Tag Archive for: The

Beating The Stresses Of Sports

/in , /by

Beating The Stresses Of Sports: Natural turf for sports is enjoyable to play on when effectively looked after but this relies on the health of the grass being well maintained to prevent ‘stressed grass’. This occurs when the growing conditions become difficult and results in poor sports turf with ‘bottom’ in the grass and sparse ‘thin’ grass with lots of earth on show. Grass, like most plants require light and heat from the sun, carbon dioxide and oxygen from the atmosphere and structure, water and nutrients from the soil. If any of these components is compromised, the grass plant will suffer and may not recover from the stress of play.

It is helpful if managing sports turf to understand the science behind the design and maintenance of natural sports turf which requires some specialist knowledge of soils, drainage and agronomy.

Beating The Stresses Of Sports

Amino acids are the foundational building blocks for plant growth. Even though plants have the capacity to biosynthesize all the amino acids that they require from nitrogen, carbon oxygen and hydrogen, the process is quite complex and energy consuming. Application of amino acids contained in Sward-booster allows the plant to save energy on this process during critical growth stages. Sward-booster takes plant nutrition beyond conventional fertilisers by combining a unique, powerful package of 19 essential amino-acids, humic acid complex, seaweed and major and minor nutrients from organic and inorganic sources. Sward-booster facilitates maximum utilisation of nutrients, water, CO2 and light to maximise growth efficiently. Sward-booster is ideal for feeding or aiding stressed grass on sports pitches, racecourses, lawns & other grassed areas.

A full sports turf maintenance plan produced by a competent agronomist consultant is essential & they need to consider the following points; frequency of mowing, aeration, irrigation, seeding, use of fertiliser and weed/pest control.

Regular mowing is fundamental to the maintenance of surface quality. Frequency of mowing will depend on the time of year and will vary according to the location of the site. Irrigation may be required to aid grass growth during dry periods & the use of a wetting agent may also be beneficial.

Fertilisation is important to aid growth and recovery, as well as to maintain good presentation. It must be applied at the optimum rate and at appropriate times. It’s best to determine this with a detailed soil analysis and expert advice on this from a qualified agronomist.

Full grass cover is essential to prevent weed invasion so regular seeding is necessary to repair damaged and weakened areas of turf. Ongoing preventive measures are required to protect the playing surface from pest damage and weeds.

Performance Quality Standards (PQS) provide a benchmark for assessing the efficacy of maintenance operations in terms of achieving and maintaining the quality and performance of natural turf sports surfaces. If you would like any more information or a free appraisal please contact Agrigem.

For more information, visit: www.agrigem.co.uk

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 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.

STIHL’s Chainsaw Of The Future

/in , /by

STIHL’s Chainsaw Of The Future: The new STIHL MS 500i is the first chainsaw in the world with electronic fuel injection and a never-before achieved power-to-weight ratio.

With the MS 500i, STIHL presents the world’s first standard chainsaw with electronically controlled fuel injection, consolidating its position as a technology leader.

STIHL's Chainsaw Of The Future

The STIHL injection technology (i) not only provides the chainsaw of the future with incredible torque, but also ensures rapid acceleration of the saw chain from 0 to 100 km/h in just 0.25 seconds.

Thanks to the intelligent lightweight design, the MS 500i is also outstanding with the best ever power-to-weight ratio – 1.24 kilograms per kilowatt, an exemplarily low value never achieved before by series-manufactured chainsaws.

Together with the many additional design optimisations, there is a substantial increase in operator comfort. The reduction of gyroscopic forces provides the 80 cm³-class high-performance professional saw with dynamic manoeuvrability, which is a particular advantage during limbing. This makes the professional big timber harvester easy to handle in all disciplines – from felling to cutting to length.

The MS 500i has exceptional starting behavior and provides optimum engine power right from startup. The engine does not need a carburetor, since the fuel metering is done using a sensor, and automatically adapts to the different operating conditions, no matter what the altitude and ambient temperature.

A preview of the new MS 500i will be given at the Arb Show, Westonbirt Arboretum from 11 to 12 May 2018. It will be available to forestry professionals worldwide from the beginning of 2019.

Due to the exceptional level of interest, the machine will already be available in selected markets, including Germany, in limited quantities in time for the 2018/19 season.

