Blog Elements - Turf Matters

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Role of grounds staff is key

October 26, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

Role of grounds staff is key: With ‘no pitch no play’ one of the biggest barriers to levelling the playing field between women and men’s football, the success of the women’s game depends largely on the involvement of the grounds industry. Ahead of speaking at SALTEX, the leading turf management show being held on Birmingham […]

Soil Scout head to SALTEX

October 26, 2022/in News, Press Release/by James Baylis

Soil Scout head to SALTEX: Leading soil monitoring solution provider Soil Scout is pleased to announce that we will once again be exhibiting at Europe’s largest free sports turf, amenities, and landscaping trade show, SALTEX on Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 November at Birmingham’s NEC. Following a very successful first appearance at the 2021 show […]

Role of grounds staff is key

October 26, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

Soil Scout head to SALTEX

October 26, 2022/in News, Press Release/by James Baylis

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Role of grounds staff is key

October 26, 2022/in News, Press Release/by Rosie Duckworth

Role of grounds staff is key: With ‘no pitch no play’ one of the biggest barriers to levelling the playing field between women and men’s football, the success of the women’s game depends largely on the involvement of the grounds industry.

Ahead of speaking at SALTEX, the leading turf management show being held on Birmingham NEC from 02-03 November, on increasing pitch capacity for the women’s game, Hannah Buckley, senior facilities and project manager for the women’s professional game at The FA, shares why the importance of the pitch and ensuring the groundswell of forward movement for the womens’ and girls’ sport is not lost because of poor playing conditions.

Role of grounds staff is key

“When any new sport or technology comes along, some people will be reluctant to embrace it, others will do so wholeheartedly. We all saw this with those who hosted women’s matches and practise for the Euros and those who didn’t.

“It’s important to remember the men’s game is over 150 years old, women’s is 50 and the young girls’ pro game is only 11 years old. At the start of our journey, all the infrastructure was built around 150 years of the men’s game.

“What’s important going forward is to remove the unknown entities when it comes to additional female users of any pitch. Everything is the same with regards to the pitch and its set up, it’s only the players who are different. Accommodating women’s sport causes far less damage than the men’s: the players weigh less, are smaller and therefore it is important to acknowledge different impacts against different users. Understanding differences provides opportunities for example professional training environments don’t need as much space in a natural pitch training environment – and that reduces the initial budget outlay and ongoing maintenance costs.

“Several women’s professional clubs have secured investment from the Premier League in the last three and a half years to improve pitch quality delivering new stitched and carpet hybrid products.

“Women’s football is here to stay and we’ve got to focus on the pitches we’ve got. England has its infrastructure challenges. We’re an island with limited land availability, with predominantly urban stadiums and training grounds. We are not going to start by building new pitches, so we need to understand the playing surface and the game and work with what we’ve got and make them work for the future of the sport. And all sports groundspeople have a role to play in this. The process starts in education settings, local authorities and clubs, and in.

“My talk at SALTEX in fact considers this very subject and looks at the impact of Leigh Sports Village in Wigan. This example shows the impact a focus on grass roots can have at its finest. The venue had the biggest investment in public sports, recreational and educational facilities in Wigan borough for many years and has transformed Leigh into one of the finest hubs of activity in the North West. Its multi-surfaces serve the whole community providing a range of activities for local people as well as hosting international sporting events. It attracts the next generation of sporting stars in the community but is also home to professional rugby league team Leigh Centurions and Manchester United’s Women’s, U23s and U19s teams. It’s been a host stadium for the Rugby League World Cup 2022 and UEFA Women’s Euro 2022. The plethora of sports they host is down to the quality of surfaces and I’ll look at the how and why they’re able to do that in my Learning LIVE seminar at SALTEX.

“It’s something we can all work together on too. And by that I don’t just mean by looking at the way other sports are incorporating this requirement into their plans going forward or even other countries, but how grounds teams need more diversity – opportunities exist for women in helping prepare the surfaces for the women’s sport, we need diversity to be reflected in that sector, there’s a whole career pathway that could be incredibly rewarding for women.

