Tag Archive for: Pitches

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches

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Quality sand = healthy sports pitches: A high-quality sand is vital to the overall health and performance of a sports pitch and Gary Cunningham, Football & Golf Sales Representative for Mansfield Sand, explains why.

Mansfield Sand has pioneered the development and production of premium silica sand-based products for over 170 years. The company provides a wide range of innovative products for sports, landscaping, and equestrian uses. These include stadium and training ground facilities; championship golf courses and world class show jumping arenas.

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches

With a wide range of sand-based products available, it can sometimes be difficult to know which one will be most suitable. So, what should we be looking for in a good sports pitch dressing?

“Ideally a good quality silica sand dressing, aerated into the surface is all winter sports pitches require,” said Gary. “However, it is important to select the right industry grade of sand which is suitable for sports dressing application.

“A quality washed sports grade silica sand will be graded between 30 and 45 and each grade will be proceeded by two letters which designate the quarry they are supplied from. The lower the number, the coarser the sand is and vice versa – the higher the number, the finer the sand.

“There are also some sands that are unsuitable for winter sports pitches,” continued Gary. “Generally, you need to stay away from fine and coarse/grit sands. Finer/building sand will in effect seal up the surface while coarser products can destabilise the surface over time. Any reputable supplier of sports sand products will be able to provide you with a product grading and technical sheet.

“At Mansfield Sand, we predominately provide two grades of silica sand to the sports market, MM35 and MM40 – which are sourced directly from the company’s Two Oaks quarry in Mansfield.”

Gary spends most of his days travelling up and down the country visiting a variety of sports clubs from world class stadia through to grass roots. The most popular choices are 29 tone and 20 tonne loose tipped deliveries for full pitch dressings and 1 tonne bulk bags for when a little is required for touch up’s and divots.

Gary further explained best practice when it comes to divoting and touch up’s – particularly in goal mouth areas.

“Post-match divoting is best done with a fork by teasing the surface back together with a light dusting of sand to aid surface levels. For bigger deeper scars, a small amount of sandy rootzone mixed with a little seed can be used to add a little body to prevent it being kicked out. As only a small amount/hand full of rootzone are being used, it is possible to ensure it is stone free.

“Goal mouth areas are one such area needing extra attention – no amount of aeration and dressing will stop the grass thinning out on a sand soil surface. In severe situations if wanting to level the surface you can dig out the compacted rootzone and replace with a depth of fresh rootzone or even a reinforced product. If the area is just experiencing general wear, then a normal renovation sand dressing can be OK with an overseed.”

Gary also claimed that there can sometimes be some confusion between a rootzone and a pitch dressing.

“I quite often get asked for a sand soil dressing or a rootzone product to be spread over a pitch, but this always sets off alarm bells as this is not what rootzones are designed for,” he said.

“Rootzones are manufactured products of differing sand soil blends to be used in pitch construction as the growing medium for the grass. Rootzones all contain small stones which when spread over the surface can damage mowing machinery or cause player injury.

Mansfield Sand sieve down to 6mm for rootzone products.”

Gary recommends somewhere between 60-90 tonnes of sand for an end of season renovation on a full-sized playing area but stressed the importance of applying it properly.

“It will be important not to spread to much sand so as not to smother the grass plant or have a lot of sand laying over bare areas. It is good practice is to aerate during the sand dressing process, working the material into the upper rootzone profile.”

For more information visit www.mansfield-sand.co.uk

You can also follow the company on Twitter – @MansfieldSand and Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MansfieldSandSportSurfaces/

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New kit for new pitches at Towcestrians

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New kit for new pitches at Towcestrians: With two rugby pitches and a new, dedicated cricket pitch all constructed to add to the existing two rugby pitches, Towcestrians Head Groundsman, Tom Waldock, knew he would need some new machinery to keep everything in shape!

While waiting for a new compact tractor and roller mower, Tom was putting in about 40 hours a week on his new Ransomes TR320 to cut all the sports pitches as well as the outfields, edges and training areas!

New kit for new pitches at Towcestrians

New kit for new pitches at Towcestrians

 

Now his new Iseki tractor (with bucket) and topper have arrived he’s looking forward to sharing the load in 2021 and getting more remedial work done to improve both the old and the new playing surfaces.

“I was looking for a tractor that would be able to operate a slitter and vertidrain as well as perform other tasks, but not damage the surfaces. I was originally considering a smaller model but went for the bigger 46hp Iseki TLE4490 with the extra carrying capacity in order to get the performance. It will also pull the cutting deck on the backfields.”

“I also went for the loader and have already used it more than I thought I would! It’s been a godsend for filling holes in the car park and carrying stuff around. Now I’m just purchasing one more bit of kit for the Iseki to pull to help out with the many events we host in between all the sports training and fixtures.”