 The details at a glance:

  • First chainsaw with STIHL Injection
    Huge advancement in engine development. The MS 500i is the first ever series-manufactured chainsaw with an electronically controlled fuel injection system. The high-torque machine provides optimum engine power right from startup. It provides powerful performance and the saw chain accelerates extremely rapidly – from 0 to 100 km/h in just 0.25 seconds.
  • Best power-to-weight ratio of all classes
    The STIHL MS 500i is a lightweight within the ranks of professional saws. Thanks to intelligent lightweight design, as well as an extremely high engine power, it excels with an exemplarily low power-to-weight ratio at 1.24 kg/kW. This value is unique within all displacement categories.
  • Easy starting and sensor-controlled fuel mixing
    The MS 500i is very easy to start in all operating conditions, and automatically adapts to different locations of use. The sensor-controlled fuel mixing ensures that the mixture is adjusted optimally for the oxygen content in the air right from the first ignition.
  • Improved ergonomics and practical details make work easier
    The innovative flywheel with a reduced installation height and lower weight reduces the gyroscopic forces that arise during operation. Together with the low overall weight, the resulting dynamic swiveling behavior of the machine, which is a particular advantage for limbing, makes the ideal guidance of the tool along the trunk easy.
    This is also supported by the new bumper spike geometry. The raised plunge bar on the fan housing – parallel to the axis of symmetry of the guide bar – makes directional control and tool guidance easier when plunge cutting. Captive nuts on the chain sprocket cover make changing the chain straightforward. Professional big timber harvesting – from felling through cutting to length to limbing – is a simple task with the new professional saw.

For more information, visit: www.stihl.co.uk

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 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.

Can The MLS Be World-Class On 3G?

/in , /by

Can The MLS Be World-Class On 3G?: Reliably unconventional, Zlatan Ibrahimovic spurned a $100m offer from China in order to take a $1.5m-per-year offer from the Los Angeles Galaxy, according to Sports Illustrated. But will the striker be eccentric enough to turn up for an away game against the New England Revolution?

After his matchwinning debut in last Saturday’s Los Angeles derby – the most deranged 90 minutes in MLS history – everyone wants to see the Swede play.
Still, the 36-year-old has recently returned from a serious knee injury, so Ibrahimovic and the Galaxy’s coaching staff will have judgment calls to make later in the season as the league’s most famous name tries to stay healthy. The Galaxy have four MLS fixtures on artificial turf scheduled between June and October (though Ibrahimovic may yet  play at this summer’s World Cup). Fearing injury, some veteran stars have skipped games on artificial surfaces over the years, dealing blows to MLS’s reputation.

Can A League Be World-Class On 3G?

The only time Thierry Henry played on the widely-reviled artificial turf of Gillette Stadium, the home of the Revolution, was a play-off game in 2014 that turned out to be the last match of his career. Didier Drogba also sought to avoid fake grass. David Beckham, usually so emollient in interviews, was an anti-turf absolutist: “Every game, every team should have grass, without a doubt,” he told reporters in 2007.

We wait to see whether a man who once slammed France merely because he thought a referee had a bad game will have any thoughts to share on a subject that tends to provoke strong emotions.

The league added to its synthetic collection last year when Atlanta and Minnesota  – who face off last Saturday – joined Vancouver, Seattle, Portland and New England. (Minnesota’s permanent home, set to open next year, will have grass).

This clearly matters to the players. An ESPN anonymous survey of current MLS members published last month asked whether an artificial surface would influence a player’s decision to join a team: 63% said yes. Perhaps not unrelated, another question asked them to name the toughest place to play in MLS and four of the top eight answers were teams with artificial turf.

Turf wars are commonplace in North America. Earlier this month the cost of laying temporary grass at BC Place was reportedly among the factors that caused Vancouver to withdraw from contention as a host city for the 2026 World Cup bid, while the use of artificial fields at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada was the subject of failed legal action.

True or not, artificial fields are perceived to increase injury risk and enhance home advantage in a league in which road results are notoriously poor. They are freighted with memories of the North American Soccer League’s dire surfaces, and away from Portland, where complex factors influence the choice, are a sign of MLS’s subservience to American football in shared venues.

Pitch variations invite us to define what counts as “authentic”: a perennial concern for MLS, which is adolescent and distinctive yet obsessed with tradition and how it stacks up against more established leagues. In a quest for instant credibility, newborn franchises such as Atlanta and Minnesota drape themselves in Anglicized affectations such as “United” and “Football Club”. The branding glances towards England where, as the Premier League’s rules tersely state: “No League Match shall be played on an Artificial Surface”. It’s an homage to the kind of Euro superclubs who insist on temporary grass pitches being installed over artificial surfaces when they visit the US on summer tours.

