Derby At Forefront Of Football Pitch Revolution

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Derby At Forefront Of Football Pitch Revolution: Derby County Football Club is at the forefront of the biggest change in sport surfaces in over 20 years.

The club has worked with Talbot Sports Turf on installing revolutionary POWERgrass on an academy pitch at its Moor Farm Training Centre.

Derby At Forefront Of Football Pitch Revolution

Invented in Italy, POWERgrass has increased traction, stability and softness and is more robust than any other hybrid sports carpet.

Darren Wassall, Derby County’s academy director, said: “The POWERgrass hybrid carpet at our Moor Farm academy has exceeded all expectations with regards to wear, surface softness, reliability and playability.”

Sean Goodwin, Director of Talbot Sports Turf, which has exclusive rights to install POWERgrass as a turf in the UK, said: “We have decades of experience and we believe this is the best hybrid carpet system available on the market and is the biggest change in the industry in two decades.

“We are convinced it will become the turn-to surface for football clubs across the UK and Europe.”

He added: “We met with the inventor, Dr Niko Sarris, and have examined POWERgrass very closely. We believe he was the only individual who considered how the grass plant would grow within the hybrid system because his background is agronomy.”

POWERgrass has a bespoke root zone as part of a system, which improves the growing environment and, at the same time, has more synthetic fibre filaments per square metre than any other product.  This, together with the patented backing to the carpet, makes it unique.

Sean added: “One of the issues with hybrid carpets is the ability to be renovated at end of the season.

“If a hybrid carpet does not have very good tuft-lock, synthetic fibres will be removed when old grass is taken out. We are delighted to say that the tuft-lock of POWERgrass is the highest available on the world market.

“It is also the only carpet with tri-coloured fibres which ensures it marries into the grass sward as well as possible.”

Talbot won a prestigious BALI National Landscape Award for the installation of a POWERgrass pitch which has been hailed as ‘our Wembley’ by grassroots footballers in Regent’s Park, London.

The pitch, which is the first of its type at an outdoor public sports facility in the UK, was initially a Royal Parks’ pilot but has been a huge success because of its quality and robustness.

Mark Rowe, assistant park manager, said: “POWERgrass is now in its second season and through last winter and up to now this winter, we have seen no games called off due to adverse weather conditions apart from when the playing surface was covered in deep snow.”

POWERgrass has enabled thousands more people to enjoy sports in Regent’s Park and Sean believes that it has set the benchmark for other public facilities across the country.

He said: “POWERgrass is the best surface available and offers a cost-saving. It will change the face of sports surfaces for sports clubs from The Premier League to the local park.”

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ICL Key For John Ledwidge

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ICL Key For John Ledwidge: Leicester City Football Club’s Grounds Manager, John Ledwidge, has praised the consistent support he receives from ICL – particularly during what is an incredibly exciting and somewhat busy period for the club.

John first became familiar with ICL products when he started his groundsmanship journey as a volunteer at Coventry City FC. It was in his next role at Aston Villa FC under the guidance of Jonathan Calderwood that he had more of an active role in applying the products. At the age of 24, he returned to Coventry City as the Head Groundsman of the Ricoh Arena before joining Leicester City four years later.

ICL Key For John Ledwidge

However, even though ICL may well be a brand that he has relied on at every club he has been at during his career, he is the first to admit that sentiment can afford to play no part in his decision to use the products.

“It all stems back to when I was at Coventry City and I first started seeing the products being used on the pitch. But my association with those products from an early age hasn’t influenced our decision making and it isn’t just because we’re comfortable – it is purely because of the results we get from the products. Ultimately, we want to be the best we can be and ICL products have worked for us and have consistently given us great results. It is that product quality and the support we receive from ICL which makes them a key supplier.”

John adheres to an ICL structured iTurf nutritional programme for both the stadium and the training ground. It is a proven programme which John claims helps deliver not only the nutrition that the plant needs but also offers those aesthetic qualities which is expected of the Premier League as well as the standards that are expected from the players, the staff and the owners (King Power).

Recently, King Power bought the Belgian second-flight football club Oud-Heverlee Leuven (OHL), and they signalled their ambitions by significantly investing in all areas of the club. John was tasked with improving the stadium pitch and the training ground, and was keen to implement his ICL programme which has worked so well at Leicester City.

“The day after the owners purchased the club I was flown over and given four days to put together a strategic plan for the development of the pitches, development of the grounds department and to basically replicate what we do here.

ICL Key For John Ledwidge

“We now have a full-time team in place that manage the stadium and the training ground and through that we have translated our use of ICL products and the framework that we use here. I like to think we have created a nice structure in a way of working with the products and it’s given us the results that we’ve wanted at this standard for a long time. Using this framework of ICL products, we’ve managed to do that successfully in Belgium and the pitch has gained a lot of credit.

