The Groundsman of the Year Award continues to be a topic of debate. The Football League have responded to our letter on the subject.

Synthetic or natural grass? Keith Kent (left), Simon Hughes and others have their say.

England captain, Nasser Hussain, is full of praise for the quality of the Northamptonshire County Cricket pitch.

Spurs Head Groundsman, Darren Baldwin, and the final installment of his complete pitch reconstruction - Online shortly.

Paul Burgess (left), Head Groundsman at Arsenal, and his in depth comments on the Highbury pitch.

What roller should I buy for my cricket square? What are the right grasses to use on my bowling green? I have a fork, seed and a £300 budget to renovate my football pitch – Help! At this time of year the Message Board is buzzing with problems and advice. Can you help? Or do you need some?

Seed, fertiliser, turf, machines, sands and soil, tools, line markers, irrigation parts, in fact anything to do with renovation or pitch maintenance. As a Pitchcare member you can benefit from our group discount prices. Check out the Pitchcare Shop or call for a price (01902 824392). You've got nothing to lose.

The March winner of the Technical Merit Award 2003 in association with Tillers Turf was Andy Dixon from Guildford in Surrey. Andy is a Local Authority Groundsman and runs Alan House grounds in Guildford town centre. As his prize, Andy has chosen to take his pals on a Paintball Extravaganza.

March's questions focused on soil nutrients. Check out the answers to learn all you need to know about the importance of nutrients to your grass.

April’s questions are all about air and soil amendment. Have a go, or miss out.

We ran out of time in January, February and March! Our guest expert, ECB advisor Jon Buddington, has always got more questions than he can cope with, so he has kindly agreed to do another session on Friday 25th April. Jon will be in the Interview Room from 7:00pm.

Direct access to a duty forecaster for only £1.50 per minute with no minimum charge. The Met Office’s minimum charge for speaking to a duty forecaster is £17! Click on the map for more details.

Got a big fund raising event planned for the summer? Worried about the weather? The cost of a cancelled event can be frightening - loss of admission charges, committed purchase/hire costs for entertainment and equipment, unsold or wasted food, and so on. Event insurance will take all you worries away, so give us a call for a free no obligation quote (01902 824392).

Pitchcare always brings you the most interesting and up to date information on what is happening in the grounds industry, and this month is no exception:

• Monthly diaries of things to do and tips for each of the main grass sports.
• Features on groundsmen and greenkeepers out on the tools.
• The latest industry news as it happens.
• Share and solve problems with your colleagues via our Message Board.
• Get the best bargains on second hand equipment and spares.
• Chat to your heart’s content with your fellow groundsmen and greenkeepers.

As we write this newsletter, our membership sits at 4,185 members; not too bad at all in 19 months. However, if we want to drive the industry forward, providing advice, shared knowledge, better conditions, education and pay, then the bigger the membership the more strength we have to achieve this. Our industry deserves to be viewed as professional, so we are asking you to recommend Pitchcare to at least 1 of your colleagues. To send this newsletter to them fill in their email address and name:

Pitchcare was designed and is run by fellow Groundsmen and Greenkeepers for Groundsmen and Greenkeepers. Remember, Pitchcare is your site.

DESIGNERS & MANUFACTURERS OF SPORTSGROUND MAINTENANCE MACHINERY SINCE 1932.

SISIS are the sponsors of this month's newsletter and are on the web at
http://www.sisis.com