Like shoppers at an urban farmers market, fans instinctively prefer organic to genetically-modified ingredients. Still, turf versus grass is habitually presented as a binary opposition when the reality is more nuanced. Enhanced hybrid surfaces where artificial fibres act to strengthen the natural grass are ubiquitous in England’s top-flight. The expectation of competitive imbalance on turf, one 2016 study found, does not reflect the truth.

A good artificial surface may play truer than a lousy natural one and technology is far advanced from the “Astroturf burn” eras, when players who attempted sliding tackles in shorts often looked like they’d just spent 90 minutes in the company of an arsonist. As the Portland Timbers owner, Merritt Paulson, told FourFourTwo last year: “There is a massive difference between the quality of turf fields that you can host a soccer game on, just like there is a very big difference on the quality of a grass pitch for a game.”

And the argument that artificial turf is only for unserious soccer nations is hard to sustain given its presence in Mexico and France in recent years, while in 2016-17, one-third of the Eredivisie’s teams had it (which prompted a revolt from the Dutch players’ union).

For Wilmer Cabrera, the Houston Dynamo head coach, artifice is just another hill to climb in MLS’ undulating landscape. “Here in MLS you have to play on turf and you have to play on grass, you have to travel 5,000 miles back and forth, you have to play in humidity or cold weather, snow or wind,” he said. “Pounding on [an artificial] surface it’s gonna get you more tired, the muscles are going to suffer a little bit more and the joints, but we don’t make any kind of excuses.” Cabrera’s team beat the Timbers 2-1 at Providence Park in last year’s playoffs before losing 3-0 to the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field in the Western Conference finals.

Houston is arguably the cradle of fake grass, since the Astros baseball team popularised it by using AstroTurf in the Astrodome in the 1960s. Despite the city’s brutal summer weather and the multiple teams that use BBVA Compass Stadium, the Dynamo play on grass that, by last year’s postseason, was so badly cut up that it looked like the field had hosted a tunneling contest for moles.

No stranger to the treatment room, Philippe Senderos would have felt wary about joining Houston if their pitch was plastic. “I think knowing that the Houston Dynamo play on grass was definitely a factor [in me joining the club]. If it would had been on turf I would have had to think about it a little bit more,” he said.

Standing on the Dynamo’s verdant practice field, Andrew Wenger took a pragmatic view. “There’s a lot of aspects that goes into making, or considering, a league the best in the world and that’s probably a very small, minute effect,” the veteran attacker said. “Would you rather have everything be on grass? Yes. But is playing in the climate of North America different from other places in the world? That’s also true. So how do you balance all these balls in the air, and making it the best but also dealing with what we’re presented? That’s a big question.”

Looking to the medium- and long-term, extreme weather from climate change may complicate the use of grass pitches in some parts of the continent, while it’s logical to expect that artificial surfaces will continue to improve, blurring the distinction between synthetic and natural. MLS may never be all-grass, and one day, long after Ibrahimovic is gone, maybe that won’t matter.

Click here to read the original article

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 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.

Battle Of The Golf Car Batteries

/in , /by

Battle Of The Golf Car Batteries: The discussion about golf car batteries and the benefits of the different types has been taking place for some time now. E-Z-GO is the first major golf car manufacturer to introduce a lithium-ion (li-ion) golf car and experts in the field of battery power share the consensus that li-ion batteries improve the performance and longevity of golf cars compared to traditional lead acid batteries. Consumers have also been quick to adopt the new technology with golf club managers and purse string holders realising that the benefits of li-ion golf cars ultimately outweigh the initial up-front costs.

A recent report by Technavio forecasts that the global golf cart battery market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 5% between 2017-2021. Another report by the market research firm Genpact said the global golf car demand will reach 214,000 units this year and that their installation rate for li-ion batteries will jump drastically from 1 percent last year to 14 percent this year. The li-ion battery installation rate on Korean golf cars has already surpassed 90 percent, according to the same report.

Battle Of The Golf Car Batteries

As aforementioned, E-Z-GO has capitalised on the trend in the market and has taken the lead in this field: “Vendors are expanding their current production capacities for lead-acid batteries. Samsung SDI has a contract with golf car manufacturer, E-Z-GO to supply its cylindrical battery, which is based on the li-ion battery technology.” says Thanikachalam Chandrasekaran, a lead analyst at Technavio for energy storage research.

This collaboration has resulted in the E-Z-GO ELiTE golf car series where the vehicles are powered by hundreds of Samsung SDI lithium cells that are loaded into a single battery pack. The battery pack is controlled by an advanced Battery Management System that monitors efficiency, temperature, state of charge and the health of the batteries.

