vertidraining couldn’t cope with the waterlogging caused by severe rainfall.

“Nowadays,” says Andrew, “extremes of weather are becoming more common, but we’re totally confident that this new system of drainage will go a long way in reducing a problem we’ve had for years on these pitches.”

For more information, visit: www.rigbytaylor.com

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Stuart Higley Wins Oxfordshire FA County Groundsman Of The Year 

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Woodcote Stoke Row Football Club’s long-serving groundsman Stuart Higley has been names as the Oxfordshire FA’s Groundsman of the Year.

Stuart Higley Wins Oxfordshire FA County Groundsman Of The Year 

Higley, who lives in Croft Way, has been with Woodcote since he started as a player in 1970 and his unstinting voluntary efforts have seen the pitch improve year on year to become in the words of the awards brochure, ‘one of the best pitches to play on in the county’.

He can often be seen tending his beloved pitch and the close-season work he carries out single-handed ensures the pitch is in tip-top condition for the next season.

Higley was presented with a plaque and certificate by guest-of-honour, Tony Cottee, the former West Ham and England striker.

Speaking after the ceremony, Higley paid tribute to his small band of helpers who turn up every week in the season to assist him.

He was nominated for the award by club chairman, Pete McAlister, who was fulsome in his praise for the transformation of the pitch in the last 15 years.

Higley only realised he had been nominated when he received a call from Andy Gray, head groundsman at Southampton FC, asking if he could come and look at the pitch.

He met Gray on the pitch and a recommendation from the Saints’ groundsman saw Higley scoop the award. In winning the gong, Higley was in competition with groundsmen at some semi-professional grounds who have access to a lot of motorised equipment, while his work is done by hand.

To read the original article from Reading Chronicle, click here

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Jeremy Corbyn Tweets Support To KCOM Groundsmen

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What KCOM Groundsmen Say As Jeremy Corbyn Tweets Them His Support

What KCOM Groundsmen Say As Jeremy Corbyn Tweets Them His Support

Darell, 55, was says he was also told he was being sacked for working as a kit man for Hull FC while Mark claims he was told another reason for his dismissal was down to ordering too much grass treatment product and for allowing casual workers to turn up and repair divots in return for a match ticket.

Both men insist they did nothing to warrant their dismissal and were never given any warnings beforehand.

They say they are not looking for compensation but just want their jobs back, and have set up a crowdfunding page to hire Gosschalks Solicitors to fight their case and take their bosses to an employment tribunal which has so far raised £5,900.

In a tweet this week Mr Corbyn said: “Support Darrell & Mark in their fight for justice & to be reinstated to the jobs they love, for the clubs they love.”

Darrell and Mark are both delighted to receive such high profile backing.

In a statement they said: “We are obviously delighted that Jeremy Corbyn publicised our case to his 1.3 million Twitter followers. We are very grateful for that.

“We hope it means more people will now visit our crowdfunding page and donate. We remain committed to fighting for justice and to get our jobs back.

“Now that we know the Employment Tribunal hearing is at the end of October we know we have four months of hard work ahead. When we get support from somebody like Jeremy Corbyn it gives us a huge lift.”

In a joint statement, the two men previously told the Mail: “We wouldn’t normally be able to afford a legal challenge like this against such formidable opposition. There is no access to legal aid and we didn’t earn big salaries so we hope the people at SMC understand why we had no choice but to take this route.

“We look forward to the day we can hold our heads high again and get back to work providing both Hull City and Hull FC with a playing surface both clubs and their fans can be proud of.”

Darrell, of Sproatley, previously said: “This is a job I have done for 27 years and there was no indication anything like this was coming.

“Both myself and Mark have worked for the SMC for 16 years. We have never been in any troubled or had any reprimand so this came out of the blue.”

The Stadium Management Company has denied the two men were unfairly dismissed.

The employment tribunal will be held from October 25-27. Their campaign has been called Pitch For Justice and you can go to their crowdfunding page to donate.

To read the original article from Hull Daily Mail, click here

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Thousands Of Pounds Worth Of Equipment Stolen

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Professional thieves are thought to be behind two break-ins at a tennis club and cricket club in which thousands of pounds worth of equipment was stolen.

Thousands Of Pounds Worth Of Equipment Stolen

Billericay Tennis Club and Billericay Cricket Club, which are both based in Blunts Wall Road, were targeted by thieves overnight last Friday.

The vandals drilled through padlocks on containers to steal lawnmowers, fertiliser spreaders and drinks dispensers. Police believe the same people are responsible and are appealing for anyone with information to come forward.

Dave Randall, committee member at Billericay Cricket Club, said: “We left here at midnight on Friday and and then came back at 7am the next day to find that we had been broken into.

