Tag Archive for: Sports

Create pitch perfect sports fields with Attraxor®

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Create pitch perfect sports fields with Attraxor®: High quality, well-maintained sports pitches are essential to pupils’ sporting successes and achievements. The BASF product Attraxor® is a plant growth regulator containing the active substance prohexadione, that can be used to regulate growth of all managed sports turf, helping to create fields and pitches that are easier to maintain and have improved playability.

Prohexadione inhibits the Gibberellic acid pathway, which results in a reduction of turf height and turf biomass by up to 70%. Turf root formation and sward density is enhanced, with positive effects on the play, while turf colour and quality are maintained, promoting turf that doesn’t just look healthy, but is healthy.

Create pitch perfect sports fields with Attraxor®

Create pitch perfect sports fields with Attraxor®

In addition, due to its unique effects on seed head production, Attraxor® is also used as a Poa annua management tool.

Acting within four hours of application, Attraxor® delivers great turf quality and appearance, improves sward density and playability and enables better labour efficiency – all essential for the maintenance of high-quality pitches. Another labour and time-saving benefit is that Attraxor® can be mixed with fertilisers, adjuvants and stimulants, depending upon the need, and even contains a water conditioner for easier application.

Recent trials in Germany indicated another exciting Attraxor® feature. Functional areas treated in winter showed significantly less Microdochium nivale infection (-78%), compared to untreated areas thanks to a physiological processes described as the Apogee effect. Prohexadione causes a change of plant cell structures including thickening of plant cell walls, therefore, turf plants which are susceptible to M. nivale in winter, create a physical barrier which helps to withstand fungal infections. The broad temperature range of Attraxor® activity (starting at 7°C) is a perfect fit for late applications to optimise the IPM potential of this powerful active ingredient. This is hugely beneficial to help avoid a costly spring refurbishment programme.

For further product information including warning phrases and symbols refer to https://www.pestcontrol.basf.co.uk/en/Products/Product-innovation/Turf/

Attraxor® contains prohexadione calcium. Attraxor is a registered trademark of BASF. © BASF 2022. All rights reserved.

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Conserving water for the future of turf sports

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Conserving water for the future of turf sports: It’s official – fresh water supplies are dwindling, demand for water is steadily rising, and regulations on how much and for what purpose water can be used are becoming increasingly tightened. Finding ways to use water more efficiently is no longer an environmental nice to have; it’s a fact of life for most turf facilities today and imperative for our industry’s future.

As a turf manager you’ll always need water – it’s a fundamental building block of turf – but there are a number of steps you can take to influence how much water you need.

Conserving water for the future of turf sports

Conserving water for the future of turf sports

One of the biggest potential impacts on your water consumption can be made by redirecting water that already exists.

Plant selection can also play an important role in how much water is needed to keep your property at its visual best. Choose turf varieties such as fine fescues that require less water than others such as perennial ryegrass.

Even with these changes, irrigation is still essential and ongoing maintenance of your irrigation system is an effective way to reduce the amount of water wasted. Moisture sensors, weather monitors and other high-tech tools are also available to help you use your water conservatively.

Even after irrigation, there is still one more hurdle to getting water to your turf as efficiently as possible: your soil. How well your soil performs can have a tremendous impact on how much water you use.

Soil:water repellency interferes with how even the most well-placed water moves, leaving some areas a little too dry while making some a little too wet. This is certainly not a new phenomenon, but research indicates that it is much more common than previously thought.

Water repellency is one of the most pervasive water use issues, and it is also one of the easiest and most cost-effective to fix. Soil surfactants lower the surface tension of water and restore the wettability of effected soils, allowing water to move into and through the profile more efficiently. This reduces the amount of water lost to run-off and preferential flow

“Revolution is one of the very few products that makes a dramatic difference and actually changes the way turf is managed. It affects everything including the turf, the distribution of water, fertilisers, and other materials” – Sam Rhodes, Woodhall Spa GC.

Most courses have best management practices in place for their properties, but not all commit them to paper in a formal document. There are a number of resources available that provide guidance and templates for creating one, but should you bother? Absolutely.

Water conservation is a realistic goal, with both environmental and financial upsides.

Like it or not, the call for sustainability – and the challenges that presents – are going to be big issues for a long time. Doing what you can at your course does more than just protect a diminishing global resource – it protects your course, your job, and the future of the sports turf industry.

The role of Sports Pitch Management Platforms

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The role of Sports Pitch Management Platforms: Data has always been a part of professional sports turf. For decades grounds people have made notes on paper about their maintenance. As time passed, the paper turned into spreadsheets and has evolved into online pitch management platforms such as GrasPro.

This shift has been down to advancements in pitch technology and the expectations that come with it. Simply put, to get the best out of their investment, pitch managers need to know precisely what is going on with their pitches.