“The golf course industry is witnessing a transformation, owing to the use of latest technologies. To enhance a golfer’s experience and attract new customers, golf clubs are integrating the latest models of golf cars…” Chandrasekaran says. It is no surprise that clubs are looking to enhance the golfing experience, given the competitive nature of the industry. A golfer will spend approximately 85-90 percent of their time in a golf car in many cases, so it seems that investing in golf cars is key.

Since the introduction of the ELiTE Series in 2017, it has been widely adopted by a range of clubs with vastly differing budgets including Princes Golf Club in Kent, U.K., and Real Club Valderrama in Spain, to name but a few. While clubs are realising the benefits of li-ion technology, there are still obstacles to overcome, and a big one is budget.

The cost of an E-Z-GO ELiTE golf car is approximately 20% dearer than the cost of an equivalent vehicle with a lead acid battery. This may seem like a hefty difference in price, but if you study the long-term financial savings as well as the time saved on maintenance and charging, the former soon becomes the more appealing option.

The benefits of li-ion technology have been broken down in the categories below to fully understand the myriad of benefits and the areas that have the most potential for making significant cost savings.

Weight

A golf car with a li-ion battery has a significantly enhanced power-to-weight ratio. Li-ion batteries are half the size of lead acid batteries and a fraction of the weight. To put a figure on this, a standard li-ion battery in an E-Z-GO ELiTE golf car weighs 23kg, compared to a standard lead-acid battery which weighs around 150kg. This dramatic reduction in weight and size of the battery means that the golf car can reach higher speeds with less effort and carry more weight without the power fading and the performance diminishing.

This huge weight saving allows the lithium-powered car to carry the equivalent of an additional two average-sized adults and their equipment before reaching capacity. This is made possible because lithium batteries maintain the same voltage outputs regardless of the battery’s charge. As a result, the golf car continues to perform after its lead-acid counterpart has shown signs of fatigue. In comparison, lead acid batteries lose voltage output and performance after 70-75 percent of the rated battery capacity is used, which has a negative impact on carrying capacity and the issue is highlighted as the day progresses.

Maintenance

One of the major benefits of li-ion batteries is that they require no maintenance whatsoever as opposed to lead-acid batteries which need regular checks and maintenance. This ultimately results in saved man hours and the extra costs of maintenance tools and products. The lack of lead-acid means that chemical spills are avoided and the chance of downtime on your golf cars is drastically reduced.

However, it is still important to take care of any vehicle or machinery to protect it for years of use. One of the biggest factors when it comes to the wear and tear of golf cars is the weight of them; a heavy vehicle is more of a challenge to drive uphill or on uneven terrain, and can damage turf especially in wet conditions. The reduction in weight when using li-ion batteries protects turf and removes unnecessary stress on brakes and other components on the golf car.

Charging

This is an inevitable part of owning any vehicle powered by electricity. Regardless of the type of battery, electric vehicles still need to be charged. This can be an inconvenience if you do not have a fleet of golf cars or a schedule that allows time for charging in between uses.

Golf cars need to be able to maintain consistent power and speed on a range of terrains. Studies have proven that li-ion batteries are able to provide this consistency, but lead-acid batteries will have a negative impact on the performance of the golf car as the voltage dips.

On average, it takes eight hours to fully recharge a lead-acid battery. However, a li-ion battery can be recharged up to 80 percent its capacity in just one hour, and 100 percent in less than four hours. Another contrast between the two types of battery is that partially charge lead-acid batteries are susceptible to sulfation damage, meaning that if the golf car is charged to less than 100 percent, the life of the battery is significantly reduced. Conversely, li-ion batteries show no adverse effects of being charged less than capacity, meaning that users can “opportunity charge,” plugging vehicles in for quick charging sessions that can rapidly restore significant levels of energy to the battery system, as opposed to the lengthy recharge cycles required by lead-acid batteries.

Golfers will often pay good money to enjoy a round of golf, and in this day and age, it is unacceptable for a golf car to run out of juice half way through a round. Not only can it potentially ruin the golfer’s overall experience, but it drives much needed business away. For this reason, the importance of efficient and long-lasting battery life in golf cars cannot be understated.

Eco-Friendly

The E-Z-GO website states, “Driven by a zero-emissions, greener battery technology, ELiTE vehicles protect the Earth by using less energy.” This statement is supported by the fact that li-ion batteries take significantly less time to fully charge, and the life span of lithium-powered batteries is longer than lead-acid counterparts.

