Winter Sports - Rugby Union
wonder that we are all on a low wage which, in turn, does not encourage people to train in sportsturf and amenity horticulture”
“It is little
normal. If I had a bigger budget, I would be able to ensure that the training pitches were treated the same way as the main pitch,” he bemoans.
“During the last eight or nine years, I’ve noticed that the summers are getting much warmer and drier, so I have changed my cutting regime to accommodate. I no longer box the grass off or use a cylinder mower, as I now prefer to use the ProLine roller mower with mulcher blades, which helps keep the soil covered for longer. This also helps by not drying out the pitch as quickly as it used to. Also, not taking the grass off and recycling it straight back into the ground helps keep the fertiliser bills down.”
“I have the soil tested once a year by
an agronomist, and I also have a soil testing kit on-site so that I know the NPK is right and, therefore, the right sort of fertiliser I need for our soil.” “I use a selective weedkiller once a
year, usually around June or July, after the new seed has established, and also use liquid garlic for the prevention of chafer grubs. Due to the amount of people that just walk on the pitch, especially tourists, I try to keep the amount of pesticides to a minimum.” “In the last five or six years, I have seen an increase in the number of fairy rings appearing on my training pitches,” complains David. “Six years ago, I had one small one and now I’ve got about seventeen! I have used lots of wetting agent but, so far, this doesn’t seem to have cured the problem. And I don’t worry about worms as they keep making nice little holes for my grass roots to go down - that should annoy somebody!” he comments with a smile. Where machinery is concerned, David says that he has a reasonably well stocked shed, but would like to have a more powerful tractor - with a cab, of course, to keep the wind out - and, with that, a larger Verti-Drain so that he can break through the pan himself. “My local dealers are Pecks of Ely and Ernest Doe. I do a mixture of new and second-hand machinery, For instance, the Kubota tractor was bought new, replacing
38 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014
one that was over twenty-six years old! The outfield spiker was new, whilst the Verti-Drain is around twenty-five years old and still going strong - I didn’t pay a lot for it! I usually budget for machinery over a five to seven year period so it can be written it off on the financial costing.” Specialist equipment will be hired in as
required, and David says that, later this year, he is looking to hire in a compressed air aerator to break up the deep subsoil compaction which seems to be a problem with the soil in Cambridge. When it comes to his colleagues in the industry, David is rather concerned that volunteer groundsmen and greenkeepers are holding back the profession. “If the industry wants professional groundstaff who are prepared to go to college and work to get qualifications, shouldn’t they be pushing for these people instead of rewarding volunteers who haven’t got any qualifications? We need a more professional approach. Producing excellent playing surfaces is more of a science than most members of the public realise. It is little wonder that we are all on a low wage which, in turn, does not encourage people to train in sportsturf and amenity horticulture.” “I would put into place a career structure so that there were different levels of groundstaff. For example, someone with no qualifications would be a ‘labourer’, whilst a ‘groundsman’ would have to have a basic level sportsturf and amenity qualification. Grounds Managers should have equivalent to level 4 NVQ or a foundation degree. This should also help employers decide at what level they need staff and also prevents the public thinking we are all just grass cutters!” And, if you think that David has his work cut out already, he then goes on to explain that he is responsible for the players’ kit! “We have four teams who play out of the ground, so this means four sets of kit and up to four games a week, plus a clubhouse to clean. It can take most of the day.”
The kit is supplied by Jack Wills, suppliers to ‘the university crowd’, whose clients also include Oxford, Harvard and Yale. “They supply everything from T-
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