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BIGGA and GEO Foundation team up at BTME

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BIGGA and GEO Foundation team up at BTME: The British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) has teamed up with GEO Foundation for Sustainable Golf to host a place for sports turf managers to meet and exchange ideas during March’s BIGGA Turf Management Exhibition (BTME).

GEO Foundation is an international not-for-profit, dedicated to helping inspire, support and reward credible sustainability and climate action across golf.

BIGGA and GEO Foundation team up at BTME

BIGGA and GEO Foundation team up at BTME

BTME takes place at the Harrogate Convention Centre from 22 to 24 March 2022 and during the event the GEO Foundation will be joined by a number of other partners to host the ‘Sustainability Lounge’, which will provide a dedicated space for attendees to find out more, get involved and join discussions about key sustainability issues with experts in their field.

In addition to its strategic support through partnerships with associations including BIGGA, the GEO Foundation assures the OnCourse programmes for grassroots golf facilities, new developments and tournaments, each of which can lead to the widely endorsed and externally recognised GEO Certified label.

During BTME, the Sustainability Lounge will be a gathering and meeting place and in addition to the team from GEO Foundation, experts from around the UK will often be on hand, including BIGGA’s very own sustainability champion, James Hutchinson.

James, who is Membership Services Manager for Ecology and Sustainability for BIGGA, said: “Of all the key topics up for discussion at BTME, among the most important will be the need for golf courses all over the world to adopt increasingly sustainable practices. With the changing availability of resources and rising costs, alongside an increasing awareness of the important role we can all play to protect the natural environment, golf has a massive part to play and I am excited that our colleagues at the GEO Foundation, and partners from other golfing bodies, will be joining us at BTME for what stands to be a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas and discover new sustainable practices.”

The GEO Foundation will also be recognising Sustainable Golf Champions and will celebrate GEO Certified venues, with representatives invited to showcase what initiatives they have implemented at their golf facilities. There will also be prize draws for those who stop by to vote for a sustainability or climate action project shared by a fellow greenkeeper.

Kelli Jerome, Executive Director at GEO Foundation, added: “BTME is an important event in the golf industry calendar and the advocacy, education and engagement opportunities provided are important to golf’s sustainability progress. We are really excited about the space BIGGA has made available for the Sustainability Lounge and we’re looking forward to working closely with BIGGA and other UK golf associations to support and engage attendees – meeting, hearing views, answering questions and sharing inspiring stories from as many people as possible during the week.”

BTME is free to attend and registration and more information can be found on the BTME website, www.btme.org.uk

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Kubota teams up for Guinness Six Nations

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Kubota teams up for Guinness Six Nations: The Welsh Rugby Union and Kubota dealer Hopkins Machinery Ltd have enjoyed a long and fruitful partnership, dating back to the 1960s when Cardiff Arms Park was still the home of Welsh rugby.

In 2005 the Newport-based dealership took on the Kubota franchise, and Kubota machinery has been an important part of the armoury ever since. Kubota tractors and RTVs fulfil various roles at Principality Stadium, home to international rugby tournaments including three World Cups and the Guinness Six Nations, which is set to thrill capacity crowds again this spring with the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.

Kubota teams up for Guinness Six Nations

Kubota teams up for Guinness Six Nations

“Although we use pedestrian equipment on the pitch, Kubota tractors are essential workhorses for the Stadium,” explains Head Groundsman Lee Evans. “Our relationship with Hopkins Machinery is key – if ever we need parts, service or repairs or replacement machines, their support is second-to-none.”

Evan Hopkins concurs: “Having taken the decision to move into groundcare in 1995 and then taking on Kubota in 2005, Principality Stadium is an ideal sponsorship for us, with rugby being our national sport. It’s highly prestigious and gives us a fantastic hospitality opportunity.”

Paramount in the qualities of a tractor to be used in the Stadium is dependable reliability, and the 2016 Kubota STW 40 currently in use is a perfect example.

“It’s important that we can rely on the tractor to do a job and that it is straightforward enough for any of the three groundsmen to drive,” Lee points out. “It never lets us down.”

The tractor is fitted with a Kubota LA 454 ST front end loader, and tasks range from loading grass clippings from buggies on the pitch into a skip for collection by the local authority to pulling a harrow to maintain the artificial turf surrounding the pitch and positioning goalposts.

After a match, the STW 40 gets its moment in the spotlight, pulling lighting rigs onto the pitch

while the TV cameras are still rolling.

“The pitch is on a slight incline so the nine larger rigs, which weigh two tonnes, have to be towed on with the tractor. It’s labour intensive but a crucial job as the roof makes this the darkest stadium in Europe and the light helps the turf recover quickly,” he explains.

Stadium manoeuvres are also the role of another Kubota machine, with the RTV utility vehicle used to transport Terraplas sheets used to cover the pitch for concerts.

“We don’t need the RTV all the time, so it’s a great feature of the sponsorship that Hopkins Machinery can provide one on a short term hire for jobs like this,” comments Lee.

Hopkins Machinery has a dedicated hire fleet of more than 80 RTVs, used for everything from festivals and sporting events to winter maintenance contracts, so is well equipped to be able to help out.

“With a prestigious venue like this, we’re reliant on partnerships to help us deliver high standards in a busy programme, and we really value working with Kubota and Hopkins Machinery,” he concludes.

