“Early discussions will help people
consider the wider use of them. This is all you can really do in the short-term.” While taking these measures is going to be vital in the short term, it is the prospect of longer-term drought that the industry appears to be ignoring, says Rixon. “It seems that many golf courses and sports facilities are waiting to see whether water shortages will affect them or not. They may be making some plans for potential short-term problems but are not making changes for the long-term. With drier, hotter climates predicted and an increasing population, the water deficits are only going to get worse.”
The Institute is striving to
promote both immediate drought prevention and also planning for the future. “In more cases than not, places are under prepared for a prolonged drought” Rixon warns. Tony Picariello, General Manager of Horton Park Golf & Country Club, in Epsom, Surrey, argues that golf clubs are in a position where they can’t actually do anything to prepare for drought conditions. “We have a lake and if the worst comes to the worst we can draw water from that. This does depend on the rainfall over the summer months but it’s our only option really. The ban is so widespread that it doesn’t allow us to do anything else. If we can’t use water, what do we do?”
James Dodds, managing
director of JDIH (Water & Environment) Ltd, comments: “Despite recent rainfall, groundwater levels in South East England are at their lowest in 20 years. As of 3 April, almost 13 million people have been restricted from using hosepipes and sprinklers, with the Thames, South East and Southern water companies all imposing bans. Farmers in parts of Essex and Sussex are being asked to reduce
“Early discussions will help people plan their water requirements over the next few critical weeks and months”
uirements over eeks and months”
w critical
the amount of water they take from rivers and groundwater aquifers and golf course owners are being asked to use water wisely and prevent leaks.” He adds: “The situation
doesn’t bode well for sports including horseracing, tennis, golf and croquet, which all depend on water for safety and aesthetic reasons. We urge ground staff, greenkeepers and managers to liaise with their local Environment Agency office to help minimise the impact of the water abstraction reductions and bans.
“Early discussions will help people plan their water requirements over the next few critical weeks and months and avoid
disappointing sports fans.”
Top Tips to deal with drought:
• Make sure you’re starting off with healthy grass that has a good root structure.
• Regular tining is important to keep water moving through the profile.
• Use a seaweed meal and top this up with liquid seaweed throughout the summer.
• Increase the use of wetting agents to cover a wider area.
• Increase the height of the turf cut slightly, reducing evaporation and creating a microclimate.
• Cease operations that cause turf stress, such as grooming/verticutting/ scarifying.
• Ensure efficient irrigation systems are in place to minimise water usage and make the most of what there is.
• Take action - plan for both the possibility of short- term and long-term drought.
Cricket Grounds for ALL!
The Disability Discrimination Act applies to all sports clubs and organisations. Immediately, most people would think about access to buildings, but what about access to the actual grounds? If a club has spent thousands of pounds on ensuring a clubhouse is accessible for use by disabled people then it is important to ensure these facilities are used, and one way to do that is to actively encourage disabled groups to play the sport. Assuming that the buildings
and pavilion are accessible, how can we ensure that the pitch is also suitable to meet the requirements of all those who may wish to use it? What considerations will groundsmen need to take into account when preparing a wicket and pitch suitable for everyone? In essence, nothing that a
By Nick Jones
fact, the surface of a good wicket - dry, very short grass, hard - is not too dissimilar to a hard floor surface, which is fairly easy for wheelchair users to move around on.
groundsman is not already doing and working towards - a hard, dry playing surface which has a good root base from its grass coverage, giving it a consistent bounce and pace for play to take place on. Preparing for disabled cricket requires the same considerations afforded to everyone else in the club and starts in the autumn after the end of a season. ‘Putting the wicket to bed’ for the winter is a key activity forming part of the preparation for the following season. This is when any unevenness and poor grass coverage is remedied by re- dressing the square and re- seeding it and levelling off any humps or hollows formed in the season. Throughout the winter regular cutting and spiking of the square is essential (more so with the recent mild winters). This will promote good grass growth and coverage and strong and deep root growth, the key to bind a wicket together when all the grass has been cut-off! However, to get the hard and
consistent playing surface which will benefit players of all standards and abilities, rolling the wicket in the pre-season makes a huge difference. Rolling re- compacts the playing surface and grass root structure to leave it hard and ready to take the wear from bowlers and batsmen spikes, and even wheelchair users.
It is possible that rutting or scorching from the wheels could be a problem, but the reality is that unless the wicket is soft and wet there will be no rutting. If it is soft and wet it’s debatable whether the game should be played anyway. Soft, spongy wickets do not offer competitive playing conditions for any standard of cricket and therefore would not realistically be considered suitable for play. This is particularly important early in the season when damage to a wicket and square due to soft playing conditions can render it unsuitable for play for weeks and months into the season - something a groundsman wants to avoid at all costs.
The effect wheelchair players might have on a square is not really something that needs consideration. A quick look at the type of wear one gets from a fast bowler or the drag that some slow bowlers have roughing and gouging the wicket or batsmen digging the surface, it is clear that a wheelchair player will not be able to damage the wicket in the same way or in a worse way. In
Other mobility aids such as crutches or spring loaded artificial prosthetic legs will cause slight indentations but probably less than that caused by any player’s spikes and bats. In fact, overall, the wear and tear on a wicket from disabled players is expected to be less than their able bodied counterparts due to the less explosive and physical nature of their play. Artificial pitches are sometimes thought of as the solution to allow for disabled cricketers to play. However, just as an artificial wicket is not an ideal surface for able-bodied cricketers the same is true for people who use mobility aids. The nap of the pitch and length of astroturf can affect the manoeuvrability of the wheelchair - important when trying to pick up a crucial catch! As a training option, artificial pitches will have the same importance it has in able-bodied cricket. It is a useful facility for practising drills and techniques and is an option if the wicket is too wet to use, but a game needs to be played on natural turf. In putting forward these thoughts and to allay the concerns of groundsmen and clubs when offering their facilities for use by disabled cricketers, we have also taken advice from the ECB and their development officers for guidance. But let’s not forget the key aim here; it’s about encouraging people to play and enjoy cricket. The preparation of a ground is about providing the environment for people to achieve this, giving all people of all abilities the opportunity to participate.
Nick Jones is the newly elected Chairman of Surrey Cricket Groundsmen
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67