“Based on what I’ve seen travelling round various clubs in Belgium and listening to feedback from the players and coaches I would suggest that football groundsmanship there is nothing like the top end of professionalism that you would expect here in the UK. With that in mind I see this project as an opportunity to try and change the culture over in Belgium. The Belgium FA are saying that what we are doing is incredible and they are looking at it from a whole view across Belgian football. So, we are hoping to not just make strides in the sense of creating great pitches for OHL but we are also trying to spread that a bit further across the country for the benefit of the industry.”

It is safe to say that John is extremely passionate about the industry he works in. From facilitating educational days for school children to working alongside the Young IOG (Institute of Groundsmanship) board of directors in encouraging young people into the industry – John is a proud and pro-active groundsman. He is always looking for that next opportunity to make a difference and very recently he was presented with exactly that.

Last year, Leicester City Football Club revealed plans for a brand new, state-of-the-art training facility, as part of its long-term commitment to strengthening Leicestershire’s status as a home for the development of world-class sport. Not only will the training complex help to nurture footballing talent but it will also play host to a very unique sports turf academy.

“It’s going to be quite a dynamic site in the sense that it will cater for a lot of different areas of the industry as a whole. The purpose of the sports turf academy was really to capitalise on that amazing venue and hopefully train the next generation of groundsmen. It’s going to be something that has never been done before and the unique part of this academy is that we can give students access to the reality of what they will work on a day to day basis. Whether it’s a one-day course for volunteers or an intensive three year course for someone that wants to go into management – there will be something for everyone and the students can receive a qualification and then move into a work place. There will be a variety of pitches to work on, there will be a golf course for aspiring greenkeepers; there is the option for those interested in horticulture and also for those keen on learning mechanics – which in my opinion there is big shortfall of in the industry.

“Our aim for the sports turf academy is to provide that elite setting for the highest possible standard of training for the industry.

ICL Key For John Ledwidge

“It is such a huge project and we’ll be looking to engage with our key suppliers, such as ICL, for growth and development, of not only the department and the club but also for the industry as a whole.”

John admits that his key suppliers are integral to the Club’s long-term plans and he believes that loyalty is an essential ingredient in these relationships.

“When times have been tough, ICL has always been there – they haven’t just jumped in when they’ve seen the pound signs, which does unfortunately happen in this industry. To us, that loyalty is incredibly important.

“It’s also the confidence in the back-up and the technical support that you get. Ultimately, we know the products that we like, but for me it’s the advice and education that ICL can offer to my members of staff. We want them to know exactly why they might be using a fertilizer or a bio-stimulant and that’s the good thing about having ICL on-board, because guys like Nick Martin (ICL Technical Area Sales Manager) are always quick to help them understand.

“Every month we have educational seminars where we invite our key suppliers to talk to our members of staff and I sit in there too, because we may have a talk on fertilizer and for me at the top of the tree it doesn’t mean that I know everything and actually sometimes my knowledge will slip because I’m so focused on the strategic plans. I feel that it’s vital that we have that outside knowledge from suppliers and Nick is more knowledgeable than me on the ICL products.

Therefore, it’s important that he can come in and translate that knowledge to them.“In my opinion, ICL has gone hand in hand with the evolution of the industry. The company is forward thinking; they have looked at developments and identified exactly how they can help us achieve the results that we are all after.”

Please contact ICL on +44 (0)1473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie.

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Strong Foundations For Somaliland’s Future

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Strong Foundations For Somaliland’s Future: When UK sporting equipment company Harrod Sport read about the plight of the Somaliland team, it wanted to get involved and help…

Wembley, Paris St Germain’s Parc des Princes, the Stade de France and Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu stadium all have them. So do most Premier League clubs. And now, so will the Somaliland national stadium in Hargeysa.

Strong Foundations For Somaliland’s Future

What do they have, you might well ask? Well, all of these famous grounds and clubs have their goals and posts supplied by Harrod Sport – one of the UK’s top manufacturers of sporting equipment, who’ve been making top-quality kit since 1954. And when the company read about the plight of the Somaliland team on BBC Sport, they simply couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

Kate Pasque, Harrod Sport’s sales and marketing executive, said, “We couldn’t not get involved with something we believed would help Somaliland and the future of football there.”

Somaliland is a member of CONIFA and has long struggled for recognition as a team in its own right. The region is an independent state, but is not recognised as such by any other country; Somalia still declares Somaliland as an autonomous region. The BBC Sport article highlighted the difficulties faced by those assisting the football teams in the area; working in a region where poverty is rife and people get by on an average wage of $347 a year.