The role of Sports Pitch Management Platforms

The role of Sports Pitch Management Platforms

Using a data management system to do this helps collect and track that data and allows for enhanced decision-making and early detection of issues using historical data. As an industry, we are still in the relatively early stages of data platforms, but they have already made an impact; below, we look at the six vital roles of pitch management systems in the future of turf.

The Advantages of Moving Data Online

The main advantage of moving data online is accessibility. It’s there whenever you need it, wherever you are. With a system like GrasPro, all of your information is in categories, so it’s quick to find exactly what you need. No more rummaging around notebooks or figuring out what’s the right spreadsheet.

Once you’re set up, you really see the benefit of quickly accessing your categorised data, setting and measuring KPIs, and being able to share information with your grounds team, coaches and facility managers instantly. This benefits everything from sharing notes related to upcoming fixtures and quickly comparing and analysing using graphically presented graphs, charts and tables.

Being the Change Through Data

The second vital role of pitch data is decision making and change. Having comprehensive pitch usage and quality data goes a long way to informing the future of your pitches. How many games can they take in one week? When do they need to be aerated? How much water do they need? Etc.

Having this information helps with day to day maintenance, planning and scheduling, but it can also inform major infrastructure decisions when building new facilities, deciding on a new pitch construction or planning a tournament.

Informing decisions is also applicable to consultants who use testing kits and GrasPro to provide informed improvement plans, support grounds team and benchmark pitch progress.

Data is a Team Effort

This one is less about the vital role of data and more about the team using it. Gathering data regularly is crucial for analysis, and it is a team effort. With everyone involved – whether at the same facility or venues across the globe – having a group of people adding to a system provides more comprehensive data.

It also has the added benefit of engaging those collecting. It helps them understand a bit more about how what they are doing is making a difference, and this can be especially helpful in educating new staff.

Making Pitch Maintenance a Green Machine

It’s already proven that collecting data is vital for sustainable turf maintenance, and the importance will only grow in significance.

In 2020 The Sustainability Report published by Touchline stated 83% of football fans care if their clubs impact the environment. The report also found that sustainable stadiums cost 31% less to operate.

When it comes to pitch maintenance, working sustainably can be done simply by only using exactly the amount of water and fertiliser you need, not spraying on windy days or by finding the optimum amount of time to use grow lights etc.

The savings this can make whilst helping the environment are considerable and, in some cases, can even lead to finances being available to purchase battery powered mowers.

The Ability to Bring all of your Data Under One Platform

The popularity of data collection can be seen in its availability. If you buy a weather station or grow lights, they will typically come with data collection software.

Whilst this is helpful for that particular tool, you can lose the benefit of having all of your data in one place.

A solution for this is using an independent platform like GrasPro, which has the largest range of data categories available. Having all of your info in one place means you can analyse and report on it in conjunction with other data to deliver the big picture you need.

What’s the Future of Pitch Management Systems?

A significant role in the future of pitch management platforms is development. Automating the data collection is the next logical step in making it a more efficient process.

This can include everything from automatic water readings to machinery sensors that track machines’ usage. Eventually, this can lead to automatically generated daily, weekly and monthly reports for a truly streamlined process that delivers everything you need to know.

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Sports turf consortium formed

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Sports turf consortium formed: Elite Pitch Alliance, a consortium of industry leaders in the consultancy, design, construction, and management of professional sports fields, launched today with a mission of providing solutions to stadium venues and training facilities in Canada, the United States and Mexico for the 2026 World Cup. The 2026 renewal will be the first competition hosted by three nations, while also being the first to include 48 teams.

The consortium’s founding members STRI, DA Hogan & Associates, and Sports Fields Inc. will look to assist venues in providing bespoke natural grass fields in conformance with the exacting standards required by FIFA. The group brings together decades of experience in the design, construction, management, maintenance and inspection of sports facilities, turf fields and international tournaments in North America and around the globe.

Sports turf consortium formed

Sports turf consortium formed

“This is an exciting step forward for the development of World Cup venues throughout Canada, USA and Mexico, enabling facilities to provide world class surfaces for this prestigious event” said Andrew Brooker, Commercial Director for STRI Group. “STRI Group is very pleased to have partnered with DA Hogan & Associates, and Sports Fields Inc, companies who share our company’s vision of delivering excellence in sports surfaces across a multitude of sectors”.

D.A. Hogan principal Dave Anderson added “Our Alliance uniquely combines extensive World Cup and NFL playing field experience.  DA Hogan & Associates is very excited to be collaborating with STRI, Dr. Andy McNitt, and Sport Fields Inc. to provide FIFA compliant pitches of the highest quality for the 2026 World Cup as well as ensuring the NFL venues are fully restored with the appropriate surface for the 2026 NFL season”.