“They had cut through the lock on the gate that leads to the driveway and closed it back up again so nothing looked out of place.

“It looked like they had targeted a particular container and they stole a lawnmower worth £1,000.

“They drilled through a fairly hefty lock.

“It looks like they knew what they were doing, it was planned.

“I’d like to ask people if they see a high-quality lawnmower at a boot sale to let us know.”

The club is claiming on the insurance for new equipment and have increased security measures, including installing CCTV cameras.

Kirk Butler, head coach at the tennis club, added: “They broke into the container, cracked the lock and stole the electric lawnmower, which the groundsman uses.

“It’s a high-quality lawnmower and is worth up to £7,000.

“They also stole some industrial brushes that we use to clean the courts with.

“It seems as if they did the same thing at the cricket club.”

To read the original article from Echo News, click here

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Tottenham Not Allowed To Alter Wembley Pitch

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Tottenham not allowed to alter Wembley pitch – Tottenham’s plans to reduce the size of the Wembley playing surface have been blocked by the Premier League.

Tottenham not allowed to alter Wembley pitch

Spurs will play their home matches at the national stadium next season while their new £800million home is built ready for the start of the 2018 – 19 season.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side played five times at Wembley last season in Europe and the FA Cup, but only won one of those matches.

Part of their problems at Wembley was put down to the size of the pitch which doesn’t suit their high-pressing game; the White Hart Lane surface was the second smallest in the league ahead of Stoke at 100m by 67m, while Wembley’s surface is 105m by 69m.

The Premier League introduced rules two years ago to standardise pitches at 100m by 68m. The only pitches that are allowed to be smaller are those in older grounds, like White Hart Lane and Stamford Bridge, where there isn’t room to extend the pitch outwards.

Because Wembley does have the space to meet the Premier League’s minimum requirement for a pitch, Spurs won’t be allowed to make the dimensions any smaller, although they could request it is reduced from 69m to 68m, per the league’s rules.

According to the Times, it was made clear to Tottenham at a meeting of the Premier League’s 20 chairman that they would not be allowed special dispensation to change the size of the pitch.

That could be an issue for Spurs as they seek to improve upon their second-placed finish last season. Pochettino’s men secured a record high finish and points haul, but fell short in the title race behind eventual champions Chelsea.

When it is built, the pitch at Tottenham’s new stadium will also have to confirm to the pitch size rules.

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Toro Lease Agreement For Royal Ascot Golf Club Brings Course On In “Leaps And Bounds”

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Royal Ascot Golf Club has opted for a lease agreement when renewing its Toro fleet ten years on from becoming a Toro Total Solutions customer after being relocated and rebuilt. And it’s a plan that has, according to its members, brought the course on in leaps and bounds.

A decade ago Royal Ascot Golf course, one of the oldest golf courses in the UK, was separated from the horseracing track and moved to another location on the Crown Estate where it was given a new £1million clubhouse, a 18-hole 150-acre 6500-yard par 70 course, a new Toro irrigation system and a brand new fleet of Toro machinery.

Director Martyn Kilmister praises the job the original fleet has done saying: “Considering the course was a farmer’s field 11 years ago, our Toro kit has done a great job tending the course over its growing in. Toro machines are robust, well-built and long-lasting. For one reason or another we haven’t upgraded or replaced any of the machines until recently and yet our course always looked as good as ever. It is only now we have the new machines that we see the benefit of regular machinery replacement.”

This is a view confirmed and expanded upon by Ian Hockley who has been at the club for two years and in his current role of course manager for almost six months: “Without question the original Toro fleet has done its job and done it well. The main difference is the quality and speed of the new machines means it now takes less work and is no where near as big a job to get the same results.

“Technology has also improved. For our fairways we went for a like-for-like replacement to the Reelmaster 5510 and, as with most of the machines, it’s easy to see the improvements in terms of speed and machine quality, but what is also making my job easier are the improvements in technology. The Info Centre in the Groundsmaster 4100 and 4300 for example provides a degree of control the older machines didn’t have, allowing me to set a maximum mowing speed and prevent whipping on a corner in the case of excess operator speed. And in the case of the GM4300 which now has three decks instead of two, the width of cut has improved and we have been able to use them to stripe the roughs and create semi-roughs.”

Ian explains more about why the club opted for a lease agreement this time. “Whether you buy your machinery outright or on lease, the important thing for the members is having a course that plays the best it can and for the greenkeeping team it’s having the right kit to work effectively and efficiently. I feel the best way for us to achieve those things is by having the flexibility to update the fleet when we need to and being able to bring in new pieces of equipment depending on our short-term as well as long-term objectives.”

And with feedback from members saying the course has “come on in leaps and bounds” and young membership on the up it seems a successful approach!