Li-ion batteries do not contain hazardous material, whereas lead-acid batteries, as the name suggests, contain lead which is harmful to the environment. However, both are recyclable which is only a positive thing for the environment.

Many golf clubs now have environmental policies in place, some of which are overseen by the Golf Environment Organisation (GEO) and other official bodies. The introduction of li-ion golf cars has given clubs another avenue to enhance environmental sustainability on the golf course in an industry that is always striving to reduce its carbon footprint.

To Conclude…

The longevity and performance enhancing capabilities of li-ion batteries somewhat outweighs the initial up-front cost that consumers are faced with. If golf clubs and private users can see beyond this, not only does the investment pay for itself over time, but big savings can be made in the way of reduced energy bills, maintenance costs, and possible repairs that would otherwise need to be made to heavy lead-acid golf cars and any damage to turf that they cause.

Furthermore, in a spate of recent lead-acid battery thefts at a number of golf clubs in the U.K., a li-ion battery is not valuable to thieves in terms of its content or the material it is made from. While it does not combat the underlying issue of criminal activity, it does at least reduce the chances of theft and the financial and legal impact associated with it.

In a market where the trend leans towards lithium technology being the way forward, there will no doubt be more and more manufacturers following in the footsteps of E-Z-GO and its introduction of the ELiTE series.

For more information, visit: ezgo.txtsv.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 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.

The Man Who Beat The Beast

/in , /by

The Man Who Beat The Beast: When most of us were tucked up in bed, with the heating blasting and dreaming about what we were going to do with our football-free Saturday, Cambridge United stadium manager Ian Darler had other ideas.

In depths of the night, the stadium manager travelled to the Abbey, flicked on one floodlight and got to work.

The Man Who Beat The Beast

It was 4 a.m.

Heading towards his 40-year anniversary with the club, when we caught up with him just before kick off he seemed unfazed by not only the 3 am start that morning but also even getting the game on, despite it being only one of 10 to beat the ‘Beast from the East.’

“It would have been very easy to turn a blind eye and the game would have been off,” he said.

“But I just think you just do your duty. It’s your professional pride at the end of the day.”

Indeed, Darler and his team – made up of a dozen or so volunteers from CFU and his fishing friends – had a long-term plan to ensure the game went ahead.

The pitches had been covered for nine days but the freezing conditions were still proving too much for them to deal with as temperatures dropped to as low as minus-11 with windchil.

And a bit of ingenuity – from using a customised plough to getting the snow to act as an incubator – meant there was very little danger of the game being called off in the end.

 “To be honest getting the game on wasn’t the challenge,” he said.

“We’ve have had had pitch covers on for nine days as I always work to a 10-14 day programme.

“Apparently I came in for a bit of criticism on social media because I took the sheets of yesterday but I could see quite clearly the actual pitch was frozen and the covers were insulating the frost on the ground.

“We saw snow was coming and that it was likely to climb to zero. Obviously zero from minus six, minus seven is a massive thaw so the troops came in yesterday for me, we got all the sheets off and blew the layers of snow off and I was praying for the snow last night as I’ve used the snow as a incubator previously.

“Got up this morning about 3.30 am and went outside and saw it was 0.5 degrees and thought, ‘happy days!”

“I got in here, put one floodlight on, cracked on and by time the safety officer turned up all I had was about 25% of one corner to do.”

His efforts were recognised and he was, along with the other volunteers, named the man of the match during the U’s 1-1 draw with Luton Town.

And as Darler said, it would have been easy to let this game slip away like a majority of those in the Football League did.

And that’s is what is most impressive about this all. It took a lot of hard work, a lot of heart and shows how much people really do care about the club, and Darler, who has a book coming out about his 40 years working in football, was quick to thank all those involved.

“I have got the most amazing team of ground staff, which is made up by stewards who have worked for me for over 30 years,” he said

“They just appear like the borrowers and then a load of fishing mates come out the woodwork to bail me out.

“Because they’ve worked with me for so long I don’t have to tell them, they know what the process is.

“12, 14 people showed up in the end and six, seven were from CFU and seven or eight are my friends.

“I’m a fisherman, I’m used to going out a three o’clock in the morning!

“It’s a nice end. I’ve been quite fortunate had a publisher come forward and I’m having a book out about forty years working within the football world.

He added: “These days are great. It just gives you the opportunity to I’m just as keen now as I was 40 years ago. It’s always a challenge.

“I just love the challenge.”

Click here to read the original article

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 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.