“What really puts it into perspective is the moment when the Lionness’ won the Euros it was years in the making for those working in the womens’ game – it was the moment we’d all been waiting for, and it came on home turf. That feeling was indescribable and something we want more and more people in the industry to be a part of, experience and celebrate. We now have the world’s best sporting women’s league and everything to play for in terms of continuing the momentum. We need others to join in with those who supported us then, to support us in the next chapter as we work towards the next international event.”

Hannah joins Ted Mitchell of the Rugby Football Union, Iain James from the England and Wales Cricket Board and Ashleigh Seddon form the Rugby Football League at SALTEX on Thursday in theatre 1 at 1.45pm as they look at how groundspeople can increase pitch capacity for the women’s game. Register for a free ticket at saltex.org.uk / register here

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Soil Scout head to SALTEX

October 26, 2022/in News, Press Release/by James Baylis

Soil Scout head to SALTEX: Leading soil monitoring solution provider Soil Scout is pleased to announce that we will once again be exhibiting at Europe’s largest free sports turf, amenities, and landscaping trade show, SALTEX on Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 November at Birmingham’s NEC.

Following a very successful first appearance at the 2021 show we have once again teamed up with our partner Turf Lighting Solutions (TLS) to share a much larger open stand space, you can find us in a central location on stand H081.

Soil Scout head to SALTEX

You will be guaranteed a warm welcome with team members from Soil Scout headquarters in Finland including CEO Jalmari Talola on-hand to answer any questions you have beside our UK-based Sales & Sports Turf Specialist, Nick Durkin. Having previously worked in the professional football turf industry at Chelsea FC, Wembley Stadium and Derby County, Nick has a wealth of practical experience and technical knowledge.

SALTEX attendees are also encouraged not to miss out on our exclusive special offer! For the duration of the show you can purchase one of our Soil Scout Starter Kits with a very generous 20% discount. With only 25 kits available it’s a deal that is not to be missed! The Starter Kit is the ideal soil monitoring package for first-time stadium, training ground or golf course installations. The kit comprises six sensors, one base station and all necessary antennas and cables. But that’s not all, this special offer package will also include one year’s subscription to the Soil Scout Hub and free online training from our expert technical team.

Visitors to the stand will also be able to have a first-look at our newly developed dual-depth sensor (DDS) and pick up a copy of our packed Sensor magazine. The ground-breaking DDS gives the well-known Hydra sensor an additional sensing head – interconnected with a cable. The main sensor will continue to perform the radio communication, it can be buried in shallow ground to give an improved range, whilst the second-sensor can deliver measurement data from very deep. All from the same hole and with an excellent battery life of over ten years.

Pete Ashworth is the Head Groundsman at Preston North End and has been at the club for 17 years. Preston has recently installed Soil Scout and Pete told us; “It’s almost like a comfort blanket, knowing you’re not overdoing it or letting it get too dry.

“I’m always looking at the dashboard and it gives us that extra bit of belief that everything we are doing on the pitch is right.”

John McLoughlin is the Course Manager at Wallasey Golf Club and another user of the Soil Scout solution. “What drew me to Soil Scout is the live data you get every 20 minutes. Having that at your fingertips is unique in the industry. I also think it’s quite nice to feel like you’re in control. So when you’re at home and going through a dry spell, for peace of mind, it’s great.”

John continued; “There can be times when the greens are drying out or getting too wet, and being able to check that takes a lot of pressure off you, it gives you peace of mind.”

Soil Scout provides the most advanced fully buried underground wireless soil sensor and monitoring solution for professionals in sports turf maintenance, golf courses and agriculture giving real-time data measuring soil moisture, temperature and salinity. To find out more visit – www.soilscout.com

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Role of grounds staff is key

Soil Scout head to SALTEX

Role of grounds staff is key

Soil Scout head to SALTEX

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Role of grounds staff is key

Role of grounds staff is key: With ‘no pitch no play’ one of the biggest barriers to levelling the playing field between women and men’s football, the success of the women’s game depends largely on the involvement of the grounds industry.

Soil Scout head to SALTEX

Soil Scout head to SALTEX: Leading soil monitoring solution provider Soil Scout is pleased to announce that we will once again be exhibiting at Europe’s largest free sports turf, amenities, and landscaping trade show, SALTEX on Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 November at Birmingham’s NEC.

RESOURCES

CONTACT

CONNECT