Educational Establishments
“We have no problem with the public using the site, which they do, but when people start digging for metal, it starts becoming an issue”
the first of those are only just coming into play.” “The wickets at the Racecourse have slowed a lot since renovations in the eighties, so we’re looking forward to the time when works are complete (a decade). We’ve had to undertake plenty of hand watering this summer as we’re anxious that the new wickets settle in well. This, coupled with preparations for the Bunbury Festival, has kept us busy.” Cricket is one of Durham’s key sports - alongside rugby - ranking as the UK’s number two outfit. First team captain Chris Jones had a choice to make this year following a call-up from Somerset County Cricket Club, which meant he would either attend his graduation ceremony or open batting for the West Country side - he chose the latter and joined the ranks of prestigious alumni who have entered the professional game following graduation.
Despite the obvious challenges, Steve
recognises that his team is more fortunate than their school counterparts as they have substantially more time at the end of term to carry out renovations; the university sporting season ends in March, giving the team until May to make necessary repairs and improvements. “Our normal routine is to start
preparing the wicket ten days before play. We roll, rake, thin out the sward, soak and then roll some more,” he explains. “Our two-tonne roller sees plenty of action. We like to keep the wicket wet in the run-up to a fixture to retain good moisture levels and bind the wicket.” Preparations for cricket are certainly
more hands-on compared to winter maintenance duties, which are routine by comparison. “Fixtures for winter sports are played on the weekends and Wednesday afternoon, so preparations follow the same pattern each week. We’ll cut on the Monday and Tuesday and spend Thursday and Friday repairing any damage,” Steve says. “All our pitches are of a traditional construction, and most are located at
94 PC OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2013
Whilst football is not a priority sport for the university ...
Maiden Castle, which is where we are sited. It’s an expanse of land that we do our best with, considering our manpower and resources. Football participation is high, so our remit here is to raise pitches to the best standard possible for a high level of use.”
The split site brings with it unique
problems, not least logistical ones; the River Weir runs between the two sites and the facilities sit on its flood plain. Whilst the pitches are rarely overwhelmed with water, thanks to the Environment Agency’s flood bund positioned to prevent such an occurrence, it’s not uncommon for it to break its banks and flood, which naturally puts paid to fixtures. “There’s not much anyone can do about flooding, but we’d like to be able to do far more topdressing than currently,” Steve says. “We only apply twenty tonnes of sand at present, but sixty tonnes would make a real difference as we could topdress all the main pitches.”
“Most of what we do now is done by hand, which is also time-consuming when you think we have seventy acres of sportspitches to maintain. More topdressing would of course make the pitches hardier and prolong play when the weather is bad - important bearing in mind the flood risk.”
Another dilemma for Steve and the team is the fact that The Racecourse site
is accessible to the public and is not monitored seven days a week, which has led to one notable issue arising. “The Racecourse has always been a popular haunt for metal detection enthusiasts,” Steve reveals. “It’s puzzling, as we’ve never heard of anything significant being found, but they seem to like it there.” “We have no problem with the public using the site, which they do, but when people start digging for metal, it starts becoming an issue and it’s been the case, on a few occasions, when we’ve had to fill in holes. With a staff of only five there’s little we can do to prevent it, so all we can do is notify walkers and hope they stop.”
Steve isn’t going to lose sleep over a few amateur metal detectors but, where flooding is concerned, matters are a little more serious. Guarding against that risk, while not at the forefront of design, was a key consideration when the university once again brought in a synthetic turf developer and contractor to undertake the construction of its second artificial 3G surface, unveiled at the end of August, installed with drainage at 5m centres (like its predecessor) “just in case”, according to Will Roberts, the university’s Projects and Technical Assistant for the Estates and Building Department.
The second 3G surface boosts Durham’s already expansive sporting
The Graham Sports Centre is on the Maiden Castle site
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