Educational Establishments
“
Somehow, with a lot of hard work by the team, all the grass pitches and some formal areas are overseeded during the Easter prior to the pupils return
“This year, both the Argentinian and USA
national rugby teams will be using our pitches as their training grounds for the Rugby World Cup 2015 - a pretty good accolade to the state of our pitches today,” states Eamonn proudly. “Our rugby pitch in front of our College Terrace and Chapel is surrounded by 450 year old oak trees and is one of the most picturesque pitches anyone could play on in the UK.” With so much extracurricular activity, plus
the constraints of an educational establishment, what end of season renovations can Eamonn and the team undertake? “It’s certainly not as easy to fit in as, say, a
standalone sports club. It is further complicated by outside lets during the term breaks. Somehow, with a lot of hard work by the team, all the grass pitches and some formal areas are overseeded during the Easter break (not leaving much of a window; three weeks generally) prior to the pupils’ return.” “The 1st team rugby pitch is scarified in
early July (3-4 passes), overseeded with DLF Premier Pitch grass seed and topdressed
Logistically, it will be difficult, especially as Tottenham Hotspur's summer camps are still taking place. It will be a challenge, but one that I am up for. I love a challenge
” 80 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2015
with 40-60 tonnes of 70/30 rootzone. Depending on need, sports sand is applied to the 1st team pitch over the Christmas break period.” “All four cricket pitches (this year, this number will increase to five) are firstly scarified by AT Bone contractors, with the remainder of works carried out in-house using Surrey GOSTD 125 loam and a combination of DLF Premier Wicket and DLF wicket.” “The College has a long and celebrated
history,” continues Eamonn, “of which we are all very proud. In terms of the pitches, they have been used for sports since the early 19th Century. Over the years, the College has played all the major public schools on its pitches, including Harrow, Tonbridge, Uppingham and Wellington and, to this day, retains a prestigious fixture list.” “The soil is London clay which requires
plenty of aeration, both shallow and deep; the timing of which is crucial. We use a Toro ProCore SR70 (using a wide variety of tines and sizes) and a McConnell deep slitter, followed by sand topdressing, when appropriate.”
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