“This collaboration opens up a unique opportunity to bring the best in business to the table for a common goal – design, building and maintaining world class surfaces for the 2026 World Cup” said President and CEO of Sports Fields Inc., Mark Stalnaker. “We are tremendously excited to build upon our portfolio of successful projects and use that experience to support the selected venues in preparing for a generational opportunity”.

The overarching goal of the consortium is to provide venue specific permanent and temporary pitch solutions which are cost conscious, environmentally responsible, and minimize the disruption to existing tenants and operations.

As the group begins to work together, STRI, Sports Fields Inc., DA Hogan can look forward to future jointly developed projects and shared resources for years to come.

ABOUT STRI

STRI is the leading global pitch design and consultancy specialist for the development of elite standard sports surfaces in stadia. We were established in 1929 in Yorkshire, England and now operate globally.

We have successfully masterminded the installation of over 180 stadium pitches in 30 countries at the highest-level including FIFA World Cups, UEFA European Championships and Olympic Games. Our expertise is in the delivery of a comprehensive solution where a multi-faceted approach is required to understand the venues environmental, economic, and operational requirements to deliver the optimal code compliant sporting surfaces.

Our vastly experienced teams of consultants, researchers, designers, planners and engineers provide comprehensive science backed turf solutions. Our technical teams are at the cutting edge, incorporating innovation and sustainable thinking in out practice. STRI has seen considerable growth, which has been connected to increased demand and a clear desire from clients to receive sustainable, high-quality end to end solutions.

ABOUT DA HOGAN AND ASSOCIATES

D.A. Hogan & Associates is a consulting engineering and landscape architecture firm based in Seattle, Washington that was formed in 1960. The firm specializes in outdoor athletic,

physical education, recreational, and sports facilities.

Over the last 60 years we have provided design and construction management services for more than 500 sports facilities including natural and artificial. This experience has provided us with an exceptional level of expertise relating to the design concepts and attention to detail that is required to ensure a successful field installation.

ABOUT SPORTS FIELDS INC.

Sports Fields Inc. (SFI) is a leading sports field planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations organization headquartered in the greater Atlanta area. The company provides end-to-end or single-source solutions to professional sports organizations, municipal governments, non-profits, and higher education clients who are seeking to address unique sports challenges & opportunities.  SFI was launched in 2005 and quickly earned a reputation for quality workmanship and outstanding customer service.  SFI is an industry leader in the construction of synthetic & natural turf construction and has completed dozens of projects for organizations within Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Football League (NFL), Major League Soccer (MLS), and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).   SFI is recognised for successful, on-time completion of time-sensitive, high-profile professional sports projects.

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New mixture from Johnsons Sports Seed

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New mixture from Johnsons Sports Seed: A number of new and updated formulations have been announced with the launch of the Johnsons Sports Seed guide for 2022.

Particular highlights include the introduction of new highly rated cultivars into the Johnsons J Links and J Rye Fairway fine turf mixtures, and a brand-new, first-of-its-kind mixture for sports turf – Johnsons J Premier 4Turf – delivering proven Brown Patch tolerance.

New mixture from Johnsons Sports Seed

New mixture from Johnsons Sports Seed

The 2022 formulation of Johnsons J Links is set to deliver even better salt and drought tolerance to those courses under links conditions thanks to the introduction of Absolom Slender Creeping Red Fescue. Absolom is a highly rated cultivar, offering exceptional disease resistance and tolerance for close mown management. Absolom joins Cezanne and Nigella in this pure Slender blend – backed by DLF’s 4Salt® research, creating mixtures optimised for performance in saline conditions. New formulations of Johnsons J Fairway and J Rye Fairway are also available this year, with the inclusion of Esparina Chewings Fescue and Aniston Perennial Ryegrass respectively.

Also backed by research is the brand-new Johnsons J Premier 4Turf mixture. Following two years of trials into Brown Patch tolerant varieties, J Premier 4Turf takes full advantage of the findings – combining the outstanding wear tolerance and visual merit of the original J Premier Pitch mixture with 20% 4turf® and the most tolerant diploid varieties identified in the study. Featuring 10% Fabian and 10% Tetragame tetraploid perennial ryegrass, J Premier 4Turf promises to become the ultimate football and rugby renovation mixture for disease-resistance, rapid establishment and exceptional wear tolerance.

The larger seed and root system of DLF’s 4turf® varieties deliver strong, fast establishment at temperatures as low as 4oc, as well as healthy plant development. Its improved tolerance of drought and disease means the sward retains better colour and recovers quickly from periods of stress. Because of their tolerance to challenging conditions and lower reliance on inputs, 4turf® mixtures have become a popular choice with sports turf managers, with new formulations of both Johnsons J 4Turf and J 4Turf 100 available for 2022.

Details of all the new and updated formulations across the golf and sports turf range can be found in the 2022 Johnsons Sports Seed catalogue, or by visiting www.johnsonsportsseed.co.uk.

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