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Vandals Target Cricket Club

August 15, 2017/in Industry News, Press Release/by External Source

Vandals target cricket club: Vandals have damaged the pitch at Alton Cricket Club by driving a vehicle over it. A series of tyre ruts has scarred the outfield at the Jubilee Playing Fields in Chawton Park Road. The culprits also drove over the square – but this was unscathed, as the constantly rolled earth is […]

Quadraplay Perfect For Groundsman

August 15, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Quadraplay perfect for multi-tasking groundsman: Kevin Sturmey – chairman, chief executive AND head groundsman of Taunton Town FC, believes that the multi-functional SISIS Quadraplay single pass maintenance system has been a ‘god-send’ in helping him to maintain the pitch at the Viridor Stadium. As a former Taunton Town Reserves player and previous club sponsor – […]

Vandals Target Cricket Club

August 15, 2017/in Industry News, Press Release/by External Source

Quadraplay Perfect For Groundsman

August 15, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Vandals Target Cricket Club

August 15, 2017/in Industry News, Press Release/by External Source

Vandals target cricket club: Vandals have damaged the pitch at Alton Cricket Club by driving a vehicle over it.

A series of tyre ruts has scarred the outfield at the Jubilee Playing Fields in Chawton Park Road.

The culprits also drove over the square – but this was unscathed, as the constantly rolled earth is much harder.

Alton Cricket Club has informed Hampshire Constabulary and hopes that police will patrol the ground in the evening, when it believes this and other recent incidents have occurred.

A statement from the club read: “Alton Cricket Club are very disappointed that someone has taken the decision to vandalise the facility at Jubilee Playing Fields.

“The cricket club have worked very closely with the town council over the past four to five years to improve the facility for all who use it, not just the cricket club.

“The work undertaken led to the club winning the most improved ground in the county in 2016, and we have received many commendations from visiting clubs in the last year.

“This is the fourth incident which has happened in the last eight to 10 weeks, including a broken window and theft of furniture which was used by not only the club but also by some of the elderly dog walkers.

“We are working with the town council to look at ways to prevent a repeat of this and hopefully they will be in a position to do something shortly.”

Alton Cricket Club chairman Richard Myers, who was at the ground on Friday morning, said the fourth incident was the kicking of a football on to the pavilion roof, causing a leak.

Talking about the damage to the pitch, he said: “We discovered this on Wednesday morning and think it probably happened on Tuesday night.

“It’s not kids doing it, it’s adults – they’re driving cars. You can see where they escaped by the tyre marks on the bank.

“It was worse than this at first, because we’ve rolled it since. But when you’re fielding, you wouldn’t want a cricket ball hitting that at 80mph.

“I’m down here between 20 and 30 hours a week, working on the outfield so Martin the groundsman can concentrate on the square, and I felt like giving up when I saw this.

“Ideally there should be a barrier to prevent entry at the car park end when the ground is not in use. Most dog walkers do a lap of the playing fields, so they could use the entrance at the other end and still see all the same things as they go around.”

Alton Town Mayor Cllr Dean Phillips said: “It is so disappointing that the mindless act of a few should detract from all of the hard work that goes into providing and maintaining high quality sports facilities in the town.

“It is equally frustrating for Alton Cricket Club’s players and officials who dedicate a lot of their own time in assisting Alton Town Council’s grounds team in preparing the Jubilee cricket wickets to such a high standard that last season they were rewarded with a Most Improved Ground award from the Southern Premier League.”

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Quadraplay Perfect For Groundsman

August 15, 2017/in Machinery, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

As a former Taunton Town Reserves player and previous club sponsor – Kevin Sturmey is Taunton Town through and through. When Kevin was appointed chief executive in late 2010, after being elected Chairman at the AGM in July 2010, he was determined to get his beloved club back on track and was willing do everything he could to help The Peacock’s rise through the English football leagues.

What started as a part-time CEO role soon became a full-time commitment and with the club experiencing financial difficulties for a number of years, Kevin took it upon himself to voluntarily become the head groundsman.

Seven years later, and while Kevin is paid for 27 hours a week in his role as chief executive, he is still undertaking all three positions with a working week consisting of over 80 hours.

Also renowned for being a multi-tasker is Kevin’s new SISIS Quadraplay, which was recommended to him by two Premier League groundsmen. Having been nominated for four successive Groundsman of the Year awards, winning the National Step 3 & 4 award in 2014 and runner-up in 2015, and twice being awarded the Southern League Groundsman of the Year, Kevin has had ample opportunity to rub shoulders with, and seek advice, from many of the country’s top groundsmen.

“The SISIS Quadraplay was actually recommended to me by Dougie Robertson (head groundsman at West Ham Utd FC) and Darren Baldwin (head of playing surfaces & estates at Tottenham Hotspur) who have been to the Viridor Stadium each year of the awards to assess the pitch. Year after year they would ask me if we have had any changes to the equipment and year after year it would be the same answer – which was no. They both spoke highly of the Quadraplay and felt that it would be perfect for us at Taunton. “We have never really had a lot of money to invest in equipment, so the small amount we do have occasionally we have to invest wisely.”

The SISIS Quadraplay multiple-purpose, single-pass maintenance incorporates a mounted frame for up to four implements such as grooming rakes, spikers, slitters, rollers and brushes. The implements can be fitted to the mainframe in any order and can be independently adjusted to achieve the desired effect. Compact, robust, versatile and with the ability to carry out up to four operations simultaneously – the Quadraplay makes life a lot easier for many groundsmen as Kevin explains.

“If you have got a very small time window, being able to brush, role, slit, and rake – all in one pass, is a god send. It’s the best investment we have ever made.

“The first time I had it on trial, someone actually said to me afterwards that it looked like I had cut it and that’s the beauty of it. In the winter you won’t need to cut when the grass is not really growing – however with the Quadraplay you are grooming it and also getting some air into it – so it is doing everything you need it to do all in one pass.

“Everybody expects to see stripes these days because they see them on TV but anybody can stripe a pitch – it is what underneath that counts and that is why the Quadraplay is vital. When the weather is bad, that is the real test, and it successfully helps me prepare a good pitch no matter what the conditions.”

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

For the latest industry news visit turfnews.co.uk

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

Follow us on Twitter 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)

Vandals Target Cricket Club

Quadraplay Perfect For Groundsman

Vandals Target Cricket Club

Quadraplay Perfect For Groundsman

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Vandals Target Cricket Club

Quadraplay Perfect For Groundsman

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