Football is trying to change all of that, and news that the Somaliland national set-up is due to receive – free of charge – Harrod 3G Stadium Goals, along with a Harrod 3G Hanging Net Support system, a bottom-hinged net support and box net is incredibly exciting for those aiming to improve things for the local footballers. Ilyas Mohamed, founder and president of the Somaliland Football Association explains: “This donation means a lot to the development of football in Somaliland. Since the Somaliland Football Association was formed, we have sparked and spearheaded the modernisation of football in Somaliland. This donation will help us make hosting international matches in Somaliland a reality. The goals currently installed at the national stadium in Hargeysa or elsewhere in the country do not fit international requirements.”

It’s a remarkably generous gesture from the company, who have recently set up The Ron Harrod Foundation. The foundation provides funding for sportspeople under 25 to help them continue to compete in their chosen sport, and while it’s currently only available to those based in Norfolk and Suffolk, the company aim to to expand over the years to assist multiple young athletes across the UK.

And while The Ron Harrod Foundation might be focused on UK-based talent, worldwide causes such as the Somaliland team are also where the company can see its help having true on-the-ground effects.

Kate Pasque explains. “The quote in the BBC Sport article, ‘We think every young person should have the opportunity to play football’ really rung true with us at Harrod Sport. We had no intention of stretching our funding pot further this year, especially halfway across the world! However, reading that one in 11 children in Somaliland do not survive to their fifth birthday made us all at the company want to help in any way we could to give hope to the children for their future and their future in football. Providing equipment to a pitch that children will strive to play on, and, in turn, inspiring hope, is everything The Ron Harrod Foundation represents.

“At Harrod Sport, we are hopeful that with the addition of our Stadium Goals, we can contribute to the tireless work of everyone involved with the Somaliland national team and CONIFA and, in a small way, help Somaliland go on to represent themselves at an international level, bringing happiness to the country.”

Ilyas Mohamed has no doubt this is the case. “The association is very grateful to The Ron Harrod Foundation. It’s a wonderful and generous donation. We are excited about the future and cannot wait to host Somaliland’s first international match on home soil.

“With these goals we hope to continue inspiring a nation, a new generation to use football as a way to communicate and connect with the rest of the world.”

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St Andrews Unveil New Short Game Area

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St Andrews Unveil New Short Game Area: A major revamp of the short game facility at the St Andrews Links Golf Academy is almost complete.

The project, which aims to further enhance the facilities at the Home of Golf, has seen the golf and greenkeeping team at the Links work closely with award-winning Golf Course Architecture firm Mackenzie and Ebert.

St Andrews Unveil New Short Game Area

The work began at the end of October and with the project nearing completion, excitement is now building for March 2019 when the area will open for golfers to enjoy.

Director of Golf John Grant said: “We are very passionate about our work and being able to offer golfers great practice facilities where they can work on improving their game. In recent years we felt the short game area didn’t offer enough variety or replicate the conditions and types of shots golfers experience across the seven courses at the Links.

“We were delighted to be able to work with Martin and the team at Mackenzie and Ebert and believe we have been able to redesign the site and create something that reflects the world class quality of our courses and facilities, enhancing the services we currently offer at the Golf Academy and improving the overall experience.”

Renowned Golf Course Architect Martin Ebert added: “It has been very fulfilling to have contributed to the Short Game Area at St Andrews Links. The beautiful undulations which are present throughout all of the courses at St Andrews have served as the best possible inspiration for the design and shaping of the greens and surrounds which have been created.

“Formerly, the large flat green with the five bunkers on one side was disappointing in terms of the short game shots on offer. This has been replaced with four new greens, three of which have been raised and shaped to replicate shots which might be found around the greens on the courses at St Andrews. The fourth green has been kept at ground level to allow pitch and run shots and flat putts from off the green to be practised and the five bunkers have been shaped and located in positions to allow all different types of bunker shots to be practised.”

With the Old Course regularly hosting Major events, including the 150th Open in 2021, the design also took into account the infrastructure requirements, retaining some flat areas to accommodate a grandstand as well as ensuring an existing putting green – Harry Colt’s wonderful old 2nd green of the Eden Course – remains an integral part of the short game area.

Work began in October 2018 with Director of Instruction Steve North, Eden, Strathtyrum and Balgove Course Manager Kevin Muir and his greenkeeping team working closely with Mackenzie and Ebert throughout all aspects of the project.

The new design has also freed up some additional space, which will be utilised to increase parking provision to cater for the increasing number of golfers visiting the Eden Clubhouse and Golf Academy all-year round.

Elsewhere on the Links, winter projects are continuing apace, including the creation of a permanent catering facility at the rear of the 9th green of the Old Course.

Previously a mobile catering unit has serviced the needs of golfers on both the Old and New Courses, however renovation work has now begun to extend the footprint of the toilet block and shelter to include a dedicated catering facility.

Director of Operations Ewen Bowman said: “We have long held ambitions to find a more permanent catering solution, both for our staff and golfers, as we strive to deliver a five-star experience.

