LIVE AT LEEDS
07:00
After a good night’s sleep at the Headingley Lodge, overlooking the ground, I am up early to meet Jason.
07:30
We arrive at the stadium, check on the weather, inspect the pitch and, in particular, the logos. These, according to Jason, “are a pain in the preverbal bum!”. They cover a huge area of grass and make mowing more difficult, especially during the winter months when they cause a lot of damage to the sward.
Jason and Kiel begin double cutting of the pitch at a height of 25mm using their newly purchased 36” Ransomes Mastiffs nine bladed mowers. Logos are protected with boards.
09:00
School leaver and occasional helper, Rob Jamieson, helps wash down post protectors and corner flags.
Grassline’s Steve Teale and Jason have being working on this machine for a couple of years now to improve its performance.
Friday 20th June 2008 Leeds Rhinos v St. Helens
L-r: Jason Booth, Alan Wright, Kiel Barratt and David Wright 11:30
Jason begins the first phase of line marking, marking the cross lines using his very own designed spray jet line marker supplied and manufactured by VFM Grassline.
12:15
Kiel and Rob mask out any bare areas with Groundsman’s paint (grass cuttings).
13:30
Jason finishes cross line marking and all staff head off for a well earned lunch.
Jason has instructed the logo companies they can only hand paint the logos. This reduces the amount of paint getting into the base of the plant thereby helping it to recover more quickly. In an ideal world he would not have them at all, but the match is live on Sky Sports, so it is imperative that the pitch not only looks its best, but that the logos are on view.
Kick off is set for 7.30pm with a pre-match warm up game starting at 5.15 between Leeds Rhinos U21 and St Helens U21.
09:30
First cut is completed and we all go for a spot of breakfast.
10:00
The machine has a larger capacity tank, pump and special spray jet frame, which enables Jason to choose a line width between 100- 200mm. He likes nothing better than a bright line to help present his pitch, mixing a 2:1 strong ratio of water to paint.
All lines are marked in two directions.
14:00
Jason marks out post to post lines. He always double checks the pitch from his favourite location high up in the commentary box. Viewing the pitch from on high helps identify any problems.
Second cut resumes with a crossway cut using string lines for accuracy. Who is that man?
He finally finishes marking out at 3.30pm leaving Kiel to mark out the red 40 metre lines with aerosol paint.
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