Before coming to Towcestrians, Tom spent several years each at Peterborough United, MK Dons and latterly at the Ricoh Stadium. He’s used a lot of different mowers and would have said they were all pretty similar, but says he feels differently about the Ransomes.

“I wanted a decent cylinder mower for the playing surfaces on the main pitches and surprisingly I’ve found the Ransomes TR320 to be the best machine I’ve used. It’s really smooth and makes the cut very easy. It’s the lightest machine on the market which was important because we have a full clay-based surface and I wanted minimum compaction. The Ransomes is certainly delivering both for me and for the pitches.”

“I’m really pleased with the advice and help I’ve had from RT Machinery in choosing the right equipment. Richard and Andy’s knowledge across a large range of brands and machinery, right off the top of their heads, is just unbelievable and has been incredibly helpful as part of the five-year plan I drew up for the development and improvement of the grounds.”

“Aside from the Ransomes and the Iseki, I also now have a new Wessex CRX180 fine turf roller mower from them for the edges and rougher areas where the juniors train. In addition they’ve supplied a used Sisis Multi Slit and a Husqvarna TC138 Lawn tractor and they’ve been able to offer great value on servicing, which will be critical in keeping everything working well across the seasons.”

“Back to work and preparing the grounds for a welcome return to grass roots sports!”

For more information, please call 01844 299037, or visit rtmachinery.co.uk

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Car vandals destroy pitches

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Car vandals destroy pitches: Volunteers at a community football club have been left devastated after vandals ruined two of their football pitches.

Members of Gateshead Redheugh, a club which helped nurture the talent of Newcastle legend Paul Gascoigne, arrived to host a football camp on Wednesday morning to discover a car had been driven across the playing fields overnight.

As a result, two of the club’s pitches have been destroyed with long tyre tracks being left in the grass.

The damage has cast doubt on a number of fixtures scheduled at the club this weekend, with 240 players expecting to turn out.

The club’s facilities include four grass and two 3G pitches with the club spending up to £5,000 in the summer to get them ready for the new season.

Senior sports coordinator Terry Ritson told ChronicleLive members have been left gutted by the act of vandalism, which could cost between £5,000 and £10,000 to repair.

The 64-year-old said: “We’re gutted and deflated at what has happened.

“The amount of hard work that goes into running this club for the community for some mindless vandals to come along and ruin it. It just makes you think ‘what’s the point?’

“It’s like we’ve been punished for something we’ve not done. If the other pitches weren’t fenced off then it could have been a lot worse.

“All we want to do is help people, giving them a place to go and incorporate so many members of the community.”

Northumbria Police has launched an investigation into the incident with a car understood to have been driven onto the pitches at around 3am on October 23.

Gateshead Redheugh is mostly funded by player registration fees, fundraising events and sponsorship, with up to 70 volunteers giving up their spare time to help run 20 teams.

The Bolam Street club is now appealing for donations to pay for repairs and help fence off the remaining pitches to prevent a repeat of the damage.

Terry, who has been a member of Gateshead Redheugh since playing for the club in 1969, has said members are overwhelmed by the generosity of the community who have raised almost £700 in 24 hours, while other local clubs have also offered their support.

Terry said: “We simply don’t have that sort of money available. All donations are hugely appreciated.

“Other clubs in the area have kindly agreed to take on some of the 9-a-side and 11-a-side matches due to take place this weekend.

“Groundsmen from local clubs have also said they will help to fix the pitches with us.

“It is absolutely brilliant that the community has come together to help us after a dreadful incident and we hope the people responsible are caught.

“They clearly have no idea what it means to be part of something like this.

“We will bounce back for the sake of the children involved and will be making steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”

A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: “Shortly before 9.40am on Wednesday, police received a report of damage to a football pitch on Bolam Street in Gateshead.

“It was reported that a car had driven onto the pitch causing tyre marks and damage on the field at around 3am on Wednesday.

“Inquiries are ongoing and anyone with any information is asked to contact police via 101 and quote reference number 217 23/10/19.”

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Leeds Upgrade To “ELITE” Pitches

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Leeds Upgrade To “ELITE” Pitches: When 2019 pitch renovations came around, selecting a seed mixture was a straightforward decision for Kiel Barrett, Head Groundsman at Leeds United Football Club. Having looked at all blends on the market, ELITE SPORT from Barenbrug, was the product which stood out.