“The new Halfway House will enable us to provide a great facility for golfers to pick up a selection of fresh snacks and refreshments before taking on the challenge of the back 9.”

Finally, work will continue over the winter to improve access routes around the Old Course with a new road routing taking shape between the Old and New Courses. This work has involved moving an existing track several yards away from golf as well as creating better screening to ensure the safety of golfers and staff.

The road, which is predominantly used by greenkeeping team and golfer’s assistants will be completed in the new year with tarmac treatment whilst the former track will be backfilled and turfed.

To keep up to date with all the latest news at the Home of Golf visit standrews.com for regular updates, blogs and insight into these winter projects and many more.

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Rigby Taylor Praised At Rotherham

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Rigby Taylor Praised At Rotherham: 2018 IOG Industry Award winner Dave Fellowes certainly has his work cut out at Rotherham United FC. Because, as head groundsman, not only is he and two assistants charged with looking after the stadium pitch but they are also tasked with maintaining the training ground which has two pitches, including one for the first team and reserves’ training, as well as reserves’ matches. The trio also help out with the maintenance of an additional pitch used by the club’s under 18s.

So, he says, everything he does must have a purpose – “I don’t have any time to waste” – and every product he uses must have the desired effect during a busy season.

Rigby Taylor Praised At Rotherham

Between May 2017-May 2018, for example, there were 46 games at the stadium, including the UEFA U17 European championship (two group games, one quarter-final, the semi-final and final), as well as 28 training sessions.The two-pitch training ground hosted 455 hours of use during that period.

Dave joined the south Yorkshire club in 2011, after nine years at Fulham FC – seven years as head groundsman there, moving to Craven Cottage from a groundsman role at the University of Sheffield where he gained Levels 1 and 2.

He admits it was a bit of a shock to the system moving from a Premier League club with a team having all the groundscare aids at its disposal, including undersoil heating and grow lights, to a club where the budget was very different. Indeed, for his first year, he was working alone.

“I wanted to get back to this part of the country for personal reasons,” he says, “and because The Millers were then in the throes of planning the new stadium I needed to be part of the new build, particularly the construction of the fibresand pitch. So, I spent a considerable amount of time commuting between London and Yorkshire before joining the club when it was using the Don Valley Stadium while awaiting the completion of the New York Stadium.

“I had experience of fibresand at Fulham, but the environment here is a bit different to London, not least the fact that little air gets onto the pitch, which we try to overcome by regular drag-brushing in an attempt to stimulate some airflow. There’s also a huge temperature difference between here and London, which affects grass growth in particular.

Rigby Taylor Praised At Rotherham

“But you have to work with what you’ve got and the weather you’re confronted with, and we’re always trying to improve things.”

He adds: “It is crucial that I use quality amenity products to complement our groundscare techniques to ensure the pitch plays well and looks good. Of course, we have to meet the expectations of the players and the board [Dave says he has an excellent relationship with the chairman and chief executive] but it seems that every spectator becomes a grounds expert when they enter the stadium – then they are referees and managers when the game is underway – so we have to ensure the pitch always looks great. And thanks to Rigby Taylor products, it does.”

Working closely with Rigby Taylor’s Technical Representative Mike Brear, the benefits of an annual pitch care programme are clear to see and, says Dave, it is spearheaded by a number of products:

[] Microlite Activ8 micro-granular fertiliser – applied six times a year – “the best one on the market”;

[] Activate R biostimulant – applied once a year – “a fantastic product that makes a real difference to rooting”; and

[] Magnet chelated liquid iron – “we apply it on a Thursday before a Saturday game and it really kicks in quickly; it looks like a different pitch within 12 hours”.

Also used are Microflow and PolyPro controlled-release fertilisers (each twice a year) and Magnet Dynamic chelated iron (once a year, for long-term greening).

Dave adds: “We also rely on the biostimulant Activate R in the winter, for good rooting, and we top up the surface regularly by adding R140 seed and, especially in winter, I find that it germinates well at low temperatures. Three bags every six weeks makes a big difference. I do regularly compare products but have always found Rigby Taylor’s to be the best.”

Rigby Taylor Praised At Rotherham

The challenges that Dave faces continue unabated, following his recent success in the IOG Industry Awards – where he and his team won the SISGrass Professional Football Grounds Team of the Year Award, open to grounds teams from the English Leagues 1 & 2, National League, National League North/South, Scottish Championship & Leagues 1 & 2, Ireland & Wales Professional Leagues.

The Championship club’s stadium has also been selected as a host venue for the 2021 Women’s European Championship: “I’m already thinking about the timescales between the end of our season, the European Championship fixtures and the start of our new season.

“I’m planning mini renovations to accommodate those needs rather than having the usual seven-week break. And I’m confident that Rigby Taylor will help me effectively re-establish the pitch twice in one summer.”

For more information, visit: www.rigbytaylor.com

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