Kubota Helps Young People

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Kubota Helps Young People: Kubota UK has joined forces with PACCAR Scout Camp, a charity funded organisation dedicated to helping young people achieve their physical, intellectual and social potential.

PACCAR Scout Camp, located in Buckinghamshire, provides a fun and exciting camping experience for youth organisations, including Scouts, Guides and school groups. Visitors have the opportunity to experience an assortment of activities, from abseiling and archery, to climbing, high ropes and bushcraft.

The Japanese manufacturer is working in partnership with PACCAR Scout Camp as part of its on-going initiative to support charities that are focused not only on improving the prosperous life of humans, but also protecting the environment.

Karen Tipping, Kubota UK’s Marketing Manager, said: “We are delighted to support the PACCAR Scout Camp.  The work and commitment of its 120 volunteers to give children of all ages the opportunities to experience the great outdoors is fantastic.

“For many of the camp’s 50,000 visitors a year, it can be the first time they will have ever experienced the outdoors like they can at PACCAR Scout Camp.  It’s an adventurous experience that’s not only fun and entertaining, but it can help build self esteem, confidence and team building skills.

“These values are important to Kubota and we are extremely proud of our manufacturing excellence and our commitment to the environment, highlighted by our ‘For Earth, For Life’ brand statement. Being partnered with PACCAR scout group is excellent and we are so pleased that we can aid them with the brilliant work they do’’

 To help the camp’s volunteers get around the 67-acre site, Kubota has donated its rugged and robust RTV-X900 utility vehicle.

 Cliffe Brooke, Operations Manager at PACCAR Scout Camp, commented: “On behalf of everyone at PACCAR, we would like to thank Kubota and our local dealer George Browns for their support. We are a charity organisation, and like all charities, we need funding to be able to survive. With Kubota donating us the RTV-X900, it means we can focus our funds on what’s most important – continually improving our site and facilities to make the experience our visitors have when they come here, even better.

“The machine will make a huge difference operationally, making life much easier for our volunteers, from ferrying equipment around for activities, to woodland management and general maintenance. It will also allow us to access areas of the 67-acre site that we previously couldn’t.

“The Kubota brand is synonymous with quality and reliability, we’ve had a Kubota compact tractor now for over ten years and it never lets us down. We are really looking forward to putting the RTV-X900 through its paces now and seeing what it can do. It will be an integral piece of machinery that will be used every single day so we are delighted to receive Kubota’s support.”

For more information on Kubota UK call 01844 268000 or visit www.kubota.co.uk.

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Linnets Aim For Perfect Pitch

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Linnets Aim For Perfect Pitch: The Walks might be a far cry from the old Wembley Stadium and Portman Road, but Steven Curtis is relishing the change in role after becoming groundsman at King’s Lynn Town Football Club.

Mr Curtis, who has worked at a number of iconic venues during the last 40 years, is enjoying the challenge of trying to make the surface at Lynn pitch-perfect.

So much so that he has even put his property at Beck Row on the market so he can be closer to Lynn.

As if the task in hand wasn’t big enough when he took the job on, the lack of rain during one of the hottest summers for many years has hindered his hard work even further.

“The weather has been horrible for a groundsman,” said Mr Curtis.

“Water has been a problem, as it has been for everyone, and trying to get the pitch green has been a nightmare.

“Richard (Simper) has been an angel, coming in and moving the hose pipes which we’ve had on the go constantly.

“We’ve literally had two hose pipes on the go 24/7 so I think that Mr Cleeve might have a very sorry water bill, but what do you do?

While several players were dusting down their flip-flops for the summer holidays at the end of last season, Lynn’s groundsman was plotting a pristine playing playing surface for the new campaign.

Mr Curtis, 63, was left with the unenviable task of transforming the surface – which came in for much criticism from the club’s previous manager – into tip-top condition after leaving his position at Mildenhall after two-and-a-half years.

Lynn’s pitch had four thousand metres (two-and-a-half miles) of new drainage installed before it was eventually verti-drained, overseeded and fertilised.

“I’ve certainly done my 10,000 steps a day,” quipped Mr Curtis.

“We’ve had to constantly back fill the trenches to keep them topped up. We’ve shifted about 20 tonnes of sand to help us keep it topped up.”

As previous Linnets turf-tenders will concur, sustaining the pitch’s quality throughout a nine-month campaign is a mammoth task considering its heavy-duty usage.

But it isn’t such an issue for Mr Curtis who worked at the old Wembley between 1986 and 1994, along with clubs such as Ipswich, Norwich City, Leyton Orient and Cambridge United during 40 years as a contractor.

