Campey coats for Kidsgrove Athletic

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Campey coats for Kidsgrove Athletic: Campey Turf Care Systems has helped keep Kidsgrove Athletic Blues U8’s warm over winter as the team’s new coat sponsor.

The company has been a long-time supporter of grassroots sport and aims to help clubs at every level provide pitches that encourage participation in football. While the surfaces played on are usually the priority, Campey also knows that it’s not as fun to play when you’re freezing cold, as does the team’s assistant manager, Matt Davies.

Campey coats for Kidsgrove Athletic

“Living in England it does get cold in the winter, so having these nice big coats is great for the boys,” Matt began. “The lads like them, and it keeps them warm, which is the main thing. At this age, it’s all about the players having fun and developing and anything that can contribute to that, like keeping warm, is important. They’re all really enjoying their football, and as a team, they have improved massively over the last year.

“It can be difficult to get sponsors because we need it for different things like balls, etc., so it’s great that Campey has got involved. The parents all pay a monthly fee for subs, training and pitch hire, so having a sponsor makes it that bit less expensive for everyone.”

The team currently play in a development league which sees each side categorised as they progress through the season, ensuring that games remain competitive and enjoyable. This season, Kidsgrove’s improvement has seen them placed into the top tier with the impressive young team also playing a friendly against Stoke City FC U7’s.

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Huxley tees proving a return on investment

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Huxley tees proving a return on investment: World leading golf surface experts, Huxley Golf, has completed a major installation of 27 all-weather tees at Poult Wood, one of the finest pay and play golf courses in the South of England. With this installation the facility will stay open for the enjoyment of resident and visiting golfers throughout the coming winter months.

Set in picturesque woodland near Tonbridge in Kent, Poult Wood offers a choice of two interesting and challenging courses for regular and casual golfers. It is run by the Tonbridge & Malling Leisure Trust, a not-for-profit organisation responsible for the delivery of sport and leisure facilities for Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council. As such, the course must be affordable, high quality and accessible to all members of the community.

Huxley tees proving a return on investment

Darren Lanes, Head of Leisure at Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, explains: “Our vision, in partnership with Tonbridge & Malling Leisure Trust, is simple: ‘more people, more active, more often’ and we’re delivering this through the provision of a wide range of facilities which enable participation in activities that promote physical and mental wellbeing. Consistency is incredibly important but this is naturally harder to achieve when it comes to enabling outdoor leisure pursuits given the vagaries of the British weather.

“This is why we have invested in renewing our all-weather tees at Poult Wood Golf Course. These winter tees have proven to deliver excellent value for money through operational resilience and an uninterrupted year-round revenue stream which we can reinvest in, extending our efforts for the whole community’s benefit.”

Huxley Golf used its Premier Tee Turf 2 across both the 9- and 18- hole courses. Each tee measures 12ft x 12ft (3.66m x 3.66m).

Poult Wood Head Greenkeeper, Stuart Crowley, said: “It’s safe to say that the Huxley Golf winter tees have been a real return on investment.

“We first installed all-weather tees with Huxley Golf twenty years ago and we’ve never looked back. With virtually no maintenance requirement, the use of these winter tees not only delights our customers, but it also frees my team up to ensure that the remainder of the course remains playable in increasingly challenging seasonal conditions. We renewed the tees after ten years in 2010 and we’ve just done so again, such is their considerable contribution to our well-regarded course.”

For more information about winter golf surfaces, call 01730 829608 or visit www.huxleygolf.com.

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DLF Seeds for Exeter Chiefs

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DLF Seeds for Exeter Chiefs: A change in career is a daunting prospect, but it can often be made easier with training and support from new industry peers.

For Max Sandford, a joiner by trade, he is swiftly learning ‘all things turf’ after taking over as Head Groundsman at Exeter Chiefs Rugby Club 18 months ago. One of those trusted contacts is Ian Barnett of DLF Seeds who has supported Max with the Johnsons J Premier Pitch, in use across the club’s stadium and training facilities.

DLF Seeds for Exeter Chiefs

“The world of grass seed was very new to me” Max explains, when he accepted the top job in early 2018. “Ian, our regional DLF Technical Manager, together with my local distributor have spent a lot of time going back to basics, looking at cultivars and mixture qualities which has given me a much better understanding. The support has been invaluable and has certainly given me enough of an insight to see that the Johnsons mixtures are doing a fantastic job!”

A combination of J Premier Pitch and the ProNitro coated version, J Nitro Premier Pitch, have been used across the site for the last seven years. “We carry out a full renovation on both pitches each year after the final game and overseed roughly every six to eight weeks, depending on the time of year and pitch usage.”

“I am very impressed with the germination, the density of coverage and the strong colour we achieve year on year. The wear tolerance is a major factor for rugby, especially in the scrummaging areas, but the J Premier Pitch holds firm which is testament to the strength of the rooting.” On the back of Ian’s advice, Max is looking forward to trying Johnsons J 4Turf mixture for the first time this winter, to deliver deeper rooting and rapid establishment even under low soil temperatures.

Max concludes, “I enjoy reading about what other groundsmen are using and when I see Johnson’s mixtures used at leading facilities around the country, I feel confident that I’m sourcing the best products I can for the club. Ultimately, I’ve found if you ask the right people the right questions, you will get the right answers!”

