EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS
huge operation.”
St Bede’s also hosted the ISFA tournament here - the first time it had moved from Eton College. The event attracted huge attention, with sporting great Sir Alex Ferguson opening it, then complimenting the college on how well the grounds were presented and played. Praise indeed from a stern judge.
Also on the college’s turfcare team is assistant groundsman Pawel Kalinowski, 31. “He’s one of the better workers you could wish for,” states Ben, “who never says die.” Bernard adds: “The industry may be all about qualifications these days and that’s fine but work ethic is what first attracted me about Pawel and he has that in spades.” Ben continues: “St Bede’s is an ideal contract for us as we are not really into small areas but focus on the 20-25 acre sites, and for those, machinery is key.” The team favours Major triple gang
mowers to tackle St Bede’s grounds. Their latest 6m-wide model fits snugly within a full-size goalpost. The pedestrian mower fleet service the college lawns, while John Deere X495 mowers with collector handle compact, awkward areas such as around trees.
Among its renovation equipment of Amazon scarifiers and Charterhouse Verti-Drain, the SISIS Quadraplay still has a role. “It’s more than twenty-five years old now and going strong. A sturdy bit of kit,” Bernard enthuses.
“The lightest compact tractor hauls brushes over the synthetic hockey pitch. At seventeen years old, it’s done well for the college. We lift the sand infill and replace it every three years.”
“With plenty of experience in cricket square renovation, including work at Whalley Range Cricket Club and Alexandra Park close by, Oakmere is confident
in moving forward with the college reintroducing the sport.”
“The foundations are there, lying between two of the full-size pitches and the school is keen to bring cricket back to the ground after some years’ absence. The sport was popular when the college was male only. “Girls started to be admitted and accounted for up to 45% of pupils, making selection difficult. Usage fell away but cricket across the board is gaining ground again,” Bernard explains.
The team’s key challenge is to ensure the pitches are ready for fixtures, Ben stresses. “We have to juggle timetables quite a bit and meet Andy every day to finalise work in line with the sporting programme”. The college has stepped up pitch hire - another complicating factor - while City still train here occasionally. “We used to renovate their Platt Lane facility before the club sold it to the university, so they know our capability and seemed happy with our work,” Ben continues.
Meanwhile, the director of football is busy building up the programme at the grounds, especially as the girls’ game is burgeoning nationally.
My policy has always been to focus more extensively on fewer grounds so that we can really deliver results in the way a school’s or college’s own team would do
100 PC February/March 2020
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