Tag Archive for: Winners

SALTEX Winners Six Nations Trip

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SALTEX Winners Six Nations Trip: After claiming the SALTEX College Cup title for the second year running, students from CAFRE College in Antrim, Northern Ireland, enjoyed an unforgettable experience of helping with pitch preparations at the 2018 Six Nations Championships at BT Murrayfield Stadium in Scotland.

The SALTEX College Cup, sponsored by Ransomes, and organised by the Institute of Groundsmanship (IOG), is a national student-led sports-turf challenge. It is an academic test of turf management knowledge for student competitors who are enrolled at colleges throughout the UK on relevant courses of study. Launched at the show in 2016, CAFRE was the first college to have its name engraved on the trophy and as part of the prize, the winning students were part of the Wembley grounds team at the 2017 FA Cup Final.

SALTEX Winners Six Nations Trip

CAFRE returned to SALTEX 2017 where they saw off competition from four other colleges to reclaim the trophy. As well as receiving a £500 cheque and £50 Amazon vouchers for each student, the CAFRE team was presented with another prize that money can’t buy – preparing the pitch at the 2018 Six Nations Championships for the Scotland vs England game.

The CAFRE team arrived at BT Murrayfield on the Friday afternoon before Saturday’s match and were soon mowing the pitch – firmly cementing the students’ names on the very small and exclusive list of people to have cut the BT Murrayfield pitch.

After a 7am start on the big day, the CAFRE team were part of the busy yet meticulously planned pitch preparations, and it would not be long before their work would be broadcasted to millions worldwide.

Commenting on the day, CAFRE student Matthew Barr said: “I found the whole experience incredible and one that I will never forget. I also learnt a lot of new techniques that I will be able to implement in my own work.

“My personal highlights of the weekend were being part of the grounds team and watching Scotland beat England for the first time in 10 years – the atmosphere was fantastic! Everyone was so welcoming and friendly.”

Alex Latto, assistant head groundsman at BT Murrayfield, was delighted to have the CAFRE students working alongside him: “Hosting the winners of the SALTEX College Cup was something we were really keen to do. Having the opportunity to help develop further some of the most promising students the turf care industry has to offer was a great experience for us.

The lads demonstrated good knowledge and practical experience and were willing to muck in with the unglamorous jobs associated with event set up. They left us with the assurance that they’d had an educational and enjoyable experience and we enjoyed working alongside them.”

Dan Prest, the IOG’s head of membership services, felt honoured to see such a finely tuned grounds team at work and was quick to thank everyone involved.

“I was amazed by the willingness of the BT Murrayfield grounds team to be here, there and everywhere for the greater good. It really was a case of all hands to the pump but they still gave the CAFRE students the best possible experience.

“Many thanks to Ransomes for their continuing support of this competition, Garry Blackadder, Jim Dawson, Alex Latto and Joanne Laing at BT Murrayfield for their support, work ethic and good nature in allowing the winners of the SALTEX College Cup to assist in a Six Nations’ match that will go down in history.”

All colleges interested in participating in the 2018 SALTEX College Cup should email Dan Prest at dprest@iog.org for more details.

To view show highlights and key interviews please visit www.youtube.com/MyIOG

For more information visit www.iogsaltex.com

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BALI Winners Visit Wimbledon

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BALI Winners Visit Wimbledon: Winners of the 2017 BALI National Landscape Awards, recently enjoyed an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the All England Lawn Tennis Club Wimbledon, an event which was both hosted and organised by ICL and awards headline sponsor Green-tech.

The event began with an introduction from Mark Pyrah, ICL’s Landscape & Industrial Manager for UK & Ireland and Tom Parker, Purchasing and Commercial Director of Green-tech, before handing over to Head of Courts and Horticulture Neil Stubley.

BALI Winners Visit Wimbledon

Neil described in great detail the meticulous planning and hard work that is required to successfully deliver the greatest tennis championships in the world – which is watched by an audience of over 1 billion people worldwide. He then proceeded to present a captivating overview of the site and its facilities which includes 44 grass courts, 5 indoor courts, 8 American Clay courts, 8 Plexipave Acrylic courts and 3 croquet lawns.

As well as highlighting the progress of trial work which is currently being conducted in partnership with the STRI, Neil revealed just how much tennis is played on the courts at Wimbledon. Last year, 658 matches were played totalling a staggering amount of 3,177 hours. This was across 38 grass courts during the championships, which was in addition to a further 25 tournaments as well as regular usage from the club’s 375 private members who are free to play on the courts until they close in September.

After lunch, the award winners received an access-all-areas tour by Neil which included a visit to the legendary Centre Court, a tour of the media centre, and a look at the current construction works of the No.1 Court. Work on the extensive reconstruction, which will see a retractable roof and wider, more comfortable spectator seating, began after last year’s Championships and is set to be completed in time for 2019 Championships.

Reflecting on the successful day, Mark Pyrah from ICL, who organised the event, said: “We were delighted to welcome the 2017 BALI award winners and show them the world class facilities at Wimbledon. They were hugely impressed by Neil and his team’s attention to detail. It was a very successful event and I’d like to thank Neil for his time and expertise in offering us an insight into groundsmanship practices at the highest level.”

Tom Parker from Green-tech added: “We feel privileged to have been able to visit such a world class venue to celebrate the success of the Bali Award winners. The level of quality, technical development and ambition of Wimbledon is extraordinary and it was amazing to have such an exclusive experience.”

For more information, please contact ICL on 01473 237100 or visit www.icl-sf.co.uk or www.icl-sf.ie if you are in Ireland.