“The club approached me and I was happy to come here,” he admitted.

“It was a step up, bigger facilities, better players and better everything really.

“The players have been great and appreciate what has been done, everyone has been great which is why we’ve put our house on the market and our thinking of moving this way.”

And the chances of Lynn having a surface to be proud of come kick-off on August 11?

“At the moment it’s a seven out of ten for me,” said Mr Curtis.

“Come another three weeks and given a bit of moisture, I think we will be there or thereabouts.”

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Double Irrigation At Breadsall Priory

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Double Irrigation At Breadsall Priory: Breadsall Priory Marriott Hotel and Country Club in Derbyshire has renovated two ageing irrigation systems to one Lynx control system from Toro to keep its 18-hole Championship Priory Course and Moorland Course in top condition.

Course manager John Smith explains: “When our previous control systems began experiencing communication errors and electrical breakdowns, we didn’t know if the grass was getting the water it needed. The systems urgently needed to change, but we didn’t want to unnecessarily overhaul all the wiring and pipework.

Double Irrigation At Breadsall Priory

“Completely replacing everything would have resulted in huge costs, but with the help of Reesink Turfcare’s Toro irrigation team, including Peter Newton and Cevan Edwards, we discovered we only needed to upgrade the two control systems and have saved a lot of money thanks to the renovating rather than replacing.”

“The install went without a hitch,” John recalls: “Before upgrading the systems, Toro technicians came to check the 28-year-old wiring would be compatible with Lynx and, finding that it was, returned in the winter of last year to undertake the renovation. Four guys made fast work of completing the install in just one and half weeks, with no disruption to golfers or our maintenance programme.”

Delighted with Lynx, John enthuses: “We’ve been using Lynx since April of this year and, as the oldest Marriott Hotel in the world with a reputation to uphold, having a comprehensive system we can rely on to irrigate both courses has given us great peace of mind. Now we have total control over when water goes on, the flow rate, and the trajectory. Lynx has really improved the efficiency, versatility and reliability of our irrigation routine.”

Having been witness to how well Lynx performs, John decided to add to the renovation project by upgrading the sprinklers, too, hoping to see even more benefit to the club’s irrigation. The perfect partner to Lynx, Toro Infinity sprinklers have replaced the sprinklers across multiple greens on the Championship Priory Course that were “in need of updating.”

John says: “We chose to start changing our sprinklers over to Infinity for improved performance and ease of maintenance. What I like about the new sprinklers is that to perform any kind of maintenance you can access everything you need from the surface. Being able to make changes without digging up or replacing bodies is a real time and money saver. Plus, the sprinkler heads have diversified nozzles offering a range of trajectories to suit the changing needs of the turf. As a result we’ve decided to phase an Infinity upgrade on all of the greens over the next few years.”

With the successful renovation behind it, Breadsall is looking to further innovate the way it irrigates the courses: “Using Lynx and Infinity from April has already made the quality of our turf far better, which is so important for our ancient site. Next up, we want to extract water from our lake to irrigate the courses and, given the great experience we’ve just had with Reesink, we will be working with them again to improve our lake’s water quality with an Otterbine aerator,” John concludes.

For more information, visit: reesinkturfcare.co.uk

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Allett’s New C27 Cylinder Mower

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Allett’s New C27 Cylinder Mower: Allett Mowers have introduced a new 27” cylinder mower to their range of professional mowers. Designed to meet requests from groundsmen across Europe and the USA, the Allett C27 is a welcome addition offering the professional the ‘Quick Cartridge’ options that effectively make these mowers eight machines in one. Powered by the Honda GX200 engine, the 27” cylinder cutting system, with substantial front and rear rollers, ensures you get a superior cut, levelness of finish and longer lasting, more crisply defined stripes. The six bladed cylinder produces 111 cuts per metre (101 cuts/yard) while the eight blade will give you 148 cuts per metre (135cuts/yard) irrespective of forward speed. Effortless mowing is equally assured with handle-mounted levers for drive and cartridge engagement and the adjustable handlebars have anti-vibration mountings.

The C27 provides you with sheer versatility and the convenience of performing multiple turf maintenance tasks using just the one machine. Together with the 6 and 8 bladed cylinders the optional accessories include a scarifier cartridge with Tungsten tipped blades, a Sorrel Roller, Turf Rake, Verticut and Brush. There is also the option of a trailing seat to turn the C27 into a ride-behind for faster cutting over large areas and the large 3.1 litre fuel tank will keep you covering the ground. The Allett C27 gives you a cut height of 8mm to 55mm (0.32”- 2.17”) for accurate adjustment to deal with the changing conditions throughout the season.