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Hunter I-80 impresses at London Stadium

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Hunter I-80 impresses at London Stadium: James Williams, Head Groundsman at the London Stadium, has praised the simplicity and efficiency of the new Hunter I-80 rotary sprinklers which were supplied by KAR UK.

Originally built to host London 2012, the Olympic Stadium, as it was formerly called, is now known as the London Stadium and is home to West Ham United FC – but that’s not all. The stadium also hosts UK athletics and concerts and has been a venue for the Rugby World Cup, The Race of Champions, Major League Baseball and the RFL Four Nations.

Hunter I-80 impresses at London Stadium

James, who started in the industry as an apprentice at Swansea FC, is now the man responsible for overseeing the maintenance of the pitch at arguably one of the most iconic stadia in the UK.

With a team of five, the young groundsman does a stellar job in keeping the pitch in immaculate condition despite the heavy usage but, ever the perfectionist, James is continuously looking at improvements he can make to raise the bar even higher. Therefore, when he felt that he wasn’t getting the best out of the previous irrigation system, he knew that it was time for a change.

James looked to see what was available on the market and it wasn’t long before a meeting with KAR UK was arranged. KAR is the UK’s leading wholesaler of irrigation equipment, and after admitting that he was hugely impressed with everything the company showed him, James’ attentions soon turned to a new Hunter Industries irrigation system which included the most technologically advanced commercial rotor on the market – the all-new I-80.

Engineered for sports turf, the I-80 is built with a robust, dirt-tolerant gear drive that offers the highest torque output of any rotor in the commercial sphere, and extends a radius range from 11.3 to 29.6 meters. The I-80 features a wide range of highly efficient, dual-trajectory, wind-fighting nozzles for highly efficient performance in a range of applications. It also provides total top serviceability (TTS) via its integrated, surface-mounted snap-ring for no-dig easy maintenance – something which James is particularly impressed with.

“It is just so simple – you can take off the turf caps and grow them in in a shed or under a light and then you can just put them straight back on. Even cleaning them is so much easier because you just whip them out like a normal sprinkler instead of having to dig them all out every time.”

James had eight I-80 rotors installed in the pitch and his system is further complimented by the ACC2 controller which is ideal for delivering advanced water management to meet the demands of large-scale commercial projects and the Roam remote – which eliminates the need to go back and forth to the sprinkler controller.

“This new Hunter system is so modern and advanced and the remote is brilliant,” he continued. “In the click of a button you can change the times of the sprinklers, so for instance, on a match-day we can water at half time as and when required.

“The ACC2 controller is also easy to use and that is what I wanted. I didn’t want it to be too technical because I want all of my staff to be able to use it as well as myself.”

James reported that the manager and players are pleased with the new system and he went further in explaining how he uses it in the run up to match-days.

“Obviously a lot of it is dependent on weather, but we tend to give the pitch around 8mm of water on a Thursday or a Friday to prepare the surface for a game. We will then give it a top up before kick-off and then again at half-time if it is required.

“I see it similar to the way you would build a sandcastle. If you use wet sand to build a sandcastle then it will hold it all together and you’ll have a good castle. If you use dry sand then it will just all fall out. It’s exactly the same with a football pitch – keep it wet and it will stay nice and firm and hold together.”

Hunter Industries is distributed in the UK by KAR UK. For more information, please visit www.karuk.com or www.hunterindustries.com.

You can also follow KAR UK on Twitter @KARUK_LTD for much more news, reviews and insightful views.

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An insight into Yokohama Stadium

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An insight into Yokohama Stadium: What an exciting tournament it has been so far! With just over a week until the final, let’s look into the incredible stadium where the final is taking place – International Stadium Yokohama.

The Rugby World Cup Final 2019 will be held in the International Stadium Yokohama, with the finalists still to be confirmed after this weekend’s semi-finals. This remarkable venue has a bespoke Bolt-Down Bottom Hinge System which is similar to that designed for the “Sliding Pitch” in the Sapporo Dome. Harrod Sport’s Design Team worked closely with our Japanese distributor; Kofu Field Co. Ltd to create these innovative designs ready for the tournament.

An insight into Yokohama Stadium

The biggest challenge encountered in the Yokohama Stadium was that there had previously been a smaller set of rugby posts in place. So, we had to develop something that could be installed over the original sockets, but with the added complication of needing to increase the foundation strength to cater for the greater forces imposed by the 17m tall posts. This was overcome by designing the Bolt-down Hinge Assembly installed with 6 of M20 Stainless Steel Indented Foundation Bolts at each upright.

Also, our unique Winched Rugby Lifters were used at all World Cup venues to ensure that the 17m posts could be erected without the use of any powered vehicles or lifting system.

These posts had to satisfy earthquake requirements. In Japan, it is stated in the Building Standards Act that when you want to install any permanent or non-permanent architectural buildings/objects that exceeds the height of 15m, the owner needs to submit the building certification to the government and that includes tiresome data of the installation site and structure calculation data, CAD drawings (with detail materials and dimensions stated) of the installed building/object.

An insight into Yokohama Stadium

If we had not provided the adequate information and drawings, we would have not been allowed to install 17m rugby posts in Japan. Also, all drawings and structural analysis documentation needed to be interpreted into Japanese for approval by the Japanese Government!

Innovation is at the forefront of what we do at Harrod Sport, and we are privileged to have worked on such a historic and thoroughly entertaining tournament.

For further information please contact Molly Spring (Sales & Marketing Coordinator) on molly@harrod.uk.com or 01502 583515.

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