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Fungicide Promotion Winners

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Fungicide Promotion Winners: Formby Golf Club is now the proud owner of a new Gambetti Pro 300 tractor-mounted sprayer having won Rigby Taylor’s 2017 Autumn Fungicide Promotion.

In addition, and as part of the promotion, the Liverpool club’s course manager Paul Swift has won an expenses-paid trip to the GCSAA convention and trade show in San Antonio, Texas.

Fungicide Promotion Winners

The formal presentation of the sprayer was made at the recent BTME exhibition where Formby Golf Club secretary/manager, Stuart Leech, along with Paul Swift and members of the club’s greens committee, were congratulated by BIGGA chief executive Jim Croxton.

Also attending the presentation was Rigby Taylor representative David Weir, who recommended the fungicide programme (based on Bayer’s new Exteris Stressguard fungicide) to the club. David will also be travelling with Paul to the USA.

There were five runners up in the competition – Moor Hall GC, Hindhead GC, Ralston GC, Enfield GC and Leicester City FC – and each club will receive an Evolution knapsack sprayer and their course/grounds managers a Bayer Helly Hansen waterproof jacket.

For more information, visit: www.rigbytaylor.com

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GEA Winners Announced

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GEA Winners Announced: The winners of the 2018 Golf Environment Awards (GEA) have been announced at The Crown, Harrogate, in a ceremony hosted by STRI Group and the R&A.

 Environmental Golf Course of the Year 2018 – Carnoustie Golf Links

GEA Winners Announced

Conservation Greenkeeper of the Year 2018 – Stephen Thompson (John O’Gaunt Golf Club)

Outstanding Environmental Project of the Year 2018 – Abergele Golf Club

Operation Pollinator 2018 – Kingsdown Golf Club

STRI ecology consultant, Sophie Vukelic, said: “A huge congratulations to the winners and finalists of this year’s awards, you each showcase what sustainable management is within golf. The golf environment is a better place with you all working to protect it”

The annual Golf Environment Awards provide the platform from which the golf industry can demonstrate environmental excellence in all its forms. Established in 1995, the awards have gone from strength to strength and in 2018, attendees to the awards almost tripled in numbers.

Carnoustie Golf Links were awarded Environmental Golf Course of the Year for their incredible work within the local community and their continued environmentally conscious practices in all areas of golf course management. Each decision at the golf facility considers the impact on the environment and each member of staff is trained to work in such a way.

Conservation Greenkeeper of the Year was received by Stephen Thompson of John O’Gaunt Golf Club for his passionate dedication to nature conservation within golf. Stephen has extensive biodiversity records for both courses at his club, enabling him to tailor the management of the mosaic of habitats accordingly.

Abergele Golf Club won Outstanding Environmental Project of the Year for their Tir Gwylllt (Wild Land) area. Darren, his team of greenkeeping staff and several members have created a wildlife haven from materials ready to hand or donated. The project is a remarkable example of people pulling together to create something spectacular.

Operation Pollinator was awarded to Kingsdown Golf Club where Tom Freeman had introduced extensive native wildflower areas with the help of local primary school children. Not only did this Operation Pollinator project provide for nectar and pollen loving insects, it also provided a great golf education to the younger generation.

STRI is indebted to lead partner, The R&A, and the sponsors – Ransomes Jacobson, Aquatrols, Syngenta, Tillers Turf and Wiedenmann and would like to thank them for their continued support. The R&A’s involvement in the GEA Awards does not elicit its endorsement for the sponsor’s products or services.

Fancy having a go yourself? The entries for the 2019 Golf Environment Awards are now open and we encourage all golf clubs, big or small, to enter and show off their hard work. Enter today at www.golfenvironmentawards.com

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Winners Of SALTEX Innovation Award

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Winners Of SALTEX Innovation Award: The best in brand new grounds care technology was celebrated in the very first SALTEX Innovation Award at the NEC, Birmingham on 1 and 2 November 2017.

Making its debut, the Innovation Award attracted a number of high-quality entries from various exhibitors from across the globe. There were 24 entries in total spanning a wide variety of products, services and equipment.

Winners Of SALTEX Innovation Award

The entries were judged by an independent panel of industry experts who based their decisions on a number of factors including what the entry offers the industry and how it makes life easier for the person using it.

The standard was incredibly high, resulting in a tie for first place.

Backed by unanimous support by all judges, during the first day of the exhibition, Rigby Taylor’s Intelligent One autonomous robotic line marker and Fleet Line Markers’ MAQA line marking machine were announced as joint winners of the SALTEX Innovation Award 2017.

The Intelligent One (iO) is said to be the world’s first fully autonomous robotic line marker. It can mark out a standard sized football pitch in 35 minutes, using just 3.3 litres of ready to use Impact XP paint. The iO eliminates the task of stringing out for the first markings and operates hands-free. Once the pitch template has been entered into the supplied tablet, the iO is placed at the corner of the pitch and will mark out all the outside and inside straight lines, the ‘D’, centre circle, corner angles and penalty spot without any direct operator involvement.

The MAQA line marking machine uses GNSS technology to reduce the time it takes to mark by a massive 75 per cent. Initial marking that might have taken two men up to four hours can now be completed by one person in 20 minutes.

Winners Of SALTEX Innovation Award

The standard of all Innovation Award entries were of such high calibre that the judges chose to award second and third place awards as well.

Second place went to Oregon’s Gator Speedload, which judges said was a quick and simple device which negated the need to dismantle the head each time to re-load/wrap new strimmer cord. Third place went to the Etesia Hydro 80 MKHP4 E-Connect, due to its ability to set up multiple users and record data – allowing organisations or clubs to monitor the amount of use and user’s ability.

For more information visit www.iogsaltex.com

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