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Alaves groundsman nets award

December 5, 2019/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Alaves groundsman nets award: John Stewart, from Laurieston, has been named the best groundsman in Spanish football in the year 2019 for his work on Deportivo Alaves’ Mendizorrotza Stadium pitch. The 49-year-old was presented with his award and trophy at the annual La Liga greenkeeper’s dinner in Madrid last week, becoming the latest local sport […]

Osca justifies pitch investment

December 5, 2019/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Osca justifies pitch investment: Once Warwick School had decided to invest in a new synthetic pitch, Grounds Manager Duncan Toon felt that the SISIS Osca 3 tractor-mounted oscillating brush was the only machine that could maintain the new surface effectively and truly justify the major investment decision. Sport plays a significant role for the pupils […]

Alaves groundsman nets award

December 5, 2019/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Osca justifies pitch investment

December 5, 2019/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Alaves groundsman nets award

December 5, 2019/in Industry News, News, Press Release/by External Source

Alaves groundsman nets award: John Stewart, from Laurieston, has been named the best groundsman in Spanish football in the year 2019 for his work on Deportivo Alaves’ Mendizorrotza Stadium pitch.

The 49-year-old was presented with his award and trophy at the annual La Liga greenkeeper’s dinner in Madrid last week, becoming the latest local sport and horticulture award winner after Falkirk’s Jim.

He told The Falkirk Herald: “It’s fantastic to receive an award from people who know what they’re talking about and what you are going through.

“The preparation to a pitch is what’s key. We can cut it six times and line it two or three before a match – but there is a lot of pressure.

“You are dealing with a living thing and aspects outwith your control like the weather can affect it.

“It was a lovely surprise to receive the award and it’s surreal too. I was interviewed about it on the pitch on Saturday standing beside Roberto Carlos. You do get up close to a lot of big names.”

John’s Spanish story began a lot further away though – on the greens and fairways of the golf course in America but he switched to football some ten years ago while in Spain. He took up the head green keeping role at Real Sociedad, later moving to Alaves, near his home in Vitoria which he shares with wife Maria and their two children.

Before moving away, John and his brothers Colin and Tom, were members of Wallacestone Pipe Band. Their father, also Tom – a retired local police officer – said the “whole family are immensely proud of what John has achieved”.

Back home John also worked six months on the Falkirk Tryst course. While in America tutoring piping and working on the greens he befriended US Open winner Payne Stewart, playing the pipes at his memorial service and also at the funeral of Seve Ballesteros.

Piping continues to be a passion and John added: “Just after the game with Real Madrid on Saturday I had to dash away and play at a whisky tasting. It was quite a contrast.”

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Osca justifies pitch investment

December 5, 2019/in Machinery, News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Osca justifies pitch investment: Once Warwick School had decided to invest in a new synthetic pitch, Grounds Manager Duncan Toon felt that the SISIS Osca 3 tractor-mounted oscillating brush was the only machine that could maintain the new surface effectively and truly justify the major investment decision.

Sport plays a significant role for the pupils that attend Warwick School and its teams excel in a number of sports including cricket, rugby and hockey. However, while the school’s sports teams are making the headlines on the pitch, it is Duncan and his newly assembled team of six grounds staff that make it all possible.

Duncan, who has been in the role for nine months, was tasked by Warwick Independent Schools Foundation, which includes Warwick School, Warwick Junior School, King’s High School and Warwick Preparatory School, to significantly improve the sports surfaces used by all its schools. He is now responsible for the eight hectares of grassland and all of the gardens and sports facilities.

“With the investment which has been made into the synthetic surface, I felt that we needed to have the best equipment to maintain it and for me the Osca was essential.

“I was actually looking online and I came across some videos of the SISIS Osca in action and after much research I felt that it was the one machine which massively stood out and the one which I believed would make the biggest difference to us.”

The SISIS Osca is a tractor-mounted powered oscillating brush with a 1.9 meter working width and is equally effective when used on synthetic turf with sand or rubber infill. The two oscillating brushes stand up the carpet fibres and redistributes the infill, minimising compaction on the surface and improving its performance – giving consistent playing characteristics while preventing pile damage caused by reduced infill levels.

A contributory factor to the reduction of compaction is that the Osca’s working width will use fewer passes than other more conventional drag brushes to complete a pitch. Its aggressive brushing action agitates the upper infill level of the surface from side to side as well as brushing forward, helping reduce surface compaction and encourage the fibres to stand up straight which reduces the risk of contamination, drainage problems and leaves a consistent playing surface across the whole pitch.

For a school that thrives on sport, the synthetic surfaces at Warwick incur a lot of usage which means that regular maintenance is of the utmost importance – as Duncan explains.

“Over the course of a year, the pitch averages four hours of play every day and we use the Osca on a fortnightly basis. It is a great machine and when you run your fingers through the pitch after you have used the Osca, it is clear to see that the de-compaction it offers is simply on a different level. Since we have been using it the pitch has significantly improved.

“The Osca’s oscillating brushes are the best feature and are very unique. Not only do they get rid of any compaction problems but they also provide a fantastic finish. Thousands of pupils play on this pitch so maintaining it effectively is important for player safety but you can’t forget about the presentation either. The SISIS Osca ticks both of these boxes.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact SISIS on 01332 824 777 or visit www.sisis.com

For more news, reviews and insightful views, you can follow SISIS on Twitter or Instagram @SISISMachinery and like the company’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/SISISMachinery. You can also view the latest SISIS videos by visiting www.youtube.com/SISISMachinery

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)

Alaves groundsman nets award

Osca justifies pitch investment

Alaves groundsman nets award

Osca justifies pitch investment

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Alaves groundsman nets award

Alaves groundsman nets award: John Stewart, from Laurieston, has been named the best groundsman in Spanish football in the year 2019 for his work on Deportivo Alaves’ Mendizorrotza Stadium pitch.

Osca justifies pitch investment

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