Kiel stated, “For starters, it is the number one mix on the market when referring to the BSPB/STRI Turfgrass Seed publication. However, after many meetings with Barenbrug’s, Phil Logan, we discussed the importance of looking beyond the booklet. For example, Barcristalla has a much darker colour and better disease tolerance then other top varieties. Sure, wear tolerance is important, but particularly stadiums need to start thinking about the new challenges we face, wear is only part of the jigsaw. We also discussed a tailored over-seeding plan to ensure we are capitalising on specific cultivar traits at the time of year when they will benefit us the most, not just a one-size-fits-all approach”.

Leeds Upgrade To “ELITE” Pitches

Kiel was so impressed with the product that he made the decision to change all the pitches to ELITE SPORT. That included the iconic stadium, Elland Road, and every pitch at the training ground at Thorp Arch.

Deputy Head Groundsman at Thorp Arch, Stefan Jones, commented, “The germination and establishment speed was excellent, we couldn’t have asked for better. I was also very impressed with the purity of the seed; we have had very few weeds.” Kiel added, “Thorp Arch is a challenging site, in a wet part of Yorkshire that sees heavy wear combined with intense disease pressure. ELITE SPORT has stood up well to the challenge and was the obvious choice for us in our conditions”.

ELITE SPORT stands to be improved upon further in 2020 with some exciting new cultivars yet to be announced.

For more information on ELITE SPORT and other sports mixtures, visit www.barenbrug.co.uk, tweet us @BarenbrugUK or speak to one of our technical team on 01359 272000

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Loughborough’s New Sports Pitches

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Loughborough’s New Sports Pitches: Loughborough University has unveiled its new state-of-the-art sport pitches, installed by world-leading sports surface provider and pitch partner, SIS Pitches.

Installed in summer 2019, the new elite level water-based hockey surface is the first of its kind in the UK and has been designed specifically to encourage speed of play. The full-size pitch harnesses the latest innovations and was manufactured at the company’s state-of-the-art £1.8m headquarters in Cumbria.

Loughborough's New Sports Pitches

The SISTurf Xcel Ultra surface is the product of SIS Pitches’ continuous pursuit of high-quality and innovative surfaces. The combination of a high-grade, polyethylene polymer, 10-ended texturised yarn and optimised turf construction provides a truly elite-level system, with exceptional ball speed and uniformity, as well as outstanding durability.

SIS Pitches has also recently installed SISGrass hybrid technology into the newly built pitch at the Loughborough University Stadium. The pitch consists of 95 per cent natural grass supported with 5 per cent synthetic fibres and is the same style of pitch as used at the 2018 World Cup.

The football pitch was the first in the UK to be installed using a new-to-market, 100% electric machine from SISGrass. This innovation can stitch a full-size football pitch in just seven days, a huge step forward in reducing the environmental footprint of each pitch installation.

SIS Pitches has been named as the official partner for all Loughborough University’s Stadium pitches. As part of this remit, it will also sponsor the Women’s Hockey first-team in a multi-year deal, following last season’s promotion to the Investec Women’s Hockey League Premier Division.

Brett Holland, Women’s Hockey Performance Head Coach, said:

“We are thrilled with the installation of a new elite level playing surface here at Loughborough. The pitch is designed to the highest possible standard, ensuring matches are fast-paced and exciting to both play in and for spectators to watch.

“The squad achieved fantastic things last season which culminated in promotion to the Premier Division and winning British Universities College Sport (BUCS) gold. It’s brilliant news for everyone involved that we have the surface to continue with this momentum for the new campaign.”

Richard Allen, Director of Football, Loughborough University, added:

“The new pitch will take our football offer to the next level and help showcase the excellent facilities we already have on offer. The durability of the surface will give more opportunities for our students to experience playing at the stadium, which will undoubtedly help their personal development as footballers.”

Joe Shaw, Sales Manager at SIS Pitches, added:

“Loughborough University are the leading sports University in the UK and one of the leading institutions worldwide in relation to research, technology and performance in sport.

“This partnership represents a unique opportunity for us to work together with Loughborough University’s elite staff and athletes to maximise our product quality, delivery, service and to conduct key research into athlete performance and interaction with natural, hybrid and synthetic surfaces in a variety of sports.”

SIS Pitches made headlines in 2018, when SISGrass hybrid pitches were used at six of the stadiums for the World Cup in Russia. Following this, the company has provided pitches for all major sporting tournaments across the globe, including the 2019 Rugby World Cup, 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, and the 2018 UEFA Champions League.

The company has also recently installed the playing surfaces at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou, alongside the La Liga side’s first-team training pitch.

Loughborough Hockey’s first game to be held on the new surface will be in the Investec Women’s Hockey League’s Premier Division on Saturday September 14th against reigning champions, Surbiton.

The first game on the new Loughborough University Stadium pitch will also take place in September 2019.

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