RUNNING RUGBY...
Having spent the past 35 years playing and coaching rugby, and maintaining the pitches, Pitchcare’s Laurence Gale MSc, offers his views on the current state of playing surfaces
T
he aim of this article is to make clubs aware of what resources it takes to maintain pitches properly. It still amazes me to find so many clubs at all levels struggling to maintain their pitch facilities, the main reason being lack of equipment and funds.
What attracts a player to a club?
Usually it is due to the league status of the club, its coaching resources and, equally as important, the standard of the facilities on offer; the pitch, training ground and, of course, the clubhouse. However, like many other sports today, rugby clubs are facing a tough challenge to retain playing members. In my day, players tended to stay at the same club for many years. Most clubs were able to put out four or more junior level teams regularly.
The clubhouse would be heaving with players and members and, subsequently, the clubs would be earning good profits from bar sales. Even on mid-week training nights it would not be unusual to have a full clubhouse. Today, it is a different story. Many clubs struggle to get a second team out let alone a third or a fourth team, not just adults but the junior section as well. This decline in membership has a knock on effect to the income generated by the club.
Allied to this, the costs of running a rugby club have soared. At one time, clubs were run by volunteers, giving their time free, running the bar or coaching the players. Since the formation of the leagues, and the game turning professional, many clubs now pay players and coaches. A key factor in retaining these players and coaches is the condition of the pitch; they will soon move on if the playing surface does not meet their expectations. Too often, today, I see many poor pitches which are compacted, under fed, weed infested and poorly presented when it comes to mowing and marking out. This is generally as a result of inappropriate and inadequate
maintenance, machinery and renovation work, compounded, in a lot of cases, by untrained groundstaff. These issues need addressing. Initially, we need to educate clubs about the level of maintenance that is required for their facility.
No two pitches are the same! They may be soil based, sand based, intensely drained and, at the highest level, reinforced (Desso and FibreSand). Modern stadia pitches have various technological aids to help maintain sward density such as growth enhancing lights, under soil heating, subair systems, automatic watering and, of course, a highly qualified groundsman. However, the majority of club pitches in the UK tend to be soil based and, often, without a drainage system installed. But, the basic principles of maintaining a natural grass pitch remain the same.
Grass needs regular mowing, feeding, brushing and aerating throughout the growing season and renovating (scarifying, decompacting, overseeding and topdressing) at the end of the playing season.
It is my view that the minimum maintenance regime for any soil based rugby pitch should involve the following operations:
They should be mown weekly and fed
regularly based on a soil analysis. Generally, this would see an application of prescribed spring, summer and autumn feeds. Brushing and aeration operations should be undertaken on a monthly basis. Weeds should be controlled using a selective herbicide and, in some instances, a programme of wetting agents/growth regulators can be used to help improve the condition of the turf. Twice a year the pitch should receive deeper aeration, penetrating down to at least 200mm using either the reciprocating tine or linear aerator. The minimum end of season
renovation work should be a programme that cleans up the surface vegetation,
repairs worn areas and provides sufficient quantities of materials to topdress,
overseed and fertilise the whole playing area. However, the success will depend on someone having the appropriate knowledge, experience and skills to undertake this work and, of course, the appropriate equipment to carry out the tasks. There is always going to be a cost even if the club chooses to do the work in- house using non paid volunteers. But, these volunteers still require machinery to do the work.
The choice of machinery and resources
required will depend on the following factors:
• Number of pitches to maintain • Type of pitch construction • Soil type • Environment • Standard of rugby being played • Funds available
Before we discuss what machinery a club should have, we need to determine how this work can be completed. There are a number of options for the club to choose from:
• Buy or hire the appropriate machinery to undertake the ongoing maintenance tasks and delegate the work to willing volunteers
• Buy and hire (as above) and pay a qualified groundsman to do the work
• Employ a sportsturf contractor to undertake the work
• A combination of the above utilising their own volunteers and employing contractors for specialist work
The higher up the leagues you go then
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