Winter Sports
Ripped tarpauline and saturated infield. Image © Steve Bush
tarpauline at the end of the day. Everything was going smoothly, and we were on schedule.
When it rains ...
That night, severe thunderstorms tore through the St. Louis area. I was awake in the middle of the night, listening to the thunder and watching as it poured outside. I was glued to the weather radar on my iPad while the storm dumped 1.5 inches of rain on the field. At that point, I wasn’t terribly concerned, since we had covered the field with the tarpauline. But, when we showed up Tuesday morning, the
situation was a little damper than my outlook. The strong winds that accompanied the storm had ripped the tarpauline, and the first base side of the skin was full of water. Without wasting a minute, the
Cardinals’ grounds crew started doing everything they could to get rid of the water and wet clay. They used pumps, squeegees, rakes, brooms, shovels and conditioner. Some of the clay had to be completely removed, as it was totally saturated, and we did not have time to wait for it to dry. Simultaneously, our crew began working on the portions of the skin that
Putting ice in the rolls of turf. Image © Steve Bush
were still dry enough to work with. A pass with a laser box blade was made on everything to confirm the grade and smooth out any minor imperfections. The plastic was then laid down and taped, and turf was installed. By afternoon, the first base side had dried enough that it could be graded and turfed as well. To ensure tight, unnoticeable seams, the thick-cut turf was pushed into place using our Sod Slider. The slider is a hydraulic, tractor- mounted device that pushes or pulls turf into position. We developed the slider in 2011 when we were installing more than six acres of turf at Halas Hall for the
MAKE SURE YOUR GROUND IS FROSTPROTECTEDTHIS WINTER
With over 30 years experience in manufacturing, Stuart Canvas is the UK’s leading supplier and manufacturer of ground protection products for pitch and training grounds. All our products are manufactured at our Warrington factory under strict quality control management and are designed to provide the best protection against rain, frost and debris.
Due to the increasing severe weather conditions last season many games across the UK were abandoned. We have recognised that sporting clubs and associations require adequate protection against the elements at short notice. Covers can be produced as ’flat sheets’ or as an ‘Inflatable tube’ system and by offering a made to measure service on all our covers we are able to
Call us today on 01925 814525 or visit
www.stuartcanvas.co.uk Unit 6, Hardwick Grange, Warrington, Cheshire, WA1 4RF | F: 01925 831709 | E:
sales@stuartcanvas.co.uk
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013 PC 61
advise on the best solution for your grounds.
• FROST • FROST GERMINATION • RAIN • PLAYERS TUNNELS • SAND BAGS
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