Allett's New C27 Cylinder Mower

With the front and rear rollers of a cylinder mower close to the point at which the grass is cut, you can achieve very low heights of cut without scalping. The rear roller on the C27 is a rubber covered 3-piece steel roller with steel spur end differential. The front roller is grooved aluminium with scraper and sealed end bearings, though you do have the option of a plain roller if you prefer. The working width of the mower is of course 686mm/27”, the overall width 900mm/38” and it weighs in at just 135kg (297lb). The grassbox is moulded plastic with a steel reinforcing strip. All round, take a look at the Allett C27 and you’ll find you have a heavily constructed cylinder mower that is compact and manoeuvrable enogh to be used in small spaces as well as open sites. It’s quality-built and performs with excellence all the multiple tasks the professional could ask for.

For more information, visit: www.allett.co.uk

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Club’s Anger Over Pitch Damage

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Club’s Anger Over Pitch Damage: A council “must be held responsible” after race cars drove over a brand new football pitch costing thousands of pounds, an Irish League club has said.

Ballymena United said it was “saddened” at the incident during a stock car race at the Ballymena Showgrounds on Friday.

The venue is owned by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, which recently laid a new pitch after a major investment.

It said it was “deeply disappointed” by the incident.

The council spokesman said that “measures put in place to protect the new surface were inadequate” and that remedial work was being carried out on the pitch on Saturday.

The incident happened during a Ballymena Raceway stock car event on Friday night. The council leases the stadium to both the football club and Ballymena Raceway.

Ballymena United’s vice-chairman Don Stirling told BBC News NI that “stock cars have every right to be there” but the two sports are “just not compatible”.

“I honestly don’t know what the solution is, but the council have to be held responsible,” he said.

“They can’t keep cars off the pitch because if they veer off the track they have nowhere to go.

“They put down truck tyres (on Friday night) but they would have need massive tractor tyres to stop cars coming on the pitch.”

Mr Stirling said the new pitch had cost £250,000 and that the club had agreed to postpone any home games until 6 October so the new pitch could bed in.

“They’ve spent over £250,000 of ratepayers’ money on it, there’s a new sprinkler system as well. They can’t have cars driving over it.

“Ballymena United have one of the best facilities in Northern Ireland outside of Windsor Park – we just don’t have the bit in the middle you play on.

“In the past, referees have come close to calling off matches because there are tracks all over the pitch. Even oil spills.”

Tension between the stock car races and football club previously emerged in January, when Ballymena United manager David Jeffrey accused race organisers of a lack of respect after the pitch was damaged during a New Year’s Day event.

However, Aubrey Arbuthnot, who runs Ballymena Raceway, told BBC News NI he was “fed up” with criticism directed at the race events and that he had done as much as he could to keep cars off the pitch.

“All I want is fair play. I’m a ratepayer, not like some of the people sounding off in the press,” he said.

“We had 12 races last night. These cars race door handle to door handle. There’s up to 60 cars racing. Only two cars went off the track in separate incidents.”

Mr Arbuthnot said the council had organised and placed about 70 tyres around the track and around sprinkler heads and that he had insisted no personnel go on the pitch.

“Usually I have a clerk of the course and two photographers on the pitch. I didn’t even have a fire extinguisher on the pitch.

“I laid down the law to the drivers about what would happen if they went on the pitch. The driver who went off, he was spun off by someone else – he’s completely innocent.

“If I had found out who put him off, I would have put him out the gate. That’s how seriously I’ve been taking it.

“But it’s our first night back in and they’re hammering us.”

He added that he was unable to organise race meetings for three months during the racing season because of work going on at the Showgrounds.

“That’s a number of meetings I couldn’t hold. That’s a loss of revenue.

“Our season runs from about Easter to the first weekend of October. There’s only about five meetings that clash with the football season. That’s all. They just don’t want a stockcar around the place.”

‘Matter of urgency’

He added: “I’ve seen comments that I had been offered an alternative venue. That’s nonsense. You think I would have turned that down? If the council offered me another venue, I’d be out tomorrow.”

A spokesperson for the council: “We are deeply disappointed by last night’s incident and fully appreciate and understand the frustration around this.

“Ballymena Showgrounds is a multi-use facility, enjoyed by a wide range of local sporting organisations.

“The measures put in place to protect the new surface at the venue were inadequate for last night’s event.

“Remedial works are being carried out on the pitch today.

“As the owners of the venue, we are fully committed to doing all that we can to safeguard the new pitch, and we are considering a range of measures to minimise the risk of damage to the surface as a matter of urgency.”

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