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Moving on up with the Razor Ultra

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Moving on up with the Razor Ultra: The Dennis Razor Ultra cylinder mower is helping the ambitious Rykneld Bowling Club to progress in the right direction.

Rykneld Bowling Club, based in Derbyshire, boasts an impressive history that stretches back to 1918.  It is an exciting and progressive club that promotes participation of the whole community in the sport of crown green bowls.

Moving on up with the Razor Ultra

Moving on up with the Razor Ultra

It is arguably one of the best clubs in the county and has its sights set even higher.

“As a club we are on the move upwards, and we need the very best equipment to ensure we have a fantastic green,” said committee member Malcolm Holden.

It is for this reason that Rykneld Bowling Club now boasts a brand-new Dennis Razor Ultra cylinder mower.

Superbly balanced and ideal for bowls greens and other fine turf surfaces, the Razor Ultra has an operating width of 560mm (22in) and an 11-blade cutting cylinder for a perfect finish.

An ultra-short wheelbase ensures easy manoeuvrability and excellent performance, even on undulating surfaces. The Dennis Razor Ultra also encompasses the simple ‘no tools required’ click height adjusters for quick and easy operation.

This unique mower has certainly made a difference according to Malcolm.

“We had a couple of old cylinder mowers, but they just could not do what the Razor Ultra does,” he said. “The main benefit is that it has a groomer on it which lifts up the grass before it cuts, and that is really important because the speed of the green is very high on the list of priorities for our top-class bowlers.

“We did look at other mowers, but we know a local greenkeeper from a club five miles away who has a Dennis Razor Ultra, and he was singing its praises. When Dennis Mowers came to do a demo, Howard, who is a groundsman here, thought it was his birthday!

“We’re all absolutely delighted – it is a fabulous piece of kit, and we use it three times a week during the season – Sunday, Tuesday and Friday.

“The Razor Ultra has helped us to get rid of a lot of the horizontal growing grass and the players have noticed a big improvement – the feedback we are getting is that the green is running better than it ever has.”

Aside from being impressed with the product, Malcolm was quick to praise the customer service he received.

“Dennis are absolutely superb,” he said. “We had the Razor Ultra on order and while we were waiting for it, our old mower stopped working, we panicked because we had a competition coming up. We spoke to Dennis, and they sent a loan machine out to us the very next day. It was fantastic customer service, and that goes a long way in my opinion.”

For further information or a no obligation demonstration, please contact Dennis 01332 824 777 or visit www.dennisuk.com

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

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FA bolster ‘Power Up Your Grass Pitch’ campaign

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FA bolster ‘Power Up Your Grass Pitch’ campaign: Shropshire FA is ready to bolster the offering from the new ‘Power Up Your Grass Pitch’ campaign using the expertise and machinery of Campey Turf Care Systems.

The new initiative from the Premier League, The FA, and the Government’s Football Foundation aims to revolutionise the state of grass football pitches in England. The mission set out by the Football Foundation is to improve over 7,000 grass pitches by 2024 and 20,000 by 2030 to ensure the 12 million grassroots footballers have great places to play.

FA bolster ‘Power Up Your Grass Pitch’ campaign

FA bolster ‘Power Up Your Grass Pitch’ campaign

A significant part of this is reducing the 150,000 cancelled matches due to poor pitch quality last season, and at Shropshire FA, this role falls to Strategy, Facilities and Partnerships Lead Andy Weston.

With over 20-years of experience in football administration, Andy is no stranger to the impact pitches can have. After seeing Campey in action at an open day, he knew they were prime candidates to push their pitch improvement efforts for 180 clubs in Shropshire forward. Jason Moody, Product Specialist for Campeys, has worked closely with Andy to ensure that the right balance of equipment and back-up support was in place.

“Campey has a track record of working with a number of other County FAs, and we did a demo day with them at one of our clubs, and they gave a run-through of the machinery they offer, what it does and gave some hands-on tips. We had several clubs come along, and the feedback was great, so we decided to make something more formal to showcase what they do and how it can improve pitches in our county.

“High-quality pitches are vital to the game, and we are in a position now where the funding and opportunities are there to support the volunteers who work tirelessly week in and week out, and the expertise of Campey is really important to what we want to achieve.

“The game can’t run without volunteers and particularly at grassroots level. You’re reliant on them, and it’s imperative that organisations like Campey are on hand to work with us to provide that support and knowledge on the ground. In these last 18 months, we have all spent a lot of time on Zoom calls. Still, in this instance, I don’t think you can beat being on the ground and hands-on with the equipment because any little snippets of information they can share with those grounds people is invaluable. I think even the most experienced grounds people will benefit from having a conversation with Campey and listening to their experts.

“As well as Jason from Campeys, we are also working with Pitch Advisor Kevin Duffield, so with all those different bodies involved, it is really helpful to the grounds teams up and down our county.”

Teams in Shropshire range from AFC Telford United down the football pyramid to Sunday league outfits. The one thing they all have in common is the need for a good pitch, and through this initiative, Andy aims to make the whole of the county a better place to play football.

For more information on the funding opportunities available in Shropshire, contact Andy.Weston@shropshirefa.com or info@campeyturfcare.com.

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Moped vandals tear up cricket pitch

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Moped vandals tear up cricket pitch: A cricket club has been hit for six after moped-riding vandals caused damage to their pitch.

Read the full article from Gazette News here

Groundsman to play on his 'sacred' pitch

Groundsman to play on his ‘sacred’ pitch

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